Storytime Extravaganza
The three new things that I learned at this class were new songs, activities, and transitions.  I hope to create the color bucket activites that were discussed during the class.  The teaming up of librarians to present a book or poem was very interesting and since we do not have two staff people available during our story times maybe we could enlist the help of some teen volunteers to do this on occasion.  Mo Willems, Eric Carle, and Eric Litwin (Pete the Cat) are authors we probably all use so I wished the presenters would have introduced us to different more obscure authors.  The tips on working with puppets were also helpful.  My favorite part of the workshop was the music and the movements.  Submitted by Tammy Gantz
 

Kids Are Customers Too

I once again attended Kids Are Customers Too.  I was not as pleased with the event as I had been in prior years.  Previously, the event consisted of breakaway sessions that allowed the participant to select sessions of particular interest.  This year everyone was kept together.  We had a session on a Cold Storytime.  Next was a session on healthy snacking for teens/kids.  This was an interesting concept.  The County Extension Office worked with the library to teach the concept of healthy snacking and its preparation in conjunction with an event such as gaming.  I would like to see something similar happen with teens at the Leonard P. Snyder Memorial Library.  Kate Riggs, winner of the Blue Crab Award, spoke on editing.  The remainder of our time was spent with reps from Baker and Taylor as they introduced us to upcoming releases, the majority of them YA books.

Storytime Extravaganza

Well it is about time I got around to blogging on this event.  This was a fun day filled with children's storytelling activities such as Hip Hop Tooty Ta.  There was a large portion that I was already familiar with as I have heard the presenters three times previously.  However, I was pleased to see they added a section on storytelling for elementary age children.  I also learned I need a ukelele, a parachute, and an updated music collection.

Storytime Extravaganza

Some things from the workshop that I'd like to apply:  Sorting/Patterning activities, Storytime sharing, and the Hip-Hop Tooty-ta :).  I think in the future, I would like to add the sorting/patterning activities to my storytimes.  My aha moment was realizing I will never play the ukelele :)!  One storytime question: How can we double up storytellers for our programs in Washington county?  The only suggestion I had was maybe make the musical instrument portion more general and not just ukelele specific.  I enjoyed getting fresh book and song suggestions to incorporate into my programs.  Well done girls!

Story time Extravaganza

Amanda and Tess did a great job!  
Parachute 101 was helpful, I needed new ideas.  Tess's Ukulele presentation was cool and thought provoking.  I'm always in the market for new song ideas.
I like the Story time Theme Boxes, I have boxes but they are Seasonal.  I think this has given me something to think about for my own Story times.  I can always freshen up my programs.
I think an extra break would be nice during their presentation.

Storytim Extravaganza

I really enjoyed the Storytime Extravaganza.  It was very infomative, the program moved along quickly, and it kept everyone in attendance very involved.

Kids are Customers 18 Oct 2012

Easy salsa salad you can make in the library.
Incorporating nutrition tips into storytime.
Singing songs to time hand washing.
What new releases are coming from Baker & Taylor?  Heavy on the YA.
Books in Motion by Julie D-G looks to be a must have for anyone doing storytimes.
Everything she presented was imaginative.  I can see using it all.





Story Time Extravaganza  15 Oct 2012
Lots of singing and swinging.
New books, new props, new ideas.
Learn to play the ukelele!
Two presenters are better than one.
How to use a parachute.
How to plan a storytime on theme.
New ideas for "old " stories.
Joan Snapp

Storytime Extravaganza 10/15/12

I really enjoyed the extravaganza, especially learning new songs, books, and storytime themes to use. While the storytime crowd at my branch is considerably smaller, I will be able to down-size the activities. I was glad to have the opportunity during lunch to discuss suggestions on  how to get more participation. I have brought my hammer dulcimer to storytime, but a ukulele I could keep at the library would be awesome. I liked getting up and moving, but would have preferred fewer “jumping” songs. I liked the planning documents that were shared, along with the process of developing their storytimes. I hope I will have an opportunity to use them!

