|
From: "PUBYAC: PUBlic librarians serving Young Adults and Children" <pubyac@prairienet.org>
To: "PUBYAC: PUBlic librarians serving Young Adults and Children" <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2003 4:27 PM
Subject: PUBYAC digest 1071
PUBYAC Digest 1071
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) Thanks for Disruptive Sibling Suggestions
by Toni Reese <treese@monarch.papillion.ne.us>
2) Re: Visit with Daycare Parents
by "Elizabeth Lai" <elai@tpl.toronto.on.ca>
3) Re: Summer Reading Program
by Margaret Siebert <psiebert12508@yahoo.com>
4) Re: Summer book and dessert club
by MDToylady@aol.com
5) Fudge Program
by <laanders@bellsouth.net>
6) Re: soldiers addresses
by Martha Simpson <msimpsonmls@snet.net>
7) request for assistance on SC Library School paper
by "Marilyn J. Jackson" <marilyn@us.net>
8) seed that practically grows on paper?
by "Christine L. Tyner" <tynercl@yahoo.com>
9) Staff Summer Reading Programs
by Allison Peters <apeters@jefferson.lib.co.us>
10) An Arthur costume
by "Sherry Rothberg" <srothber@ansernet.rcls.org>
11) RE: Notifying teachers about lack of homework resources
by Jennie Stoltz <jstoltz@esls.lib.wi.us>
12) Re: Library card campaign
by "Dorothy Williams" <Dorothy@peabody.whitleynet.org>
13) Summer Reading Club (what else?) questions
by "Susan Harding" <susanharding@email.com>
14) BBYA 2004 Nominations
by Sharon L Rawlins <slrawlins@juno.com>
15) Re: Source for Bean Boy
by Susan Zimmerman <library_grlz@yahoo.com>
16) Clarification of Fighting fantasy query
by Pam Gravenor <pam.gravenor@ncc.govt.nz>
17) T-shirt design contest
by "Christine L. Tyner" <tynercl@yahoo.com>
18) Re: Senegalese recipe for multicultural program
by TEACHINGTALES@aol.com
19) Compilation of Hawaiian books
by Susan Fisher <sfisher@lib.williamson-tn.org>
20) Children's software contract for Gates grant computers
by "Kozloff, Rae" <raek@cityofanacortes.org>
21) Stumper solved
by "Kim Flores" <kimf@mail.sgcl.org>
22) Compliation of Toddler Storytime practices
by CKehoe@bettendorf.lib.ia.us
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Toni Reese <treese@monarch.papillion.ne.us>
To: pubyac <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Thanks for Disruptive Sibling Suggestions
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:10:25 CST
Oh, Great Brain, thank you so much for all the great suggestions for
dealing with a disruptive 4 year-old in a program designed for 2
year-olds! We are in the midst of a session now, but I think when
the
new session starts we will make it a clear rule that no older siblings
are allowed.
All the best,
Toni
Toni Reese
Youth Services Librarian
Sump Memorial Library
Papillion NE
treese@monarch.papillion.ne.us
------------------------------
From: "Elizabeth Lai" <elai@tpl.toronto.on.ca>
To: <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Re: Visit with Daycare Parents
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Disposition: inline
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:11:19 CST
Try demonstrating finger rhymes, Show them how to make the reading =
interesting with sound effects, physical action etc.
>>> BookBaBa@aol.com 03/25/03
10:11pm >>>
Dear Group,
I've been asked to come visit with the parents at a preschool/daycare open
house next month. Other than the usual library orientation speech and
handouts, does anyone have any ideas for a snappy grabber than I could =
use?
A good story to read or tell that would break the ice?
You all are such a great resource. I am constantly quoting you to my
collegues. They have even been asking me to post their questions to you
all!
Thanks for all your help.
Victoria Haddon
Grapevine Public Library
Grapevine, TX 76051
------------------------------
From: Margaret Siebert <psiebert12508@yahoo.com>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Re: Summer Reading Program
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:11:47 CST
Our children certainly think a book is a good gift. We used to give a gift
certificate, but found that too often the parents had to chip in to pay the
difference if the child chose an expensive book. We switched to giving the
books right here at the library. We bought a load of paperbacks and added
some donated-but-in-mint-condition books. At the end of the summer we
display them on tables in our community room. Each child gets to select one,
which he/she may get autographed by staff. This way they get the book
directly from us, along with plenty of positive feedback and
congratulations.
Peg Siebert
Blodgett Library
Fishkill, NY
Clearskies150@aol.com wrote:Hi
everyone,
I am in the stages of planning our Summer Reading Program (my first time)
and I would like input on the end-of-the-summer gift. I understand that the
last 2 years here they gave out $5 gift certificates from a local bookstore.
I believe the parents were happy with that but I'm not sure if alot of kids
found thatto be an exciting gift.
What kind of prizes have others given out at the end of the program? Any
suggestions?
Thanks,
Mary-jo Zeising
Hollis Social Library
Hollis, NH 03049
603 465-7721
------------------------------
From: MDToylady@aol.com
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Re: Summer book and dessert club
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:12:47 CST
I'm in the midst of planning a one night a week for 4 weeks program in the
summer for 8-14 year olds, sort of a book and dessert club. My idea is to
read chapters from "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck and do a
quick
craft or activity. I'm basing this on some similar programs I've read about
here on PUBYAC or heard about through colleagues who have attended
conferences. Any ideas for what to call this? I thought about
"Books and
Brownies" but a friend said it sounds too much like the girl scouts will be
there! Also, any ideas for crafts or activities? TIA.
Carol Lee
Library Associate, Walkersville Branch
Frederick Co., MD Public Libraries
mdtoylady@aol.com
------------------------------
From: <laanders@bellsouth.net>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Fudge Program
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:12:54 CST
We had a program at the library celebrating Judy Blume's "Fudge"
series,
including the latest title, Double Fudge, this past Saturday. There were
twenty-four children in attendance. I began by reading from Tales of a
Fourth Grade Nothing and Double Fudge. I then told everyone about the four
stations (tables) in the room. One held green construction paper cut into
dollar shapes. The children were to write their code name (first name
spelled backward plus their grandmother's first name) on these shapes, and
to pin them on as name tags. Another table held caramels, pretzels, and
shelled peanuts, to be made into turtles (shaping the caramels into a
rounded shell shape, pretzel pieces for legs, and half a peanut for a head)-
this was very popular.
One table held construction paper "dollars" in many colors, plus some
coin
stickers. Here everyone could make their own money. The last table held
the
books in the series, plus other similar titles.
We finished by having refreshments- fudge, Tootsie rolls, cheese puffs (fat
Cheetos), and lemonade. While they ate, we had a trivia contest, with the
winners (a four-way tie) receiving foil-wrapped chocolate coins.
One mother told me she loved chocolate and salty things. I told her she'd
come to the right place!
I used two websites in planning the program- http://www.judyblume.com
and
http://www.penguinputnam.com (click
on Young Readers).
Linda Anderson
Nashville Public Library
laanders@bellsouth.net
------------------------------
From: Martha Simpson <msimpsonmls@snet.net>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Re: soldiers addresses
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:15:50 CST
Hi Pubyacers,
I suggested to people at my library that we invite patrons to write
letters to US soldiers overseas, which we would collect and send to
www.dearamericansoldier.com
which someone on Pubyac had suggested. One
person on staff replied with the following warning:
>>>>"Dear American Soldier" is sponsored by the American
Family Association,
>>>>a group that supports "traditional family values."
That includes
opposing
>>>>ALA and its stance on Internet filtering, opposing rights for
gays, etc.
>>>>and other issues that people disagree strongly about. If we
decide to
>>>>collect letters, perhaps we can find a group without a political
agenda
>>>>
>>to forward them to."
>>
If this is true, perhaps someone can suggest another organization to
forward letters to?
Martha Simpson, Stratford (CT) Library
>>
>>
>>>>>>-------- Original Message --------
>>>>>>Subject: soldiers addresses
>>>>>>Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 21:19:28 CST
>>>>>>From: Lisa Bauer <lbauer@mail.owls.lib.wi.us>
>>>>>>Reply-To: pubyac@prairienet.org
>>>>>>To: "Pubyac (E-mail)" <pubyac@prairienet.org>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>www.dearamericansoldier.com/
>>>>>>
>>>>>>This is directly off their website:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>If you'd like to send a letter, gospel tract, or
pictures drawn by
>>>>>>children in your school or church class, please mail it
to:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Dear
American Soldier
>>>>>> P. O.
Drawer 2440
>>>>>> Tupelo,
MS 38803
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Group letters should NOT be put in separate envelopes.
Instead, keep
>>>>>>them flat and mail them together in a manila envelope.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Letters may also be written online. These letters are
printed and
>>>>>>forwarded along with the hand-written ones.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Please continue to pray for the men and women who are
protecting our
>>>>>>country.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Lisa Bauer
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>*********** END FORWARDED MESSAGE ***********
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>~ ~ ~ ~ ~
>>>>Susan Morong
>>>>Senior Manager of Technical Support Services
>>>>Stratford Library Association
>>>>2203 Main Street
>>>>Stratford, CT 06615
>>>>203-385-4163
>>>>FAX 203-381-2079
>>>>sm@stratford.lib.ct.us
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>*********** END FORWARDED MESSAGE ***********
>
>
>
>
>
------------------------------
From: "Marilyn J. Jackson" <marilyn@us.net>
To: PUBYAC@prairienet.org
Subject: request for assistance on SC Library School paper
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:15:59 CST
Hello,
This is another request for the same class project in the Foundations
class through University of South Carolina. Our project is a bit
different than the coffee shops. Recognizing that parents are the
people who have the greatest influence in getting their children to
read, we divided the parent child relationship into four groups -
Reading parent/reading child, Reading parent/non reading child, Non
reading parent/ reading child and Non reading parent/non reading child.
We would be interested in any programing you do that would be aimed at
the last three groups- examples programs for low readers or disabled
students, how you might encourage summer reading among children with
parents with limited English, does anyone's system do programing for
homeless shelters? Also programs for Head Start or other groups of
parents of toddlers.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Send replies to Marilyn
Jackson marilyn@us.net.
Thank you again.
Sincerely,
Marilyn Jackson
Fairfax,VA
Student distance ed
University of South Carolina
------------------------------
From: "Christine L. Tyner" <tynercl@yahoo.com>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: seed that practically grows on paper?
