April Preschool Visit

Preschool Visit - Wednesday, April 30, 2014, 10:00 a.m., Ages 3 - 5, Attendance: 36 children, 6 adults

Books:  Moo! by David La Rochelle
             Have You Seen My New Blue Socks? by Eve Bunting
             It's a Tiger! by David La Rochelle
             Snack Time for Confetti by Kali Stileman
             Cock-A-Doodle Moo! by Bernard Most

Board Story: "The Silly Wishes" from Teeny-Tiny Folktales by Jean Warren

Board and Prop Stories: "Pot Luck"
                                    "The Most Wonderful Egg in the World"

Paper Cutting Story: "Who Is Watching?"

Game: "Little Mouse"

Notes: This storytime was longer than usual but the children enjoyed the stories. As usual, the "Little Mouse" game was the favorite. I did that last so that we could do it several times. When I did "Pot Luck" the children caught on quickly that things doubled when put in the pot. When it came to putting the coins in the pot, I had the children guess how many would come out.

May Preschool Class Visit

Preschool Class Visit - Thursday, May 2, 2013, 9:30 a.m., Ages 3 and 4, Attendance:
46 (28 children, 18 adults)

Books: The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems
             Roly-Poly Egg by Kali Stileman
             Butterfly, Butterfly by Petr Horacek

Board Story: "The Knee High Man" from Multicultural Folktales: Stories to Tell Young Children by Judy Sierra

Prop Story: "Penny Penguin's Magical Meal"

Board and Prop Story: "The Most Wonderful Egg in the World"

Game: Birthday Guessing Game

Notes: It's been some time since I have done a preschool class visit so I really enjoyed doing this one. I picked some favorite stories and activities from recent family storytimes. The children particularly enjoyed "Penny Penguin's Magical Meal" though I think that "The Most Wonderful Egg in the World" was the audience favorite. I also had a great time reading The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?

 

Spring Second Grade Visits

It's time for the spring round of second grade class visits.  This time around I not only talked about using the library but about our upcoming summer reading program and activities.

After talking about the library, I read a humorous picture book and tell stories.  This spring I chose to read The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems.  Surprisingly most of the children in this group were not familiar with the Pigeon books but that did not stop them from enjoying the story.  I had a grand time emoting as the Pigeon and then being a sweet little Duckling.  I then told the story, "Drakestail," using my duck prop.  (I substituted "Pot Luck" when I had to do the program at the last minute.)  That story was followed by a paper tearing story called "Lost, Left and All Gone" from Mudluscious: Stories and Activities Featuring Food for Preschool Children by Jan Irving and Robin Currie. 

Because I talk about summer programs, I do not tell as many stories as I do for the fall class visits.  The challenge is to keep the children interested while talking about the programs.  I use our magnet board for visuals and to play a memory game using clip art from the summer reading program manual (for more information see my posts for April 13 and April 20).  When I do tell stories, I make an effort to vary the types of stories I tell.  This helps to hold the children's interest because they don't know what kind of story I will do next.  Over the years I have gathered a collection of paper cutting stories, draw and tell stories, flannel/magnet board stories, stick puppet stories and prop stories.  I am constantly adding to it.

I change the stories every year.  Even though the children only come once, the teachers come every year.  Early in my career as a children's librarian, my next door neighbor, who owned a preschool, mentioned how boring her school's annual visit to the local public library was for her because the children's librarian did the same program year after year.  To her the librarian came across as uninspired and unwilling to try something new.  From then on I have kept notes of what I did for each class visit and varied my programs each year.  Teachers are not going to make an effort to bring their students to the library or invite the local librarian to visit their classes if they don't have a positive experience as well as the children.  I've been invited to additional classes after visiting one class because of teacher recommendations.  So although the primary focus is the children, it is also a good idea to keep the adults in mind as well when planning class visits.  After all we want both adults and children to enjoy the library and what it has to offer.

(Life has been crazy this week so I don't have a Flannel Friday contribution.  However, this week's Flannel Friday Round-Up is being hosted by Kay Leigh on her blog Storytime ABC's.)

