Storytime: The Basic Formula

There are many different ways to organize your storytime - some people free-wheel it, some have scripts, some plan by themes, others pick books that strike their fancy. The following is my particular way...

Storytime Components:

• Theme
• Books
• Rhymes/Songs/Flannelboards [including my ALWAYS used opening rhyme & closing song]
  
• Letter of the day
• Short film based on a book [my library owns a collection of public performance videos/DVDs]
• (sometimes) Realia - puppets, plastic food, picnic basket & blanket, beach ball, etc....
• (sometimes) Music
• Craft
  
• Stamp on the hand for all the "good listeners" [okay, you got me, everyone gets a stamp!]

Themes

For me, having a theme sets loose my creativity, while I've heard other people feel constricted by it. My themes are as general as concepts like "color" or seasonal like "fall" or everyday stuff like "apples" or "getting dressed."

I plan out my storytime themes a year at a time, filling in obvious themes like "mothers" around Mother's Day, "bunnies" around Easter, etc. [you can find my themes for the 2009 year here on google docs: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dqps86v_0grmmpq4t ]

Books & Rhymes

When I first started doing storytimes, I actually had a script for storytime. I would plan out what books I would use & in what order, inserting rhymes and songs in between them. I didn't always follow it, of course, but it was there if I needed it.

I am no longer quite that particular!

I do, however, still begin each storytime with the same rhyme and end with the same song. Having a consistent opening rhyme reassures children and is a visual and auditory clue that storytime is beginning. Same with the closing song - it's a "release" for them.

I usually have about 5 to 10 books pulled for storytime, knowing that at most I'll read 4 or 5 of them. I like options!

I also have at least one action rhyme or song or flannelboard in addition to my opening & closing ones to share with the kids. I usually hold this in reserve for when I feel the crowd is restless and needs an activity. Switching it up between listening to a book and participating in a song or rhyme can extend attention spans like magic!

Letter of the Day

I have stolen unashamedly from Sesame Street, and each storytime is brought to us by a letter. I don't do it in alphabetical order - I don't sweat how many times I do a letter - I just pick a letter that goes with the theme and can be found on several of the covers of the books I've picked.

I write the letter of the day on my white board along with a rhyme - piggybacking off Cookie Monster's famous, "C is for Cookie, that's good enough for me / C is for Cookie, that's good enough for me / C is for Cookie, that's good enough for me / Oh, cookie, cookie, cookie, starts with C!"

I treat this as one of my rhymes - using it to break up the book-listening and get participation from the children. After looking at the letter, singing the song [me first and then them with me], we talk about what it looks like and how it sounds. Then, I ask them to come up and find the letter on the covers of my books.

Short Films

I don't use a short film 100% of the time - just if there is one that fits the theme and is GOOD. My favorites come mostly from Weston Woods by Scholastic - really great adaptations of really great books into films with excellent narrators and music. The public performance versions can be expensive, but I think they definitely add something to the experience. They usually last less than 10 minutes and end storytime.

Realia & Music

Occasionally a theme just calls for something more. For instance, for my picnic storytime, I bring the books in a picnic basket and spread them out on a picnic blanket. For my beach storytime, I come in wearing sunglasses and a beach hat, with my storytime books in a pail and spread them out on a beach blanket. It's fun and something different - can definitely get your crowd excited. However, sometimes it can be distracting...

I recommend having a place to stash your "extras" if it proves to be so, and firmly state, "Let's say good-bye to the beach ball for now - " or, "I'm sorry! The puppy puppet would like to sit right up here and listen to stories, too. He'll come by and lick the hand of everyone who was a good listener at the end of storytime."

Craft

When I began my storytime career, I did not do a craft at the end. I do now. For all the extra time and energy it takes, I definitely think it is worth it. Here are my top reasons for it being worth it:

1. It extends the experience for the children and the parents/caregivers - allowing them to have even more fun at the library.

2. I model (for the parents and the caregivers) talking with the children while they work on their craft - asking them about the choices they make, the colors they use and about how it relates to the stories we just read.

For instance, "How many apples did you put on your apple tree? Let's count.... You have 12 apples on that tree. How many apples did the farmer have on his tree in the story we listened to? Do you think a horse will come and eat one of your apples? Who else ate apples off the farmer's tree?"

This sort of discussion and "debriefing" of the books they read are part of encouraging emergent literacy skills and making the most of the storytime experience.

3. Holding & using a crayon, counting out cotton balls, selecting a feather, threading a yarn into a hole...these actions promote emergent literacy skills and fine motor skills as well as creativity. A lot of bang for the buck, in my opinion.

4. Having something tangible to take home with them will hopefully keep the conversation about the library, the theme, the books going when they get home.