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:16:07 CST
Hi all,
I am planning on doing a program where elementary kids
decorate pots and then they get soil and seeds to grow
in their pots. I have a vague recollection of someone
mentioning something that's really easy to
grow...practically can grow on paper. I think it was
from this list. If so, can the person respond to me at
tynercl@yahoo.com and let me know what
the seeds were?
Thank you so much.
Christine
=====
Christine L. Robinson
Betty Warmack Branch Library
Grand Prairie, TX
972-237-5773
972-237-5779 fax
tynercl@yahoo.com
__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop!
http://platinum.yahoo.com
------------------------------
From: Allison Peters <apeters@jefferson.lib.co.us>
To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'"
<pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Staff Summer Reading Programs
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:16:15 CST
Hello there!
Every year we have a summer reading program for staff. We collect reviews
of books that staff have read and give out awards in many creative
categories at the end of the summer.
My colleague and I are organizing the program this year and would love to
know what kind of staff summer reading program you have at your library.
Do
you have a theme? How does staff record what they have read? Do you
offer
awards?
Please email me directly and I will compile the answers I receive for the
list.
Thanks,
Allison
Allison Peters
Children's Services Librarian
Jefferson County Public Library
555 S. Allison Parkway
Lakewood City Commons
Lakewood, CO 80226
(720) 963-0900
apeters@jefferson.lib.co.us
Find us on the web at: http://jefferson.lib.co.us/
------------------------------
From: "Sherry Rothberg" <srothber@ansernet.rcls.org>
To: <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: An Arthur costume
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:16:23 CST
Does anyone have any ideas about renting/buying an Arthur costume? Our
children's department is having a birthday party for Arthur in May. Any
help is appreciated.
Sherry Rothberg
Finkelstein Memorial Library
Spring Valley, New York
------------------------------
From: Jennie Stoltz <jstoltz@esls.lib.wi.us>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: RE: Notifying teachers about lack of homework resources
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:24:56 CST
Dearest Pubyacers,
I need your help once again. We've been having a terrible time with
teachers either assigning multiple classes the same assignment (thus,
running out of materials after the first few kids come in) or teachers
assigning topics where we have absolutely nothing on that topic (for
example, last night I had a young girl who was doing a paper on "Swedish
hairstyles" - when I tried to do my reference interview "What exactly
is
your assignment?" - okay, not the best reference interview I'll admit - the
girl explained that they were doing papers on different cultures and
hairstyles was one of the topics on the list that the teacher handed out!)
Anyway, I remember seeing a old form somewhere that said something like
"We've hit the bottom of the barrel" where the librarian could give
the
sheet to the parent/student who could then pass it along to the teacher so
that the teacher at least would know that they had tried to find information
at the library. I really need some ideas (and I don't want to reinvent the
wheel) and I'm wondering if any of you have anything like that which you
could share with me. You could either e-mail it to me at
jstoltz@esls.lib.wi.us in WORD, PDF
or Publisher formats (or any graphic
format) or you could snail mail it to me at -
Jennie Stoltz
Frank L. Weyenberg Library
11345 N. Cedarburg Rd.
Mequon, WI 53092
Thanks in advance!
Jennie
Jennie J. Stoltz
Children's Coordinator/Webmaster
Frank L. Weyenberg Library of
Mequon/Thiensville, Wisconsin
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who
cannot read them." - Mark Twain
------------------------------
From: "Dorothy Williams" <Dorothy@peabody.whitleynet.org>
To: <Dennielle@aol.com>, <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Re: Library card campaign
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Disposition: inline
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:25:04 CST
We do this in September each year. My favorite one was "Come Grow
with =
Us. We printed the slogan on little coin envelopes and put pumpkin seeds =
in the envelopes. We then told the kids to plant the pumpkin seeds and =
then next year they could bring in their biggest pumpkin for a contest. =
No one brought any pumpkins back, but it really caught their attention and =
we had quite a few new sign ups. You could do this with any kind of seed.
dorothy@peabody.whitleynet.org
------------------------------
From: "Susan Harding" <susanharding@email.com>
To: PUBYAC@prairienet.org
Subject: Summer Reading Club (what else?) questions
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Disposition: inline
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
MIME-Version: 1.0
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:25:11 CST
Hello, all (I can already hear the groans rising--haven't we talked this to
death already? Apparently not.)
At our library, we have always solicited coupons or items from area
merchants--which means a lot of fast-food type places. We are seeing a
decline in such sponsorship, partly because of the economy but also because
of a few selfish families who cheat and abuse the system. (Yes, I know,
there will always be cheaters and I should just let it go, but they are
costing us community support and good-will.) So we are wanting to try
putting some restrictions in effect and want to know if anyone else has
tried any of them and how they worked.
First thought is limiting the number of logs that can be turned in per day,
and limiting the number of fresh logs that can be picked up per day.
Second thought deals with counting time vs. counting books. What we have
been doing is allowing children to choose which way they want to keep track
of their reading. In general, the younger children (1st-3rd grade) chose
to
count books and the older children chose to count time. And then, of
course, we are seeing some children opt for counting books and then writing
down names of very short books that are way below their reading level.
Does
anyone just flat say "we are counting time, period" (or "we are
counting
books, period") and how does that go over?
In addition, our director would like us to use SRC to really boost
circulation. We already have a weekly drawing--anyone checking out 10
children's books at a time gets to put their name in for a $25 savings
bond--but he threw out the idea of only library books count for reading club
(we've always allowed books they have at home.) Does anyone have such a
restriction?
Thanks,
Susan Harding
Mesquite Public Library, Texas
--
_______________________________________________
Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com
http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup
------------------------------
From: Sharon L Rawlins <slrawlins@juno.com>
To: PUBYAC@prairienet.org
Subject: BBYA 2004 Nominations
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:25:36 CST
As of April 1, 2003, sixty-six books have been nominated for Best Books
for Young Adults. Books will be discussed at the ALA Annual Meeting in
Toronto this June.
New nominations are posted on the first of each month throughout the
year.
Nominations from the field are encouraged. Please visit the YALSA Best
Books website for details, including the policies and procedures. Books
must be published between Sept. 1, 2002 and Dec. 31, 2003 to be eligible
for this year's BBYA, although field nominations may only come from
titles published in
2003.
If you or your teens would like to comment about any of the nominated
titles, please send your
comments to one of us and they will be shared with the BBYA committee.
Thanks!
Kimberly Paone
2204 BBYA Chair
Teen Services Librarian
11 South Broad Street
Elizabeth, NJ 07202
(908) 354-6060, ext. 7237
fax: (908) 354-5845
KPaone@elizpl.org
Sharon Rawlins
2004 BBYA Administrative Assistant
Adult/YA Librarian
Piscataway Public Library
500 Hoes Lane
Piscataway, NJ 08854
(732) 463-1633, ext. 2
fax: (732) 463-9022
slrawlins@juno.com
March BBYA Nominations
(listed alphabetically by author or collection title)
Bell, Hilari - The Goblin Wood, HarperCollins/Eros, ISBNTrd.
0-06-051371-3, ISBNlib. 0-06-051372-1, 2003, $16.99/$18.89
Bird, Eugenie - Fairie-Ality: The Fashion Collection from the House of
Ellwand, Candlewick
Press, ISBNTrd. 0-7636-1413-0, 11/2002, $40.00
Boyle, T. Coraghessan - Drop City, Penguin Putnam/Viking, ISBNTrd.
0-670-03172-0, 2003, $25.00
Brennan, Herbie - Faerie Wars, Bloomsbury, ISBN 1-58234-810-3, 2003,
$17.95
Brooks, Kevin - Lucas, Scholastic/Chicken House, ISBNTrd. 0-439-45698-3,
2003, $16.95
Brooks, Martha - True Confessions of a Heartless Girl, Farrar, Straus &
Giroux/Melanie Kroupa Books, ISBNTrd. 0-374-37806-1, 2003, $16.00
Caletti, Deb - The Queen of Everything, S&S/Simon Pulse, ISBNTrd.
0-7434-3684-9, 11/2002, $6.99
Corbet, Robert - Fifteen Love, Walker & Co., ISBNTrd. 0-8027-8851-3,
2003, $16.95
Crowe, Chris - Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmett
Till Case, Penguin Putnam/Phyllis Fogelman Books, ISBNTrd. 0-8037-2804-2,
2003, $18.99
Crutcher, Chris - King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised
Autobiography, HarperCollins/ Greenwillow Press, ISBNTrd. 0-06-050249-5,
ISBNlib. 0-06-050250-9, $16.99/$17.89
Donnelly, Jennifer - A Northern Light, Harcourt, ISBNTrd. 0-15-216705-6,
2003, $17.00
Du Prau, Jeanne - The City of Ember, Random House Children's Books,
ISBNTrd. 0-375-82273-9, ISBNlib 0-375-92274-1, 2003, $15.95/$17.99
Feiler, Bruce - Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths,
HarperCollins/Wm. Morrow & Co.,
ISBNTrd. 0-380-97776-1, Sept. 2002, $23.95
Frank, E.R. - Friction, S&S/Atheneum/A Richard Jackson Book, ISBNTrd.
0-689-85384-X, 2003, $16.95
Fredericks, Mariah - The True Meaning of Cleavage, S&S/Atheneum/A Richard
Jackson Book, ISBNTrd. 0-689-85092-1, 2003, $15.95
Frost, Helen - Keesha's House, Farrar, Straus & Giroux/Frances Foster
Books, ISBNTrd. 0-374-34064-1, 2003, $16.00
Going, K.L. - Fat Kid Rules the World, Penguin Putnam/G.P. Putnam's Sons,
ISBNTrd. 0-399-23990-1, 2003, $17.99
Goodman, Alison - Singing the Dogstar Blues, Penguin Putnam/Viking,
ISBNTrd.
0-670-03610-2, 4/2003, $16.99
Halliday, John - Shooting Monarchs, S&S/Margaret K. McElderry Books,
ISBNTrd. 0-689-84338-0, 2003, $15.95
Hartinger, Brent - Geography Club, HarperCollins/Harper Tempest, ISBNTrd.
