It’s that busy time of year again, as the school year winds down and I prepare for class visits to promote summer reading and get ready for the summer reading program.

This past week, I had my regularly scheduled five storytimes in four days, and in addition a preschool class visited on Monday for a storytime, a Boy Scout troop visited late Monday afternoon to earn their communications badges, and another preschool class visited on Wednesday, joining in with my Mother Goose on the Loose Wednesday storytime.  And, of course, I tutored Monday and Wednesday nights and am on my way to tutor again this afternoon.

It was a fun week, to be sure (though I’m working tomorrow, too, so the week isn’t over yet), but also occasionally challenging.  The Monday preschool visit was awesome, since there were only ten kids and their teachers, and I could present two of my favorite preschool stories:  Bark, George by Jules Feiffer and my feltboard version of Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown.  The kids and I all had a lot of fun – there’s no better feeling than sharing a favorite book with a receptive audience.

The Boy Scout visit also went well, with many of the six boys asking terrific questions and looking like they were engaged for my one hour presentation.  My presentation covered the Dewey Decimal System; how books are ordered and catalogued in the library; a lesson on how to search the library’s catalog, whether from home or in the library building; and a quick best-of-the-best tour of the library building.  I know for sure that I reached several of the boys, and I feel like I did a pretty good job making some potentially very dry material a bit more palatable.  (No one has ever accused the Dewey Decimal System of knocking the socks off of a fourth grade boy…)

And the preschool storytime on Wednesday was almost great, but we were definitely short on space.  Forty-three adults and kids, plus me, don’t quite fit well in our lovely story room.  Room was tight, with the carpet squares butted right up against one another, and the lack of personal space took its toll on some of the kids.  For the most part, though, we had a great time, and it was fun for me to realize that I’ve now internalized the Mother Goose on the Loose program in a way that enables me to adapt it on the fly for a situation like this crowded room full of kids who were a bit too old for MGOL.  Internalization of a program means that I can move beyond mere memorization of the rhymes and such and to a different level that is more interactive and reactive to the attendees of the day – much like the way I’ve been able to internalize the Wilson Reading System and become a much better tutor in the process.

And now I need to spend tomorrow reading book reviews, finalizing the summer reading prize order from Toysmith, preparing Monday’s toddler storytime, and writing lesson plans for the next three toddler storytimes.  (And a million other little pre-summer reading details that need to be tended to RIGHT NOW.)  And, of course, I’ll help patrons through the course of the day.  No problem, right?  I just wish I weren’t coming down with a cold…