Recently, Senior Kindergarteners have begun taking weekly trips to the library. During these visits, they hear a story and then start looking for books to check out and take home. They sometimes come in with a particular book in mind. Other times, they have an idea for a type of book they are interested in, and sometimes they come in completely open to any book that a teacher or Ms. Levy recommends.

Library visits are not new to students who were in Junior Kindergarten at Bernard Zell, but checking out books and bringing them home is a new responsibility - and one that they take on with equal amounts of excitement and pride. We have seen growth in so many ways through the context of our library visits and our library books. The students are taking this new responsibility very seriously. As they check out their books, they discuss when and with whom they will read the book at home. They talk about bringing the book back. As the week goes on, they share their experiences reading the book at home. They even remind one another to bring their library books back to school! The students have said, for example, "I am going to bring my book back tomorrow so I don't forget it next time," and, "My library book is in my backpack today! Where can I put it?" and even, "Don't forget to bring your book back tomorrow!"

This dialogue shows how deeply they are thinking about the responsibility of treating library books - and our library itself - with kavod (respect). They are learning to take ownership and accountability - a significant part of growing up and an important Jewish value.

All that said, when someone forgets to bring their book back on library day, the other Senior Kindergartener students show compassion and understanding. They reassure one another that it's okay to make mistakes, and they can bring the book back tomorrow! In this way, we can see a beautiful balance of responsibility and grace. It's important to hold ourselves accountable, and at the same time, mistakes are okay and can be corrected. What an important balance to find and what an important life skill to practice!