0-06-001221-8, ISBNlib. 0-06-001222-6, 2003, $15.99/$16.89
Hearn, Lian - Across the Nightingale Floor: Tales of the Otori, Book One,
Putnam Publishing Group/ Riverhead Books, ISBNTrd. 1-57322-225-9, 9/2002,
$24.95
Hobbs, Will - Jackie's Wild Seattle, HarperCollins, ISBNTrd.
0-688-17474-4, ISBNlib.
0-06-051631-3, 2003, $15.99/$16.89
Hoffman, Alice - Green Angel, Scholastic, Inc./Scholastic Press, ISBNTrd.
0-439-44384-9, 2003, $16.95
Hoffman, Nina Kiriki - A Fistful of Sky, Penguin Putnam/Ace Books,
ISBNTrd. 0-441-00975-1, Nov. 2002, $23.95
Johnson, Angela - The First Part Last, Simon & Schuster Books for Young
Readers, ISBNTrd. 0-689-84922-2, 2003, $15.95
Holt, Kimberly Willis - Keeper of the Night, Henry Holt & Co., ISBNTrd.
0-8050-6361-7, 2003, $16.95
Jones, Diana Wynne - The Merlin Conspiracy, HarperCollins/Greenwillow,
ISBNTrd. 0-06-052318-2, ISBNlib. 0-06-052319-0, 2003, $16.99/$17.89
Juby, Susan - Alice, I Think, HarperCollins/HarperTempest, ISBNTrd.
0-06-051543-0, ISBNlib. 0-06-051544-9, 2003, $15.99/$16.89
Koertge, Ron - Shakespeare Bats Cleanup, Candlewick Press, ISBNTrd.
0-7636-2116-1, 2003, $15.99
Koja, Kathe - Buddha Boy, Farrar, Straus & Giroux/Frances Foster Books,
ISBNTrd. 0-374-30998-1, 2003, $16.00
Kowalski, William - The Adventures of Flash Jackson: A Novel,
HarperCollins, ISBNTrd. 0-06-621136-0, 2003, $24.95
Little, Jason - Shutterbug Follies, Bantam Doubleday Dell/Doubleday,
ISBNTrd. 0-385-50346-6, 10/2002, $24.95
Lubar, David - Wizards of the Game, Penguin Putnam/Philomel, ISBNTrd.
0-399-23706-2, 2003, $16.99
Mason, Bobbie Ann - Elvis Presley: A Penguin Life, Penguin Putnam/A
Lipper/Viking Book, ISBNTrd. 0-670-03174-7, 12/2002, $19.95
Mass, Wendy - A Mango-Shaped Space, Little, Brown & Co., ISBNTrd.
0-316-52388-7, ISBNpbk. 0-316-61407-6, 2003, $16.95/$5.99
Maynard, Joyce - The Usual Rules, St. Martin's Press, ISBNTrd.
0-312-24261-1, 2003, $24.95
McKissack, Patricia C. and Frederick L. - Days of Jubilee: The End of
Slavery in the United States,
Scholastic, Inc./Scholastic Press, ISBNTrd. 0-590-10764-X, 2003, $18.95
McNamee, Graham - Acceleration, Random House Children's Books/Wendy Lamb
Books, ISBNTrd. 0-385-73119-1, ISBNlib. 0-385-90144-5, 2003,
$15.95/$17.99
Murphy, Jim - An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the
Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, Houghton Mifflin Co./Clarion, ISBNTrd.
0-395-77608-2, 2003, $16.00
Murphy, Mark - House of Java, Volume 2, NBM Publishing Co./Comics Lit,
ISBNTrd. 1-56163-328-3, 11/2002, $15.95
Murray, Jaye - Bottled Up: A Novel, Penguin Putnam/Dial Books, ISBNTrd.
0-8037-2897-2, 2003, $16.99
Myracle, Lauren - Kissing Kate, Penguin Putnam/Dutton Books, ISBNTrd.
0-525-46917-6, 2003, $16.99
Naidoo, Beverly - Out of Bounds: Seven Stories of Conflict and Hope,
HarperCollins, ISBNTrd. 0-06-050799-3, ISBNlib. 0-06-050800-0, 2003,
$16.99/$17.89
Nelson, Blake - The New Rules of High School, Penguin Putnam/Viking,
ISBNTrd. 0-670-036447, 2003, $16.99
Niles, Steve - 30 Days of Night, IDW Publishing, ISBNTrd. 0-971- 97755-0,
2003, $17.99
Osa, Nancy - Cuba 15, Random House/Delacorte Press, ISBNTrd.
0-385-73021-7, ISBNlib. 0-385-90086-4, 2003, $15.95/$17.99
Paint Me Like I Am: Teen Poems from WritersCorps,
HarperCollins/HarperTempest, ISBNlib. 0-06-029288-1, ISBNpbk.
0-06-447264-7, 2003, $16.89/$6.99
Parker, Jeff - The Interman, Octopus, ISBNTrd. 0-9725553-0-7, 2003,
$19.95
Paulsen, Gary - How Angel Peterson Got His Name and Other Outrageous
Tales About Extreme Sports, Random House Children's Books/Wendy Lamb
Books, ISBNTrd. 0-385-72949-9, ISBNlib. 0-385-90090-2, 2003,
$12.95/$14.99
Pennac, Daniel - Eye of the Wolf, Candlewick Press, ISBNTrd.
0-7636-1896-9, 2003, $15.99
Pratchett, Terry - The Wee Free Men: A Story of Discworld, HarperCollins,
ISBNTrd. 0-06-001236-6, ISBNlib. 0-06-001237-4, 2003, $16.99/$17.89
Prose, Francine - After, HarperCollins/Joanna Cotler Books, ISBNTrd.
0-06-008081-7, ISBNlib. 0-06-008082-5, 2003, $16.99/$17.89
Randle, Kristen D. - Slumming, HarperCollins/HarperTempest, ISBNTrd.
0-06-001022-3, ISBNlib. 0-06-001023-1, 2003, $15.99/$16.89
Rapp, Adam - 33 Snowfish, Candlewick Press, ISBNTrd. 0-7636-1874-8, 2003,
$15.99
Reef, Catherine - This Our Dark Country: The American Settlers of
Liberia, Houghton Mifflin/ Clarion Books, ISBNTrd. 0-618-14785-3,
11/2002, $17.00
Rylant, Cynthia - God Went to Beauty School, HarperCollins/HarperTempest,
ISBNTrd. 0-06-009433-8, ISBNlib. 0-06-009434-6, 2003, $15.99/$16.89
Simmons, Michael - Pool Boy, Roaring Brook Press/A Neal Porter Book,
ISBNTrd.
0-7613-1885-2, ISBNlib. 0-7613-2924-2, 2003, $15.95/$22.90
Snyder, Midori - Hannah's Garden, Penguin Putnam/Viking, ISBNTrd.
0-670-03577-7, Oct. 2002, $16.99
Soryo, Fuyumi - Mars, Vol. 5, Tokyopop, ISBNTrd.pbk. 1-59182-056-1, Oct.
2002, $9.99
Stone, Miriam - At the End of Words: A Daughter's Memoir, Candlewick
Press, ISBNTrd. 0-7636-1854-3, 2003, $14.00
Vance, Susanna - Deep, Random House/Delacorte, ISBNTrd. 0-385-730-57-8,
ISBNlib. 0-385-90080-5, 2003, $15.95/$17.99
Weaver, Will - Claws, HarperCollins/Harper Tempest, ISBNTrd.
0-06-009473-7, ISBNlib. 0-06-009474-5, 2003, $15.99/$16.89
Willingham, Bill - Fables: Legends in Exile, DC Comics, ISBNTrd.
1-56389-942-6, 12/2002, $9.95
Woodson, Jacqueline - Locomotion, Penguin Putnam/G.P. Putnam's Sons,
ISBNTrd. 0-399-23115-3, 2003, $15.99
Zahn, Timothy - Dragon and Thief: A Dragonback Adventure, Tom Doherty
Associates/TOR, ISBNTrd. 0-765-30124-5, ISBNpbk. 0-765-34272-3, 2003,
pbk. June/2003, $24.95/$5.99
Zusak, Markus - Getting the Girl, Scholastic, Inc./Arthur A. Levine
Books, ISBNTrd. 0-439-38949-6, 2003, $16.95
------------------------------
From: Susan Zimmerman <library_grlz@yahoo.com>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Re: Source for Bean Boy
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:26:06 CST
Jamie,
thanks for your response. No, we have it as a very old flannelboard someone
made years ago. we do not like to use it without a proper citation.
Susan
Jamie Holtsclaw <jholtscl@in-span.net>
wrote:By "source," do you mean where
can you purchase it? If so, you can get it
through Alibris or Amazon.com. Harper Collins was the publisher.
Jamie Holtsclaw
------------------------------
From: Pam Gravenor <pam.gravenor@ncc.govt.nz>
To: "Pubyac (E-mail)" <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Clarification of Fighting fantasy query
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:26:15 CST
Thanks for those who have made suggestions so far. But, I can't have
been
clear enough in my request, sorry. I don't need titles of 'normal' fantasy
like Redwall or Eddings. I'm looking for the interactive/choose your own
adventure/pick a path/role playing titles, which are relatively new or at
least still in print.
Thanks,
Pam Gravenor
Children's and Young Adults' Librarian
Nelson Public Libraries
Private Bag 41
Nelson
New Zealand
------------------------------
From: "Christine L. Tyner" <tynercl@yahoo.com>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: T-shirt design contest
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:26:23 CST
I am putting together a t-shirt design contest for
grades 6-12 (the winning design will be on our SRC
t-shirt which is the first prize earned in the Teen
SRC) and wanted to get some advice, especially
suggested guidelines (e.g., no copyrighted
characters)to give out to participants. I'd love to
hear from anyone whose done a contest like
this--please respond to tynercl@yahoo.com.
Thank you!
Christine
=====
Christine L. Robinson
Betty Warmack Branch Library
Grand Prairie, TX
972-237-5773
972-237-5779 fax
tynercl@yahoo.com
__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Tax Center - File online, calculators, forms, and more
http://platinum.yahoo.com
------------------------------
From: TEACHINGTALES@aol.com
To: pubyac@prairienet.org, mtrem@tin.it
Subject: Re: Senegalese recipe for multicultural program
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:26:32 CST
Hi Maria,
For the most part dessert is not a common part of the African diet. However,
there are a few recipes found on the net. I hope this helps.
