My Musings on Story Time

I’ve been a storyteller (I use this term lightly, because I’m more of a story time leader, than actual storyteller) for over five years now and I LOVE it!  I love interacting with the kids, trying new things, and just having fun with books – it’s what I went to school for!  I am currently a story time leader for toddler story time (ages 2 – 3 1/2 years old), parachute (ages 2 – 3 1/2), yoga (ages 2 – 5), outreach to classrooms for children with disabilities (ages 3 – 5), and we’re going to be adding a sensory-friendly story time in January for children with disabilities (ages 3 – 5) and their families.

I’ve gotten a lot of training on story times – books, songs, rhymes, early childhood education, etc.  And it always seems to come when I’m tired – tired of planning, tired of trying to wrangle children, just tired and I always come out of these workshops, training sessions, or chats with co-workers with a renewed sense of excitement.  And each time I become more energized to try something new in my story time.  I’ve included sign language, songs I would never have chosen, and wonderful tips for parents about the importance of early literacy.  I know that even that 30 minutes that I see a child once a week is helping them get ready for school, giving them a positive experience with book, and a place that is safe and nurturing.  And I like knowing that I can make (even a small) difference in a child’s life!

There are some amazing resources out there for story time – professional books (check the ALA store website for great resources!), blogs, and plenty of websites that can help you find story time themes, crafts, activities, rhymes, songs and more.  One of my favorite story time blogs is Storytime Katie – she has some amazing resources and I love just about everything she posts!  I’ve had a little bit of break from story time, but things will start back up in January and I’m excited (again!) to try some new ideas, maybe create a new flannel board or two, add a few new songs, and find those perfect read-aloud books for toddlers to enjoy.  I haven’t started my planning for my 6-week toddler and parachute sessions yet, but I’m already thinking about what might work best for the groups I’ll see.  And I’m especially excited to see how our new Sensory-Friendly Story Time works out!  I’ll be posting my story time lesson plans on my blog after each story time with my thoughts as to how it went and what I could do to make it better.  I hope my themes and ideas can help you too!