Kids Are Customers Too

On October 18, 2012, I attended the Kids Are Customers Too workshop in Westminster. This annual workshop is sponsored by the Children's Services Division of the Maryland Library Association.  It is always interesting to go to workshops like this, where you get to meet librarians from around the state.  Everyone always has such good ideas.  This year, I learned that it is possible to have programs in the library revolving around healthy eating that involve children and teens helping to prepare food.  We've had snacks before, but I wouldn't have thought to have kids help.  I don't know if I'm brave enough to try it, but maybe!  I also learned that it is much easier than I might think to get children up, moving, and interacting with books during storytime.  Julie Dietzel-Glair's part of the presentation was by far and away the best- she could have talked all day!  I definitely want to buy her book when it finally comes out.  I was so amazed at how simple some of the ideas were, such as just getting kids to act out the words tall and small in a book.  Storytimes are such an important part of my job, and I often feel like I'm running out of new and creative ideas.  Yesterday certainly gave me a lot to think about!

Storytime Extravaganza

I loved the music, even though I have used some of it there was plenty of new. I also liked using a simple piece of yarn as a worm. Something that simple is really a creative idea. I always enjoy the sharing of books that others use during their story times. Fresh ideas are always nice and I will incorporate some of them into my programs. As for my a-ha moment, I keep going back to that piece of yarn that turned into a worm. Kind of sad isn't it? But I just can't believe that something that easy was so cute, and I didn't think of it on my own. My favorite part of the program was the sharing of music. I am always looking for new material and most of this was really neat. Especially the ways they jazzed it up like with the boots song. The only suggestion I would have is to not include material that is out of print. It is disappointing to see a book that you would love to have a copy of and then can't get it. You can tell Amanda and Tess work well together they really do a good job. 

Tunes, Tots, and Tweens

This was a session sponsored by the Children Services Division of the Maryland Library Association on April 20. It featured two presenters: Joe Stover, Charles County Library; and Elizabeth Rafferty, Baltimore County Public Library.

Joe Stover began the program sharing his favorite fingerplays and CD's. He also booktalked several books that are his storytime favorites and showed how he uses the books, songs, and fingerplays in his storytimes.

To get copies of these, I would suggest contacting Joe himself at jstover@somd.lib.md.us

The second portion of the program presented by Elizabeth Rafferty focused on tween brain development and possible tween programming.

Liz presented us with several core values essential to serving teens. In a nutshell, they were:

1. Respect the Unique Needs of Tweens- One important point that she made was that babies and toddlers make noise during programming and their time in the library and we don't kick them out, why should we do that to tweens? And, they are still kids struggling between being kids and being adults, and we need to recognize that they are still not fully developed.
2. Equal Access- Tweens deserve access to the library and its materials just as much as everyone else.
3. Youth Participation-Give them the opportunity to give input and to participate in decision making.
4. Collaboration-Everyone needs to be focused on good customer service to tweens, not just one staff member. All customers should be treated equally!

I think one of the most interesting things that she talked about was that tweens tend to react over-emotionally to harsh criticism and words. So instead of approaching kids negatively, it would be more suitable to approach them positively and include them in the discussion rather than talking down to them. One example that was given was when a group of tweens were having loud, unruly conversations in the library. Instead of yelling at them, the librarian asked to meet with them. She had a list of rules printed out for each of them, and they were able to discuss the rules in a group dynamic and give their input on them.

Liz also presented us with many program in a box ideas. And, we even completed one of them. To see more of them go to http://mdya.pbwiki.com/Tween+CSD+Presentation

Also to see more about the 40 Developmental Assets for Middle Childhood (8-12) go to:

http://search-institute.org/40-developmental-asset-middle-childhood-8-12

Or, you can contact Liz at erafferty@bcpl.net