THE FIVE-CENT COOKIE
To carry through the Senegalese atmosphere, make a simplified version of the
Cinq Centimes (the Five-Cent Cookie) you find in the market places of Dakar.
Serve them later in the evening after your Senegalese dinner. Purchase
3-inch
sugar cookies at the grocery or bakery. Spread each with peanut butter
within
a half inch of the edge. Sprinkle each with coarsely chopped peanuts.
Arrange
attractively on doily-lined platters and pass them to your guests. The
youngsters will also adore these cookies. There are more recipes from
Senegal
in the recipe section. Do try Mate aux Legumes Arachid (beef stew made with
peanut butter) and The-bouidienne. <A
HREF="http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Cookbook/Senegal.html">Senega
l: Menus & Recipes from Africa</A>
Here is another site with some recipes you might be able to use.
<A HREF="http://www.congocookbook.com/index_9.html">Snack
Recipes - The
Congo Cookbook (African recipes) www.congocookbook.com
-</A>
warm wishes,
Karen
Karen Chace
Professional Storyteller
------------------------------
From: Susan Fisher <sfisher@lib.williamson-tn.org>
To: PUBYAC <PUBYAC@prairienet.org>
Subject: Compilation of Hawaiian books
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:26:41 CST
Thanks to everyone who responded with suggestions of storytime books
with an Hawaiian theme. Here is a compilation of the suggestions:
The Three Little Hawaiian Pigs and the Magic Shark by Donivee
Martin
Laird
Keiki's First Books series by Bess Press
Luka's Quilt by Georgia Guback
Shark God by Rafe Martin
Dumpling Soup by Jama Kim Rattigan
Marina's Muumuu by Evangelina Vigil-Pinon
Dear Katie, the Volcano is a Girl by Jean Craighead George
Aloha, Dolores by Barbara Samuels
A Lei for Tutu by Rebecca Nevers Fellows
Aloha, Salty by Gloria Rand
Moke and Poki in the Rain Forest
Punia and the King of the Sharks by Lee Wardlaw
"Island-below-the-star" by James Rumford
A is for Aloha by Stephanie Feeney
Hawaii is a Rainbow by Stephanie Feeney
Woman in the Moon by Rattigan
The Volcano Goddess Will See You Now by Dan Greenberg
Disney's Lilo and Stitch: a Readaloud Storybook by Cathy
Hapka
Go, Stitch, Go! by Monica Kulling
In the Night, Still Dark by Richard Lewis
Kidding Around the Hawaiian Islands by Sarah Lovett
Kalia and the King's Horse by Gretel Blickhahn McLane
Go Hog Wild! Jokes From Down on the Farm by Peter Roop
Hawaiian Islands by Alexandra Siy
Rage of Fire by Gloria Skurzynski
The Broccoli Tapes by Jan Slepian
The Unicorns go Hawaii by Jamie Suzanne
Hawaiian Legends of Tricksters and Riddlers by Vivian Laubach
Thompson
"Laka and the Menehune" from Little Folk by Paul
Robert Walker
--
Susan Fisher
Bethesda Public Library
4905 Bethesda Road
Thompson Station, TN 37179
615.790.1887
fax: 615.790.8426
sfisher@lib.williamson-tn.org
------------------------------
From: "Kozloff, Rae" <raek@cityofanacortes.org>
To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'"
<pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Children's software contract for Gates grant computers
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:26:49 CST
Last week there was a message on pubyac that a library's contract for
children's software on their Gates grant computers was going to end soon.
I
was concerned about this, since we also have Gates computers with Magic
School Bus software. Our director called the Gates people and here is his
response to me about what he found out:
"I called Holly at Logistical Support 1-888-289-8989. The Children's
Software agreement will not expire. I would like you to post this on PUBYAC
and suggest that if people have questions about the software licensing they
call the toll free logistical support number for their state. There may be
some issues relating to the upgrade cycles. We should be getting upgrades in
August, but other states are starting them now. But, nobody should having
children's software agreements expire!"
Rae Kozloff
Anacortes Public Library, WA
------------------------------
From: "Kim Flores" <kimf@mail.sgcl.org>
To: <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Stumper solved
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:26:56 CST
Hi everyone. Many thanks to Shannen McMahon, Donell Mitchell,
Corinne Fisher, Mary Kay Feltes, Elizabeth Burns, Jennifer Parker,
Diana Norton and L.S. Smith for solving my stumper about the
little girl who sucks her thumb and immerses herself in a
dollhouse. They all said the book is The Bears' House by Marilyn
Sachs and that it is a "must read"! I'll have to interlibrary
loan because our library doesn't have it but I can't wait to read
it. Thanks to all of you for responding.
Kim Flores
kimf@mail.sgcl.org
------------------------------
From: CKehoe@bettendorf.lib.ia.us
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Compliation of Toddler Storytime practices
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:27:05 CST
I was going to compile these responses and sort them by answers. However, I
think that it might prove more useful if the answers are together so you can
get a feel for each library's complete offering.
First and more most I would like to thank: Sue Ridnour, Nicole Conradt,
Karen Lucas, Margaret Borchers, Celeste Fong, Christy Williford, Clara
Sheffer, Linda Meuse, Jennie Stoltz, Carol Chatfield, Kathleen Ahern, Sandi
Blakney, Sheri Daun-Bedford, Lin Look, Jennifer Andersen, Peggy Hagen,
Serena Butch, Beverly Kirkendall, Nancy Denman, Annemarie Meyer, Stacey
Irish, Adrienne Furness, Brenda Fay, and P. Stack.
I was so, so pleasantly shocked at the generosity you showed me by taking
such time to answer. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Your answers helped us
get the ball rolling for change.
And here are the responses:
* How often do you offer storyimes for this group?
Four times a week (same number as preschool storytime, and in fact
we are thinking of cutting storytime sessions and adding toddler times,
since the attendance at the latter is declining, while the former keeps
growing.)
* Do you require sign-up? If so, how many do you take?
No.
* If you do not require sign-up, how many normally attend?
Average 30 kids plus parents/caregivers, but it has gone as high as
50. The key to not losing your voice (or mind!) is using a microphone-we
fortunately have a nice sound system in the program room.
* How many children normally attend your preschool storytime?
Average 20, plus parents/caregivers, but recently it has gone as low
as 5.
* How long is your toddler-storytime?
Toddler time = 20-25 minutes. Preschool storytime = 30-35 minutes.
* What do you normally incorporate? Do you do a craft/activity?
Two books and 6-8 other activities; usually 2-3 songs, 1-2 flannel
stories, and 1-2 finger plays or action/wiggle break activities, all tied
(more or less) to the theme. Also usually a counting or shape or
color-naming song/activity, and usually learning a sign-language word or
phrase.
* Do you find that you are more of an entertainer for the kids as the
parents do not participate, or are you more of a facilitator of the session?
A little of both. We do everything that it's possible to do in a drop-in
situation like this to encourage parents to participate and model for their
child, but the two of us who present toddler time have more of a
"performing" than an "educating" background, so I think we
tend to lean more
that way.
* If you are more of a facilitator, how do you get you parents more
active in the session?
To get parents involved, we set out a sheet at the beginning which
has the books to be read, the words to the songs/activities, and a list of
"suggestions" to help their child get more out of toddler time.
If we
notice the parents are not picking these up, we hand them to each person,
and say something about how children learn through repetition, and doing the
activities again at home will reinforce what we do today, etc. etc. We
also
employ all the usual tricks of glaring at people who visit with each other
or talk on cell phones, and if necessary direct gentle but firm comments to
the "offenders" as needed.
It's not the ideal set-up, but it seems to work for us, and it
avoids all the hassle of registering, only to have people disappointed
because they didn't get in, when in fact they could have because someone who
did get in doesn't show. Also, we have a very mobile community, with
people
moving in and out all the time, and it's nice for newcomers to be able to
join right away, without having to wait for a new session.
Hope this helps!
Sue
Sue Ridnour
How often do you offer storyimes for this group?
ONCE A WEEK FOR 17 WEEKS WITH 2 WEEKS OFF IN THERE.
* Do you require sign-up? If so, how many do you take?
YES- THERE IS NO LIMIT AND I CURRENTLY HAVE OVER 50 REGISTERED.
THERE ARE BETWEEN 20-30 KIDS EACH WEEK. THIS SOUNDS SCARY BUT IT WORKS!!
THEY ARE BETTER THEN THE PRESCHOOLERS. GO FIGURE! MOST OF THEM ARE
INTIMIDATED AND JUST WATCH. I TELL PARENTS THAT PERHAPS THEY DON'T FEEL
LIKE LISTENING ON THAT PARICULAR DAY AND TO COME BACK NEXT WEEK.
* If you do not require sign-up, how many normally attend?
I WOULD REQUIRE SIGN UP TO VERIFY AGE
* How many children normally attend your preschool storytime?
BETWEEN 10-30, TWICE A WEEK
* How long is your toddler-storytime? 30 MINUTES
* What do you normally incorporate? Do you do a craft/activity? NO
CRAFT BUT I DO A SEASONAL SONG, BOOK, CHICKA CHICK BOOM BOOM (WHEN I SAY THE
WORDS- THEY GET TO SHAKE A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT), SING OUR ABC'S, BOOK, SONG,
BOOK, BUBBLES, PUPPETS SING A GOOD BYE SONG. THIS AGENDA IS THE SAME EVERY
WEEK WITH THE BOOKS AND SONGS RELATING TO A THEME- LOOSELY!
* Do you find that you are more of an entertainer for the kids as the
parents do not participate, or are you more of a facilitator of the session?
THE PARENT INVOLVEMENT IS KEY!!! I ALWAYS GIVE THEM AN OUTLINE OF THE
STORYHOUR- INCLUDE THE WORDS AND TITLES- ASK QUESITONS ABOUT COLORS AND
ANIMALS AND SOUNDS- THE PARENTS WILL PICK UP YOUR CUE-HOPEFULLY!
* If you are more of a facilitator, how do you get you parents more
active in the session?
* How often do you offer storyimes for this group? I offer one per
week at two different branches. They run 6 weeks in the fall, 6 weeks in
the spring and 4 weeks in the summer.
* Do you require sign-up? If so, how many do you take? Absolutely,
and, as usually about half the registered folks actually come each time,
registration is set at 30 toddlers and 30 adults.
* If you do not require sign-up, how many normally attend?
