Be Still my Mother/Teacher heart!

Yesterday, I took the monkeys to the library at the local University.  I am an alumnus, so I still get to check out books for free (it's $15 for everyone else).  Why the University library?  Well, because our tiny town's library doesn't have enough non-fiction for juveniles...plus there's an elevator. 

When we arrived, we made our way to the 3rd floor and settled into the fiction alcove (I try to read all the state award nominees each summer).  I made my selections and we headed over to the non-fiction alcove where the Clover made hers (if you guessed all the books she chose were about chickens, you get a gold star).  Then, the Cubscout wanted to check the card catalog for a Star Wars book.  We went to the computer where he promptly put in the information he needed (Yay for the awesome librarian at his school!).  We found that the only Star Wars books in the library were either special collection for library use or adult fiction.  So, he asked if he could just go look at the adult fiction to see.  So, I said, "Yes." (Mostly because when I was his age someone thought that I should be looking at easier books, when I could read older ones and it really made me mad).  Then, this is the totally cool part...I showed him how to find it.  As an elementary student, he is used to going alphabetically or by Dewey, but yesterday he learned Library of Congress.

He found his book, pulled it off the shelf, held up one hand and opened the book with the other, then started reading.  HE WAS DOING THE FIVE FINGER RULE!!!  Without my prompting!!!  He got to the end of the first two paragraphs without lifting one finger and said, "I think this will do.  What do you think?"  I told him, I thought it would work as well.  Then we decided that because of the length, he should only check out one (too many library books around the house makes me nervous).

I had one more book that I wanted to check out over in the stacks.  Asked me if he could try to find it.  Of course I said yes, because I only showed him that one time how to find a book.  So, he took my slip with the call number and headed down the aisles.  He got a little hung up on the third set of numbers, but after I showed him again, he found the book I was looking for.  It was a nerdy treasure hunt.  I was so proud, I almost cried in the library.