Monday, December 31, 2012

week 14: in between days

Happy New Year, everyone. I haven't been purposefully dragging my feet on this final entry of 2012, but it happened. And so. But the year wraps up, I would be remiss if I didn't note that changes are definitely on the horizon. So as far as anyone reading this might care, my job situation will be changing in the upcoming months. I don't know the exact impact this will have on my Head Start storytimes, but I think "more than none, maybe a whole lot" is a reasonable expectation.** I am already thinking about new, hopefully interesting things to do with this blog as circumstances change. But on to storytime!


Since the year is drawing to a close and attention spans are short, I will (for the most) combine my discussion of Class 1 and 2 and Class 3 and 4's storytime. Right up front, I will say that I don't regret my decision to eschew a holiday theme at all. We had a great storytime for the most part, and no one enjoyed it any less for want of seasonal overtones.

So yes, these were really good storytimes. Everyone was full of energy, as you might expect. At times the energy got a little out of hand, but I am not going to get into the gory (not really) details. Absolutely wonderful kids get wired and a little antsy around the holidays, stuff happens, 'nuff said. As always, I'd rather have some of the Head Start instructors chill out a little, but they mean well.

I'm a Shark went over like gangbusters! Class 1 and 2 and Class 3 and 4 both enjoyed it thoroughly; someone in Class 1 and 2 shouted out at some point, "I love this book!" Yessssss! Z is for Moose went over even better, I think. Someone in Class 3 and 4 chimed in, "this is my favorite book!" That felt great (duh). Exactly the kind of one-upsmanship I was looking for. I was particularly gratified by how much everyone enjoyed Z is for Moose; I enjoy it so much personally and am really happy when an award-winning book succeeds in storytime, especially considering Me...Jane's lukewarm reception the prior week.

I didn't forget the shakers this time, so I was already ahead of the game. I tried a new approach to distributing them, since we have a relatively consistent crowd control issue. Nothing terrible, but the storytime spaces at the Head Start are small and I still get a substantial portion of kids who crowd me and make a vociferous hubbub for shakers. Rather than lecturing more sternly, I just had everyone stay seated after the third story (Pete the Cat : I Love My White Shoes) while I handed the shakers out. Worked like a charm!



**Maybe this was covered elsewhere, but I do these storytimes as a volunteer through the Oakland Public Library Books for Wider Horizons program. As an MLIS student, it has been an invaluable opportunity to get practical experience doing something I really love. But as of a few weeks ago I have graduated and my changing work schedule may (or may not) preclude me from scheduling BWH storytimes during the week.

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