* How many children normally attend your preschool storytime? At one
branch I have between 40 and 70 children and parents attending. At the
other branch I have between 35 and 55 children and parents attending.
* How long is your toddler-storytime? I stick to 20 minutes.
* What do you normally incorporate? Do you do a craft/activity?
Occasionally (maybe once per season) I have a very simple craft.
* Do you find that you are more of an entertainer for the kids as the
parents do not participate, or are you more of a facilitator of the session?
Parents participate in the songs and in the fingerplays, and they make
animal noises, etc. while we are reading.
* If you are more of a facilitator, how do you get you parents more
active in the session? I have at least 3 repeated elements in my
toddler
times. I always open each toddler time with an activity called
"Monkey See,
Monkey Do." I have a really big stuffed gorilla who sits on my lap
and
wants to play his favorite game... "If you clap your hands, Gorilla claps
his hands. Monkey see, monkey do. Monkey likes to follow YOU!"
and then
substitute more actions. I always play a song in the middle of toddler
time
called "Say, Say Oh, Baby!" and we all do all the actions. I
repeat any
fingerplays at least twice, telling children and parents that then they can
remember it when they want to do it at home. Finally, I always close with
"Wave Goodbye," by Rob Reid (which I do without the book), and invite
kids
to come up for a hand stamp. I typically use 2 books, and stick with books
that have big, bright, bold illustrations. When I can I use big books.
When I can I use books that encourage active participation. The parents
here love to see their children progress from feeling too shy to participate
in the movement and stories, to gaining the self-confidence they need to
actively participate in all of the movement and story opportunities. Good
luck with yours. You sound like you're on the right track. -Karen
* How often do you offer storyimes for this group?
* Do you require sign-up? If so, how many do you take?
* If you do not require sign-up, how many normally attend?
* How many children normally attend your preschool storytime?
* How long is your toddler-storytime?
* What do you normally incorporate? Do you do a craft/activity?
* Do you find that you are more of an entertainer for the kids as the
parents do not participate, or are you more of a facilitator of the session?
* If you are more of a facilitator, how do you get you parents more
active in the session?
We are a bedroom community of 20,000 in CT.
Our library contains 70,000 volumes.
Storytimes for two's-twice a week.
Storytime for babies(12-24 months) once a week Sign-up, yes I take
12, our room is very small. Out of twelve signed-up, about 9 come each
week.
Storytime is 30 minutes, that includes 10-15 minutes of play/social
time.
Toys and free play are first, 3-4 simple books, songs and rhymes.
No craft. Definitely a facilitator. Parents are expected to sing.
They
sit on the floor with their children.
I have no problem with my parents. I tell them right up front that
they are expected to participate.
Hi, Crystal,
Below are my replies. They follow each of your questions.
* How often do you offer storyimes for this group?
We do several sessions throughout the year. Each session is approx.
6 wks, and the storytimes are once a week.
* Do you require sign-up? If so, how many do you take?
Pre-registration is necessary, and we take 15 sign-ups for each
session. There is always a waiting list, and those on the list who do not
get on the first session have first priority for the following session.
* How many children normally attend your preschool storytime?
We have Thurs. and Friday storytimes, and parents have a choice of
signing up for one of the days.
* How long is your toddler-storytime?
Our toddlertime is 25-30 min.
* What do you normally incorporate? Do you do a craft/activity?
We have 3 short stories, lots of fingerplays and movement
activities, and if there is no preschool storytime that immediately follows,
we have simple crafts.
* Do you find that you are more of an entertainer for the kids as the
parents do not participate, or are you more of a facilitator of the session?
Parents are required to participate, and I've never felt like an
entertainer. I feel that I am modeling how to read to toddlers.
* If you are more of a facilitator, how do you get you parents more
active in the session?
Parents are told at the first session that they must participate. I
hand out to any new parents a sheet of the songs and rhyme that we use and I
tell them that they need to practice them at home. I have never had a
parent, even if he is the lone dad there, not participate. Most of the
parents and caregivers who attend toddlertime have an interest in the
"socialization" of their children and are eager to have them learn the
songs
and rhymes.
Hope this helps,
Celeste Fong
I have been doing Toddler Storytime for 10 years now. (I had to look
it up. I thought it had been about 5 or 6 years but I found out my first
Toddler Storytime was in March 1993--10 years exactly!) When I started I
meant it to be 6 weeks long, with sign-ups, and then I thought I'd repeat it
every once in a while with new parents and children. Every week I prepared
written material for the parents with fingerplays, songs, suggested books
for that age group, etc.
Well, after each storytime I had to pick the discarded written
material up off the floor. The parents loved the social time with other
parents (and that their children had with the other kids) and basically
demanded that I continue the storytimes ad infinitum, which I have. Sign
ups never work here anyway but I hadn't resigned myself to that fact yet
back then. (I think that was the last time I tried it.)
Sometimes I get a crowd that is too huge, and that always makes me
feel terrible because I'm afraid that's a bad experience for everybody, but
usually I get between 12 and 20 kids. I read two or three short stories,
have three or four songs or fingerplays, and then either a flannel board
story or some puppets singing at the end. The flannel story is extremely
short and I usually just make something up (The sun is shining so Teddy Bear
decides to go to the park but oh no here comes the rain so Teddy Bear gets
out his umbrella the end.) After that the kids can come up and play with the
flannel board or puppets, and the ones who don't want to do that go off and
do puzzles and draw pictures or play on the computers or some even look at
books. We don't have a separate room for storytime, just a rug at one end
of the Children's Room. (Another reason sign ups are useless-you can't tell
people not to come over to that side of the room if they haven't signed up!)
To answer your questions:
Toddler Storytime is once a week.
No sign ups.
12 to 20 normally attend.
20 to 40 children normally attend Preschool Storytime, which is also
once a week. 5 to 25 attend the once-a-week "Family Storytime",
and 10 to
15 children attend the Spanish Storytime, which is also once a week for
preschoolers but conducted entirely in Spanish. Toddler Storytime is 15
minutes long. If you add in the playing with the flannel board or puppets
time, which I stay for, it's 30 minutes long. Parents and children usually
hang out socializing in the Children's Room for another half an hour after
that.
The entertainer/facilitator question is hard. I don't feel like I'm
either one. But it brings up a concern that I had when I first started
doing a storytime for this age group. I thought "why am I trying to
train a
bunch of little tiny kids to sit in a group and stare at one spot?"
It
seemed like a strange thing to do. But nowadays it just seems like a nice
time for families to come to the library and feel comfortable about their
2-yr.-olds tearing around and being noisy because everybody else's children
are behaving the same way. Even without printed material, the children and
parents sing the songs and do the fingerplays at home (they tell me), and
ask me and other parents about books to take home. Children from the
original Toddler Storytimes years ago are still regular library patrons. I
think it's a very positive thing for the families and the library.
Christy Williford
Butte Co. Library
Chico, CA
Hi,
I do 2 toddler storytimes a week, for 20 mos-3 years. They are one
half hour plus one optional half hour of free play and socialization with
toys and books. I will register up to 25 kids, but usually no more than 18
come on any one day. I have a handout encouraging parent participation,
and
some activities require parents to help. I have set song and fingerplays
we
do every time, read 2 to 3 books, and do 2 or 3 songs or fingerplays related
to the week's theme. Frequently I have a flannelboard activity. I
use a
monkey puppet Milly whom the kids love. Most kids and parents really enjoy
it, though occasionally there will be a child who is not ready to be in a
group and will create a major disruption, at which point I tell the parent
the child needs some time away from the group and can return when ready.
Hope this helps, Clara Sheffer, Niles Public Library
I have had a Toddler Time program for two-year-olds for over 12
years now. It started out as only being offered once a month from Sept. to
June but I have been offering it twice a month from Sept. to June for a few
years now. It is one of my most popular programs. In addition I now
include it with my summer programs so it is offered once a week for four
weeks in the summer.
I require a sign up but I also accept walk-ins. I stopped limiting
attendance because I would get too many no-shows. Sometimes it is very
crowded but usually not. I usually have 30 to 35 (including older
siblings,
parent or caregiver). Attendance varies greatly due to weather, illness
etc. I make enough crafts for 20 children with material available in case
I
have to make more. My attendance jumped recently with the improvement in
the weather so now I will be making enough for 30 children.
When preschool storytime is in session, I average about 50 children
a week. I run three 6 week sessions during the school year and one 4 week
session in the summer. I probably get more in the summer session.
I have
serious space problems so even though my community has a population around
70,000, I don't heavily publicize my programs. In addition we have
an
agreement with the county library so many patrons use the county library
which has more staff to do programs - I am by myself here.
The storytime itself is only 15 - 20 minutes depending upon how
restless the children are. It is followed by a simple craft and then juice
and cookies. The parents know that they can socialize at this time so they
are usually cooperative during the storytime. Occasionally I have one that
let's her child wander or be disruptive so I'll will stop the program to ask
for her assistance with the child. The children themselves can be very
unpredictable at that age so I am very flexible and will end the storytime
early if I need to, though there are also times when I could have done a
longer program. I also allow for some movement and talking because of their
short attention spans. I find using the "Monkey Mitt" (finger
puppets) will
get their attention again. Music also helps - I don't sing but play a
tape.
The format is : opening song (If You're Happy..), book, flannel
board, book, fingerplay, book, paper folding/cutting story or another
storytelling technique, or a song. I may vary it but I almost always have
a
fingerplay and flannel board story/activity. The storytime is
followed by
a simple craft - the children love the glue sticks and the big box o'
crayons (large Baker & Taylor box full of loose crayons). Then I serve
apple juice and animal crackers.
Often the parents participate more than the children. I tell the
parents not to force the child but that he/she is learning. Older siblings
sometimes come and set an example. I try to pick material that will appeal
to the parents as well the children to get them involved. The parents seem
to enjoy the various storytelling techniques that I use. I do not worry if
things do not go as planned. I keep it short and simple.
I hope this helps.
Linda Meuse
Children's Librarian
Cherry Hill (NJ) Public Library
Hi Crystal -
We do three different series of Storytimes at my library. I just
started with a 1 year-old storytime, we do 2 & 3 year-olds and 4 & 5
year-olds. We run the 1 year-old and the 2 & 3 year-old simultaneously
for
six weeks. We have the 2 & 3 year old storytimes at 10:00 and 11:00 on
Tuesdays and Wednesdays and we do the 1 year-old at 10:00 on Thursdays. We
do require sign-up and limit each session to 10 children with 1
parent/caregiver each, although we do allow older and younger siblings to
attend. We have a short registration form that asks if any other siblings
will be attending so that we know what to expect.
