So Monday’s storytime was a bit rough…but then I did the exact same storytime lesson plan on Wednesday, with a group of similar composition (i.e., ages and number of children), and it went very well. Though the two stories I read were long, this group was able to stay attentive; though there are a fair number of newbies in the group, the group dynamic was focused for most of the twenty minutes. This was good, since it reassured me that I’m not crazy and this lesson plan on hats can be used successfully with this group, but it also made me think that I should have changed tactics a bit more midway through the Monday storytime. If I had stopped and deliberately encouraged everyone to stick it out, rather than keep rolling as if there weren’t a problem, if I had addressed the unraveling of the group directly, then perhaps the entire storytime could have been resurrected. I did think about doing this, but I didn’t want any one parent to feel self-conscious or singled out, so I decided to just keep on going.
What is the best solution? Stop and talk about the meltdown when it’s happening, or keep going and give the parents and caregivers time and freedom to address inattention without feeling singled out? The “keep going” option has always, always worked for me before…but perhaps there are just times when it’s not the way to go.
I’ve been reading lots of book reviews the last two weeks – trying to catch up on my book ordering after a busy summer – and from those reviews it’s clear that it’s the fall season, and a good fall season at that. I have found dozens of books that sound absolutely terrific, and I’m more excited about this order than I have been about an order in a very long time. There are many additions to popular series (even a new adjunct entry to my favorite series, Ranger’s Apprentice), as well as new books by masters like Jerry Pinkney, and also books by some new authors that sound fabulous. Some authors, like Gabrielle Zevin, are branching out into new genres (I just brought home her book All These Things I’ve Done – can’t wait to read it) and other authors and illustrators, like Maurice Sendak, sound like they’ve produced their best work in years.
Keep your eyes out for this batch of books to be on the library’s shelves in a couple of weeks – allowing time for me to finish my order, the books to be shipped, and the books to be processed. And then it will be happy reading to all, and to all a good read. (Or something like that…)
We had a less than stellar storytime today. The two’s and three’s were not in synch with each other or their parents or me this morning, and my well-planned and usually popular storytime on Hats went over like a sinking lead balloon, going down, down, down. By the halfway point of the storytime, half of the kids and their caretakers had left the room, leaving the other half rather confused and distracted and definitely not attentive. I soldiered on, determined to finish the storytime – which I did – even if it wasn’t going to be my best ever. It’s a challenge to work with this age group, since they can be very attentive and devoted, but they are also so easily distracted and taken off course. One too many distractions, and it’s all over, storytime lady! But it’s still my very favorite age group, and even in the midst of chaos on days like today, it’s a lot of fun. And by next Monday I’ll have come up with a succinct peptalk for the adults in the room to encourage them to try to stick it out for the whole twenty minutes of storytime; perhaps if we can all make it through one entire storytime together, we’ll be able to grow as a group and have an easier time the week after that. At least, that’s the plan…
Reflections on children, literature, libraries, and life…and cats.
