Sunday, February 24, 2013

week 6: that's what toe knee nose

Man, I am having a hard time keeping up with my formatting, what with Head Start holidays, work holidays, sick days, and the like. Also: wow! It's already, like, two months into the new year. Holy moly. But storytime rolls ever onward.


This week's storytimes were great! As I mentioned elsewhere, I was a little worried that the new schedule might throw the vibe off a little. From the kid's perspective, I couldn't sense any real problems; some of the teachers seemed a little confused to see me on Tuesday rather than Thursday but the director remembered and that's all that really matters I suppose. 

All the classes were together as one group. We started with This Is Not My Hat, for which I had high hopes. I mean, it is an award-winning, funny, wonderful book; what's not to love? Except... except... well, I tried I Want My Hat Back for Head Start preschool storytime last year and it wasn't a particularly good fit. Fantastic book, just not the right audience. Meta doesn't seem to work with this group, and that's OK. It's a sophisticated approach better suited to an older and/or more book-savvy audience. And so. Same deal with This Is Not My Hat. It fell kinda flat. A few laughs here and there, but the central conceit (which I enjoy) depends on an irony that no one really dug. And that's A-OK.

Shortly thereafter we jumped into a new stretch and fingerplay: Tony Chestnut and Icky-Sticky Bubble Gum. Tony Chestnut is an old favorite from my SFPL internship days, and I shamelessly lifted this version of Icky-Sticky Bubble Gum from Adina, a librarian who is awesome and has been so helpful and gracious to me. Icky-Sticky Bubble Gum in particular goes over hecka big, I think, because we can get super-silly and kind of gross. Per Adina's valuable instructions, I always end getting the bubble gum stuck on my eyebrow, then pulling it (along with the gum) off! The kids love it! We always wash our hands when we're done, of course.

Then we tried Pumpkin Trouble. A few kids were howling, but the overall response was pretty muted. I was a little peeved at myself for this choice, but only in hindsight. I am still working out some logistical issues with my new work schedule, but I won't bore you with all that. Baby Shark once again proved a massive and unqualified smash hit! We sang it twice, playing with the tempo and really getting into it. Chicken Butt closed things out on a super-high note. Everyone seems to love it. I love it. It is anti-ironic, in the best way possible.

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