The 1 year-old storytimes last 20 minutes and the 2 & 3 year-old
storytimes last 30 minutes. These storytimes start in January and
September
and as I mentioned, run for six weeks. After that we have one week of
registration for the 4 & 5 year old storytimes and then those begin running
for six weeks as well. Those sessions last 45 minutes each and are limited
to 15 children per session. They usually wind up towards the end of April
and the end of November. We have no storytime sessions in May or December
to allow for Summer Reading prep. and off for the holidays.
For the 4 & 5 year-olds we do include a craft. This takes up the
last 15 minutes of the 45 minute session. At that time we ask the
parent/caregivers to come back into the storytime room to help. This has
really helped keep the parents/caregivers in the building. When I first
started some of them were dropping the kids off and then leaving for
sometimes as long as an hour. I had one child freak out half way through
the storytime and need his/her mommy and that was it for me. I started
requiring that the parents stay in the building and most of them do, but
still, some of them run their errands. Oh well.
In the summer we also offer storytimes, but we do it quite
differently. We have two sessions for the 2 & 3 year-olds on Tuesdays
and
two sessions for 4 to 7 year-olds on Wednesday. These sessions are much
bigger. We limit to 25 kids for the 2 & 3 year-olds and 50 kids for
the 4
to 7 year-olds. But, we do it in our big community room and I have a lot
more help for these.
I definitely know what you mean about feeling like the storytimes
are "break-time" for the mom's. I usually say that some of these
mom's
think they are in McDonald's Play area, not a storytime. Last session I
had
one mom talk to her neighbor as if I wasn't even there. I had to take her
aside and explain to her that if she didn't pay attention to me, how was I
going to get the children to do so. It was embarrassing for both of us,
and
completely UNBELIEVABLE!!! I don't know what to do about this problem.
I
don't see how you can change some of these people who really are only
seeking a "breather" from their parental responsiblities.
I hand out a letter when the parent/caregiver registers which
discusses appropriate behavior for storytime, but since most of the
moms/caregivers don't bother reading it, I've started talking to the
moms/caregivers at the beginning of my 1, 2 & 3 year-old storytimes and
explain to them how important it is for them to participate too, in order to
make the storyimte most fulfilling and successful.
As far as for adding more sessions, I've added more sessions. Lots
and lots of sessions. At one time we had 6 sessions a week of the 2 &
3
year-old storytimes and still people complained. It seems to me that
you'll
never have enough storytimes because unless you can do them 24 hours a day 7
days a week, you'll always have a bunch of people who can't fit your
schedule into theirs. And I think this is only going to grow into a bigger
and bigger problem because parents are having their kids do so much more
now-a-days, and they are starting their kids out younger and younger.
We do ours pretty much every week from September until mid-May,
when the weather gets decent and we ose everybody. We skip school vacation
weeks, holidays, and other times when school is out and we need our staff on
the desk (we're a small library and don't have the luxury of lots of staff
to cover both).
We do a sign up to find out how many to expect, as we hate to
prepare too many (or too few) craft materials for the size of the group.
It's informal, so it doesn't always work, and word of mouth often brings new
folks who aren't signed up. We take everyone who shows up, so it can work
really well or really poorly depending on group dynamics. We've had as few
as 2 kids with parents and as many as 20 with parents and siblings. Our
space works best for about 10. We did add a second day hoping to
divide
the group up, but a parenting group drops in from time to time and that
makes for an oversize crowd. I'm less into perfect performance than I am
into welcoming all who feel they want to share books with kids. We aim for
20-25 minutes, but shorten it as needed if we're all having a bad day!
I do about four VERY SHORT books, with songs or fingerplays in
between each one. Kids who have had enough drift back to the toys in the
children's room. We always end with a "project" that usually
involves glue
sticks and markers - very simple craft.
I expect parents to participate and encourage them to do so by
telling them how they can help me out - please sing along if you remember
this song from your childhood, or other hints. When I do a finger play, I
always walk through it once and have them repeat it with me the second time.
When we repeat from week to week, I say that I couldn't hear them very well
the first time, so this time through give it to me in nice loud voices.
All
it takes is one or two to get everyone going.
I definitely do not want to be the entertainer - I feel I am
modeling behavior and I want them to think about ways to do it at home. I
always ask for new verses to songs or fingerplays and take whatever
suggestions the kids offer. I try to use tunes folks will know so they
will
be able to think of new verses at home.
Good luck! Keep it simple and it can be fun no matter how big the
crowd.
Carol Chatfield
Ilsley Public Library
75 Main St.
Middlebury, VT 05753
Hi Crystal!
* How often do you offer storyimes for this group?
I hold one weekly toddler storytime - it goes all year round. I
have found for our patrons, consistency is the issue and as long as they
know it's all year round, they seem to eliminate scheduling issues - if they
can't make it this week/month, they know it will still be going on next
week/month. And for those kids and parents that "never miss a
week", they
get a whole year of library experiences and fun!.
* Do you require sign-up? If so, how many do you take?
We do not require sign up. I do ask for any in home daycare
facility, etc to notify me in advance if they will be bringing more than 5
children.
* If you do not require sign-up, how many normally attend?
It varies week to week. I probably average 30 toddlers (plus their
parents and caregivers). The highest I've had is about 50 toddlers (plus
their parents/caregivers).
* How many children normally attend your preschool storytime?
I do 2 weekly preschool storytimes - and they too, go on all year
round. In the evening group, it ranges from 10-30 kids and the daytime
group averages between 15 and 50 kid (plus their parents and caregivers)
* How long is your toddler-storytime?
It is 30 minutes once a week.
* What do you normally incorporate? Do you do a craft/activity?
We do NOT do any kind of a craft (our toddler ages is 2-3's). We
start off with an opening song and movement activity, followed by a finger
rhyme, followed by a book, followed by a song/movement, followed by a book,
followed by a song/flannel board activity, followed by a "parade" ...
related to our book/theme of the session. I give each of the kids
"something" to hold onto/carry - a puppet, a toilet paper tube, a
paper
plate, etc (that somehow we tie into our stories) and then we take a
"walk/parade" around the children's area as we sing a song.
Then, we have
another book, if time, and sing a final song with movement and stamp their
hand!
* Do you find that you are more of an entertainer for the kids as the
parents do not participate, or are you more of a facilitator of the session?
Some parents participate and others don't. Entertainer - yes - I'm
sharing my enthusiasm for books and entertaining them in the process. For
me, the bottom line is, did the kids enjoy the books and did it contribute
to a positive library expereince for them (even if their parents chose to
not be involved - although the parents must be in the "area" -there
are no
"drop offs" for toddler storytime!)
* If you are more of a facilitator, how do you get you parents more
active in the session?
I don't hestitate to say to parents "if we grownups do this
(whatever it is - finger rhyme,etc.), the kids will do it too - if the kids
are hesitant to participate/shy, etc. This usually brings some parents
around and of course, once they start participating, so do their kids!
Hope this helps! I must say, that my Toddler group is a very, very
fun group for me. I look forward to it every week! I have to remind
myself
how much the kids love the "routine" of things each week - always the
same
opening song and finger play and always the same ending song/movement
activity and of course, for us, always a "parade" that lasts a total
of 5
minutes - but they LOVE it! I have had many parents share how their kids
play "pretend storytime" at home and it always includes some kind of a
"parade"! :-)
Kathleen Ahern, Children's Librarian
Buckham Memorial Library
11 East Division Street
Faribault, MN 55021
Hi Crystal,
I have been offering toddler storytimes since 1998, and
>
> * How often do you offer storyimes for this group?
Currently, every other month, September - June. I used to offer 4
6-week sessions, but we only have one meeting room...
> * Do you require sign-up? If so, how many do you take?
Yes, and we limit it to 20 toddlers. (One time we "forgot" to
close
the session and I had 48 toddlers + their caregivers!!! What a
nightmare!!!
I ended up offering two sessions that year-one at 10 and one at 11.
> * If you do not require sign-up, how many normally
attend?
N/A
> * How many children normally attend your preschool
storytime?
We offer two sessions-one at 10 AM and one at 1 PM-the morning
session is much smaller than the afternoon. We limit registration to 20
children, and on paper, at least, both sessions are full.
> * How long is your toddler-storytime?
It depends on the craft, but at least 20 minutes (and no more than
45).
> * What do you normally incorporate? Do you do a
craft/activity?
Same as you, but we ALWAYS end with a craft.
> * Do you find that you are more of an entertainer for the
kids as the
> parents do not participate, or are you more of a
facilitator of the session?
> * If you are more of a facilitator, how do you get you
parents more
> active in the session?
I am more of an entertainer ... we used to have parents attend both
the toddler and the preschool sessions, but I found that the preschoolers
did not "need" the adult's presence (and there were often power
struggles
over the craft!). I have since banned the parents from the preschool
sessions, but allow them to come in with the toddlers because the 2 year
olds have a harder time leaving mom (or whomever). I only ask that the
parents behave themselves! and not sit in the back and chatter.
>
> As always thank you so much for taking time to offer your
advice. This truly
> is a generous group!
Hope this helps!!!
>
> Thanks in advance, and I will be posting a compilation on
pubyac.
I look forward to reading what others have shared. Have a great
day,
Sandi
ps Yes-I still do storytimes! They help keep me sane (now that's
pretty scary!)
Crystal,
We offer our Toddler Times in conjunction with our Storytimes, in
other words for the same sessions. We do 6 weeks in fall (mid September
through October), winter (mid January through February), and spring (mid
March through April). Toddler Time is for 2-year-olds and parent or
caregiver. They must be two by the end of our first week of each session.
We also take young threes who aren't ready to move on to storytime without a
parent. Registration is required and we limit to 15 parent/child groups.