Flannel Friday Follow-Up

Last week I posted about how I use the magnet board to promote summer reading to classes that visit in the spring.  One of my colleagues, Gina, made this year's set of pieces for the memory game for me and she did such a nice job that I wanted to share it with you. 

She not only used fancy scissors to cut the colorful paper but laminated the pieces as well.  Since I only work part-time, Gina has been a tremendous help to me. 

The group I had today enjoyed playing the memory game.  They remembered all but one.  I also put up the pieces about upcoming programs that I posted about last week.  They cheered when they found out we are having a DJ for our kick-off party.  I will post the program that I am doing for this spring's class visits soon.

Cate of Storytiming is hosting this week's Flannel Friday round-up.

Class Visit

Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 9:30 a.m., Grades K to 2, Attendance - 14 children, 9 adults.
Storytime for deaf children with ASL interpreters.

Board Stories:  "Pot Luck" (see post for 7/28/11)
                       "The Silly Wishes" from Teeny Tiny Folktales by Jean Warren

Prop Story:   "The Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle" (see post for 9/30/11).

Draw & Tell Story:  "The Castaways" from Frog's Riddle & Other Draw-and-Tell Stories by Richard Thompson.

Paper Cutting Story:  "The Royal Paper Puzzle" from Handmade Tales by Diane de Las Casas

Books:  Shark in the Park! by Nick Sharratt
             The Little Green Turtle by A.J. Wood (Pop-up book)

Craft:  Turtle paper bag puppet - pattern from Alphabet Puppets plus More! by Karen Sevaly

Storytime Fun Despite a Marker Malfunction

Today a group of deaf children came for a class visit.  I managed to remember to slow down for the ASL interpreters but forgot to tell one of the stories I had planned.  Everything else went smoothly until it came time for me to do the draw-and-tell story.  I had tested the marker beforehand to make sure it worked but somehow the marker part disappeared into the plastic holder part when I started to use it.  I excused myself and ran to the children's room desk and grabbed the biggest marker I could find from the drawer and ran back to tell the story.  It never ceases to amaze me what can happen during storytime.  I've been doing this for twenty years and this was a first.  Fortunately after 20 years I don't get easily rattled any more.

The children were great, the teachers were great and everyone had a good time probably because I selected mostly silly stories.  The two books that I used were selected for their visual appeal.   Other than being careful about my book selections and working with the ASL interpreter, this storytime was not any different than one I would do for any class visit.  I like to use a variety of storytelling formats that have visual appeal (see my previous post).  It helps to keep the group's attention if they are wondering what you are going to do next.

The children made turtle paper bag puppets after the storytime.  I like to do a simple craft if possible because then the children have something to take with them. 

The teachers had me stand with the children for a group photo after the program.  The highlight of the day was when the little girl standing next to me slipped her hand into mine as the picture was taken.  Moments like that are what make my job so rewarding.  Seeing a group of children signing shark as I read them Shark in the Park! is what makes my job so much fun.

I'll post the stories I used later today.

Visual Storytelling

Over the years my storytelling style has evolved.  I still use most of the same elements as I did twenty years ago but now these elements are no longer "filler" between picture book readings but have become an essential part of the storytime.  One reason is that I am more confident telling a story than I was when I first started as a children's librarian and the other reason is that I really enjoy the various forms of storytelling that I use - draw and tell stories, board stories, paper cutting stories, and stories using props and stick puppets.  They all have visual elements for the listener to look at while I tell the story.  I am reluctant to move into straight storytelling because I enjoy using these elements when I tell stories.  I guess it is part of my storytelling style.

I am preparing for a class visit next week.  All of the children are deaf and some have other disabilities as well.  The group had stopped by our library during a field trip last year when one of their destinations canceled on them.  They had called ahead and I was available to do a storytime for them.  It turned out that my "visual" style of storytelling worked well for the children and they called this year asking to come back just for a storytime.  I was surprised and happy to find out that my visual style was a good format for this group.  I had been concerned that it would have been too distracting since the children had to watch the interpreter as well.  I will be using many of the new stories that I had worked on over the summer and used for my family storytimes.  I am going to have to try to slow myself down a bit though, so I don't make it too difficult for the ASL interpreters.  It's great feeling to know that this group wanted to come back to hear more stories and I'm looking forward to their visit.