I
do 4 sessions of Toddler Time a week, two on Tuesday evening 6:30 and 7:00,
Wednesday morning at 10:30, and Thursday morning at 9:30. I do a 20 minute
program with a couple of stories, an opening song, a goodbye song, a
fingerplay and I usually ask them to bring something to show that goes with
the theme. They put their nametag on Mother Goose's nose and she gives
nibbles when she has them all. Sometimes I am the facilitator, sometimes
the entertainer, and sometimes I'm just someone flapping my mouth to one or
two from the group who are actually listening. I feel this has to do with
the makeup of the group. Each one is different and sometimes you have good
listeners, and sometimes their wild and everybody follows suit. Sometimes
the parents are worse than the kids, talking and not paying attention. I
do
try to stress on the first day that I expect parents to be disciplinarians
and remove their kids if they are overexcited or unhappy, and some do. I
invite them to come back in when the child calms down. I also encourage
parents to be active participants and join in the fingerplays and songs or
at least help their child to do them. I encourage everyone to be silly
together. I have not done crafts or activities other than sharing what
they
brought to go with the theme. Our philosophy here is to focus on the
literature rather than providing crafts for them to do. Because most of
these kids attend Toddler Time for a year and then move on to Storytime, I
have made it easy on myself and I basically do the same themes for each
session, so for fall I always do the same themes, and the same goes for
winter and spring, however, I may vary the books I use from year to year and
then again I may not. This may help with your planning time. I would
venture to say crafts for that age must be a nightmare to plan and
implement. Maybe you could drop that from your program, and offer to then
do more Toddler Times instead, since planning wouldn't be as intense.
We offer Storytime for 3-5 year olds who aren't in Kindergarten.
These are half-hour programs much like the Toddler Times, except they do
longer stories with the kids, each week follows a theme and they do not have
the show-and-tell portion. But they do fingerplays and songs with them.
We
currently offer six sessions per week with a limit of 20, and they must
register. We have had as many as 5 Toddler Times a week, and as few as 3.
Storytimes have been as many as eight per week. The other librarians who
do
Storytime get together and plan their themes, and I plan my own for Toddler
Time, so most of the time we aren't doing the same thing, except holidays
(Halloween, Valentine's Day, and Easter).
Sheri
Sheri Daun-Bedford
Head of Children's Department
Woodridge Public Library
3 Plaza Drive
Woodridge, IL 60517
* How often do you offer storyimes for this group?
We do 6 to 8-week sessions with 4 to 5-week breaks year round (kind
of work
it around school year schedule and summer reading) We do it 2x a day
on
Tuesday. We did an experimental addition of 1x on Wed., but
scheduling
conflicts are too much, and we may only do this in winter. When we
have
regular storytimes, we get a regular crowd. If it's occasional,
different
* Do you require sign-up? If so, how many do you take?
No
* If you do not require sign-up, how many normally attend?
It depends. Our attendance increases during winter, drops in
summer. (We're fairly close to a playground, so if it's nice, parents
often
go over there) It's been anywhere from 7 to 30 kids (not counting
caregivers)in a session.
* How many children normally attend your preschool storytime?
Most of the kids around here go to preschool when they turn 3
(that's why
we switched over to Toddler/Lapsit) We do a Saturday family
storytime that
garners about 15 kids
* How long is your toddler-storytime?
20 minutes or so.
* What do you normally incorporate? Do you do a craft/activity?
LOTS of songs (I lipsync to CDs). A few books. Flannelboards and
lots of 'bounces' (which require less motor skills than fingerplays) No
craft, mainly because I'm not a crafty person; and it also seems the motor
skills of the kids is rather limited. We do stamp their hands at the end,
which is probably the high point of the storytime (from their point of view)
* Do you find that you are more of an entertainer for the kids as the
parents do not participate, or are you more of a facilitator of the session?
Our parents are pretty good; they usually will participate (if the
kid is willing)
* If you are more of a facilitator, how do you get you parents more
active in the session? If I have to, I give directions: okay, put
your
hands up, up, up! It helps if you can get eye contact with the parent.
I agree with you that 100 at Toddler Storytime sounds positively
scary (although I've had really big crowds for Halloween lapsit; it's fun,
but it doesn't feel like a storytime)
If you don't have waiting lists for your Toddler Times, you may be
able to get away with drop-in storytimes.
HTH,
Lin Look
Orinda Branch
Contra Costa County
Crystal,
Here are my answers to your very good questions. I've added some
further explanation at the bottom.
>* How often do you offer storyimes for this group?
We offer our program, Toddler Tales (for 2 & 3 yr olds w/caregiver,
although we often have kids ranging from birth to 3 as siblings attend) six
months out of the year. Three months in the Fall and three months in the
Spring. We only program three weeks out of each month and offer storytime
six times each week (three times on Monday and three times on Tuesday).
Our
preschool program takes place at the same exact time in the room next door.
>* Do you require sign-up? If so, how many do you take?
No registration is required.
>* If you do not require sign-up, how many normally attend?
This varies depending on the weather. My 10:30 group on both days
is always the largest with numbers ranging from 40-80 (this includes parents
and infant siblings). At 9:30 the numbers range from 20-50. At 1:30
my
numbers range from 10-35. Thus in any given week I have a total number of
participants ranging from 70-165.
>* How many children normally attend your preschool
storytime?
These run about 10-20 per session, averaging around 15.
>* How long is your toddler-storytime?
20-25 minutes. Preschool storytime is around 30 minutes.
>* What do you normally incorporate? Do you do a
craft/activity?
I try as much as possible to have visual stories (flannel boards,
prop stories, etc.). Reading aloud from a picture book tends to lose them,
especially in my larger storytimes. My format is opening rhyme, longest
prop/flannel story, song, shorter story (could be flannel or prop), song,
story, song, story, song/movie. As much movement as possible! They
love
the songs the most! We do not do a craft, although I do sometimes include
craft ideas on the rhyme sheet I hand out to the kids (these list the
stories and songs we did that session). Too much prep involved.
>* Do you find that you are more of an entertainer for the
kids as the
>parents do not participate, or are you more of a
facilitator of the session?
It depends on the session. At my 10:30 I have more parents coming
together who know one another and spend the session talking to each other.
Last week I made an annoucement stating, "Here is an idea for helping your
child get the most out of storytime. Please feel free to discuss what you
and your child are seeing. Point out colors, shapes. Discuss animal
sounds, etc. This will help keep them engaged. However, please keed
conversation unrelated to storytime for outside of storytime." Thus
far it
has worked.
I do have parents who feel this is an easy form of entertainment of
their children. However, most do participate, especially if I'm
enthusiastic! The more enthusiastic I am, the more the participants are!
Sometimes it takes them a while to get used to doing so. I do also
sometimes ask the parents to sing along on the songs, as my voice is not the
most musical. I found this helped considerably.
>* If you are more of a facilitator, how do you get you
parents more
>active in the session?
See above!
We have a large, one building library and so are able to offer as
many storytimes as we do. I definitely like not having registration as it
gives the parents more flexibility as to the days they attend. I like the
groups of 30-45 the best. I've found that with fewer kids than that, I get
less participation. With more it becomes chaos and I find myself yelling
to
be heard over all the talking. You might try adding more spaces to your
registration if you decide to keep it. It may help as there are then more
examples for the kids and caregivers to draw from.
Please feel free to email me with any further questions! I love
programming for this age group! They are very fun and energetic.
Good luck!
Jennifer
We have a variety of programs for little ones at our library.
Preschool storytimes for 3s and 4s require registration, and groups are
limited in size.
Babies Love Books is for ages birth to 18 months, and require
registration with limited size.
I do the Toddler Lapsit program for ages 18 months to 3 years - no
registration, no limit to numbers. I registered folks when I first
started,
but had incredibly long waiting lists, and I became as frustrated as the
parents. So, I took a deep breath and opened up the program. There
are
times when it is barely controlled chaos, but we have LOTS of fun!
The program is only 20 minutes in length - stories, fingerplays,
stretches, etc. NO crafts or structured one-on-one activities.
Because of
the large groups (I average 50-70 a group)I can't use books, so I have
made
lots of flannelboards, and use puppets, and am quickly developing
storytelling skills. I now do three programs a week (one right after
the
other on Monday mornings) - was doing two, but added a third when the groups
went over 100 in attendance. That was a little too chaotic even for me!
Allowing all my families to come every week means that I can do a ten-week
series in the fall, another ten-week series in winter/spring, and I usually
throw in four weeks in July as well. Lots of fun, and no one is left out.
It has worked well for us - everyone seems to love it, and the kids
are adorable. Don't be afraid to try it - just be willing to extend the
morning in order to mimit group size without registration.
Peggy Hagen
Fairport Public Library
1 Village Landing
Fairport NY 14450
Hi Crystal. I don't have all your questions in front of me, but I
will try and answer some. I am in a city (main) library and we do quite a
few toddler times. We have 9 branches and many of them do sessions also.
We
consider toddlers 2 years old, so they have to be at least 24 months and not
over 36 months. We have a Baby Lap Time for under 2's and Pre-School Story
hour for 3-5 year olds. We do 3 a week for 25 kids or so (plus more at
branches). Toddler time is offered in 6 or 7 week sessions all year long. We
often take a break between sessions, but two of us do them and we alternate
Tuesdays and Wednesdays. They do require registration and we take up to 14
for the size of our room. Parents are required to sit with their child on a
pillow in a big circle. We ask that parents do not sign up for two
consecutive sessions, unless a session is not full, but that is rare. This
way we are able to get new people in. We used to say people could
only do
2 sessions in that year their child is two, but we dropped that because we
have so many sessions throughout our system and people do hop from one to
another. (They would come every day if they could!). On the first day we
tell parents that they are the models for their child and are encouraged to
sing the songs, do the fingerplays, stand up and do all the active things as
well. We say that it is not unusual for the child to not participate at
first, but the parent should anyway - the child usually joins in eventually.
We have a nice brochure that i can send you if you are interested. Even
though you sometimes feel *on* when doing a program for this age, the
parents' participation prevents it from becoming a show. We make it as
interactive as possible. The second week of the session we add a craft -
very simple - only glue sticks and crayons and stickers. It is a full half
hour theme program with 2-3 stories, songs fingerplays, flannelboard, etc.
We always start with a hello song using the kids' names and end with ring
around the rosy all holding hands in a big circle.
The program has worked wonderfully for 15 plus years. We add new
themes when good books come along and keep the format simple and manageable.
You are right - it is a bit labor intensive but we repeat themes and almost
always do the same first program of each session (teddy bears).