This has been a busy week (particularly at home) so I don't have anything new for this week's Flannel Friday.  I'm currently selecting stories for my next family storytime so I will have something new next week.  You can find this week's Flannel Friday Round-up on Sharon's blog, Rain Makes Applesauce.

Fall Second Grade Visits

Second graders from public and private schools in Hamilton Township spend a day attending a program about bicycle safety given by the police department.  It is held at the library with half the schools attending in the fall and the other half attending the following spring.  A visit to the children's room is included in the program.  We talk about what the library has for them, tell some stories and give them some time to browse the collection.  For our own sanity and that of the teachers, we like to vary our programs each year. 

I usually do a different program each spring and fall.  I like to read a humorous picture book and tell a story (or two).  I always promote the summer programs in the spring usually by playing a memory game.  In the fall, I tell an additional story instead.  This year I decided to use the same book that I read last spring simply because I haven't found anything I like better (that I haven't used before).  The book is Mr. Putney's Quacking Dog by Jon Agee.  It combines guessing, wordplay and silliness.  The children become very involved in figuring out each animal but it can take a long time to get through the book.  I also enjoy seeing the teachers and parents get involved in the guessing as well.

One of the stories that I am telling is "The Pearl Thief" from Travel the Globe: Multicultural Story Times by Desiree Webber.  It is based on a folktale from India and is told with props (I use paper lunch bags).  I really like this story but I may have to start leaving it out when we are short on time.  I need to work on making this one go quicker.

The other story that I am using is a paper cutting story, "The Royal Paper Puzzle" from Handmade Tales by Diane de Las Casas.  I just used this in Family Story Time (see my post for 9/27/11) and it was a big hit and surprisingly easy to do.  (I did skip the part describing the princess and making her curly hair.)  The children have been so fascinated by it that one of my colleagues starting doing it when she was doing the class visits and she does not do paper cutting stories.  (Maybe I'll be able to talk her into doing some more.)

So far I've been able to keep the attention of the second graders (and the adults that are with them).  I need to work on giving them enough time to browse the collection.  It's a fine line because if they have too much time then things can go downhill very quickly!

Memory: A "Board" Game

One spring I was invited by an elementary school librarian to come talk about the public library's summer reading program.  Since I didn't want to just talk about upcoming library activities, I told a humorous story relating to the theme with stick puppets.  I also made a memory game using clip art from the summer reading  program manual.  I put the pieces on the flannel board and talked about the summer reading program and then I took the pieces off.  I then asked the students if they could remember what was on the board.  The students really enjoyed the game so I decided to use it to promote summer reading with other groups as well.

Every spring and fall our library has second graders visit.  I use the memory game every spring to promote the library's upcoming summer reading program.  The more items on the board, the more the children have to remember and the more difficult the game becomes.  This makes it a good game to use with various age groups since there can be fewer pieces for the younger children to remember while more can be added to challenge older children.  Another way to make it a challenge is to not mention the pieces at all while talking about summer programs.  Talking about the pieces makes it easier for the children to recall what was on the board.  Again, how it is presented would depend on the age of the group.  Sometimes I give hints as well.  It's fun to see the children get excited and work to get all the pieces back on the board.  It's also interesting to see that there are always one or two particular pieces that all of the classes have trouble remembering.

Because the summer theme changes from year to year, I usually do not make elaborate pieces for our board.  I copy and color clip art and then I glue it onto a slightly larger colorful piece of construction paper for a backing.  Since we have a magnet board I add magnets.  When I had a flannel board I glued pieces of craft interfacing to the back.  Scrap pieces of flannel would work just as well.  I use this method often when I need to make story pieces quickly. 

Of course the memory game can be used as part of a storytime program.  What I like best is the fact that it is a game that can be used with and adapted for various age groups and that it works well on a flannel or magnet board.

Below is an example of a quick and easy story piece - clip art glued onto construction paper.