Serena Butch - Schenectady Co. Public Library, NY
Crystal,
Hope this helps--
* How often do you offer storyimes for this group?
We have two toddler times a week for kids 12-36 months and their
caregivers. Some do bring infant and/or older siblings (which we allow--what
do we expect them to do with babies and preschoolers--leave them unattended?
Make them get a babysitter? Provide babysitting???? I don't think so!). We
only one until the first of this year. Toddler time had become so popular
that we were hoping an additional session would make two smaller sessions
instead of one big one.
* Do you require sign-up? If so, how many do you take?
No sign up is required. We take as many as want to be here.
* If you do not require sign-up, how many normally attend?
We've had as few as one child and as many as 40! When our sessions
started averaging 25-35 kids every week last year, that's when we decided to
try to "divide and conquer." The last quarter of last year saw a drop
in
attendance (of course, AFTER we decided to institute the new session....),
but the numbers have started to rise again (although not to the levels they
were this time last year)--an average of 8 kids for the new session and
about 15 for the session we've "always" had. The 15 feels about the
right
size, but after it's been building for the past several years....sometimes
it's hard to give up those numbers (especially when upper management sees
more programs but fewer average attendance....)
* How many children normally attend your preschool storytime?
HUGE fluctuations here but not including our daycare sessions (which
have really been on a downward trend for the past five years, even more
dramatically now), we have about 30 per week (plus a few parents) spread
over two sessions.
* How long is your toddler-storytime?
30 minutes; I inherited this and though I think it's too long, I
just haven't changed it. 20-25 would be about right I would think.
* What do you normally incorporate? Do you do a craft/activity?
We start with a song (the same every week). We then alternate
story/song or fingerplay/story/song or fingerplay. A couple of years ago, I
started doing a march around the room to a recorded song. This either gets
some of that energy out (one of the intentions) or gets them worked up
(alas, this is sometimes the case!). We end with a song (the same every
week) while I go around the room blowing bubbles (at least one blow for each
child). As they leave, I give them a little give-away (die cut, color sheet,
whatever) related to the theme we had that day. Yes, I do themes. Sometimes
it's all one thing (like bugs or spring), but I get creative and pull things
in that might not otherwise be done by going through the alphabet every
other year (I suppose I could do it every year, but....)--a day of things
that start with B, for example.
* Do you find that you are more of an entertainer for the kids as
the
parents do not participate, or are you more of a facilitator of the
session?
* If you are more of a facilitator, how do you get you parents more
active in the session?
I'm going to field these together. After trying to facilitate, I
discovered I am a better entertainer (at least on the toddler level). I must
be doing something right because, until last fall, the numbers have really
been on the increase in the five years that I've been here. My current
sessions individually average the numbers I started with--and they seem very
small to me now (five years ago, having 15 toddlers almost terrified me!).
Although I am not as much a stickler for discipline as I should be (I'm
trying to work on that now that the numbers are smaller than in recent
years!), it still gets a bit unruly. A few don't like that, but they seem to
be in the minority. We get compliments on our toddler time almost every
time.
I do try to encourage parents and kids to participate in the songs
and fingerplays, but have limited success. Repeating them at least twice
within the session (usually back-to-back) has helped (unless it's a long,
repetitive song like "Five Little Ducks" which they catch on to
somewhere in
the middle if they aren't already familiar with it). That was another reason
I started the march/dance around the room--most everyone participates to one
degree or another. Even when I was in a wheelchair with a broken ankle last
year, we still did this. I also try to provide a good example (asking
questions about colors or animal sounds for some interaction as I read,
counting things on a page when appropriate) to give parents an idea of how
to make reading interactive with the kids. And I don't shy away from an
occasional comment that adults might like that is totally over the kids head
(hey, it should be interesting for adults, too) such as in the Three Bears
saying that when baby bear's porridge is just right it defies the laws of
physics since the medium bowl was too cold....it works in real life even
though it doesn't sound like it when I write it down!
I just have fun and hope the kids do to. I give them (parent and
child) the opportunity to learn something new each week. I learn each week,
too!
Beverly Kirkendall
Because of large demand for toddler storytime, we have gone to drop
ins. Attendance ranges from 20 - 60 on any given day. We have drop ins for
3 and under with an adult and also for 2 and under with an adult. We don't
do any crafts activity but do give handouts on fingerplays that we use,
music or book lists, etc. Time for these group runs from 15 -20 minutes
depending on the mood of the children for that day.
During our welcoming remarks, we stress that adults need to sit with
the child they brought and that they are the role model for their child. We
mention that some children may just observe but it's important that the
adult participate anyway. We leave the door to the room open so adults have
the flexiblity of leaving if their child "is not in a listening mode".
We
also tell them not to be embarassed since we've all been there.
This past fall, I had a group that just wasn't getting it, so I
wrote the guidelines on large sheets of paper and have them up for every
drop in. The main focus is fun, but you do need the cooperation of the
adults. After a while, since we do a lot of repetition with the music and
fingerplays from week to week, the children and the adults get to know what
to expect and are more comfortable.
We do offer registered programs for three year olds, and four/five
year olds. We take 18 3s in a group or 24 4s and 5s. The children attend
without an adult. During the fall and spring programs we don't do a
craft....a philosophical thing with me, I'd rather do fun
language/science/movement experiments or activities to help their emerging
literacy. We do offer story/craft programs in the summer when each week we
get different children signing up.
Hope this helps.
Nancy Denman
Head of Children's Services
Duxbury Free Library
* How often do you offer storyimes for this group?
I offer it once a week, for a five week session. I then take a two
to three week break, and start all over again.
* Do you require sign-up? If so, how many do you take?
Yes, I do. I write up name tags, and encourage the parents to talk
to each other, etc. I normally let in about 15 children (plus a
caregiver)--this is a manageable size-not too overwhelming, but a good mix
for both the loud and the quiet kids!
* If you do not require sign-up, how many normally attend?
NA
* How many children normally attend your preschool storytime?
I normally get 12 children and caregivers, although every once in a
while (like today!!!) extra people show up who haven't signed up. I let them
in if all 15 people who signed up didn't come. (I hate to turn potential
library users away!)
* How long is your toddler-storytime?
I like to let it run about 20-25 minutes. After that time, I let the
children and caregivers sit and chat in my room for about 10 mins.
* What do you normally incorporate? Do you do a craft/activity?
I don't do a craft, but have about two books, and 4 songs, and about
5 finger plays.
* Do you find that you are more of an entertainer for the kids as the
parents do not participate, or are you more of a facilitator of the session?
Oh, I'm so an entertainer! I don't mind though... some parents chip
in, and sometimes I point out that mom or dad or aunt or uncle, or, etc.
should do *THIS* with their child. After all, it is supposed to be an
interaction time! (Although, I'm interested to know, with this type of
question, how do you see yourself? Especially during picture book time?)
* If you are more of a facilitator, how do you get you parents more
active in the session?
I "gently" nudge-though it often doesn't work-I think I need help in
this area!
I hope this helps!
Annemarie
First, I can understand your frustration. Having uninvolved parents
can make a program more frustrating than successful. Don't give up.
You
may want to try restructing what you do. Also, include an introductory
statement to the parents about what you goals of the program. Saying
something to the parents like "your involvement is essential to your
child's
enjoyment of the program" may help.
Also, you may want to contact Betsy Diamont-Cohen. She is the
creator of Mother Goose on the Loose, a highly successful program for
children through age 3. She helped us restructure our program to have more
parent involvement and more interesting activities. She is great. Her
email
is bcohen@mail.pratt.lib.md.us
<mailto:bcohen@mail.pratt.lib.md.us>
.
Survey:
* How often do you offer storyimes for this group?
We have an infant program for babies birth to 18 months offered once
a week at each of our 2 libraries.
* Do you require sign-up? If so, how many do you take?
Ours is a drop-in program with no limit on attendees. My location
typically has an attendance of 10 - 20 moms and babies. The other location
has twice that attending.
* If you do not require sign-up, how many normally attend? see above
* How many children normally attend your preschool storytime?
We average 50-60 children and parents at our StoryTime program for
ages 1-5 at my location and 60-80 at the other library location.
* How long is your toddler-storytime?
Our lapsit program is about 30 minutes
* What do you normally incorporate? Do you do a craft/activity?
No crafts. We alternate songs, fingerplay, rhymes, and books. We
have a set of bells from Lakeshore that we use near the end of the program.
* Do you find that you are more of an entertainer for the kids as the
parents do not participate, or are you more of a facilitator of the session?
Our parents always participate. I have never had parents who didn't
for our infant program.
* If you are more of a facilitator, how do you get you parents more
active in the session?
I always tell them that we need their participation.
Stacey Irish-Keffer
Denton Public Library
502 Oakland
Denton, Texas 76201
My answers follow your questions below....
* How often do you offer storyimes for this group?
We offer 2 5-week sessions in the fall and 2 5-week sessions in the
winter/spring for 2 year olds. We offer story times for 12-23 month olds
once a month.
* Do you require sign-up? If so, how many do you take?
2's = 20 + parents
12-23 month = 15 + parents
We always end up with some siblings.
* If you do not require sign-up, how many normally attend?
* How many children normally attend your preschool storytime?
For 12-23 month olds and 2 year olds, we find that attendance is
always lower than registration. Illness is always a factor, of course,
particularly in the rotten weather, but we think some of this has to do with
the somewhat unpredicable behavior of the age group.
* How long is your toddler-storytime?
2's = ½ hour of stories, songs, and fingerplays
12-23 months = 20 minutes of stories, songs, and fingerplays
followed by 10
minutes of play
* What do you normally incorporate? Do you do a craft/activity?
Just stories, songs, and fingerplays. No crafts.
* Do you find that you are more of an entertainer for the kids as the
parents do not participate, or are you more of a facilitator of the session?
* If you are more of a facilitator, how do you get you parents more
active in the session?
I do serve as an entertainer, but parents do a great job of participating in
the programs. I encourage them to do so in a number of ways. I hand out an
info sheet on the first day of story time that includes a blurb about how
their children will be more cooperative and attentive if they see their
parents being cooperative and attentive. I also verbally encourage "big
people" to join in during the story times. I also find that including
nursery rhymes and things that parents remember from when they were kids
helps to encourage their participation.
I hope this is helpful. I think we all struggle with these issues.
:)
Adrienne Furness
Children's and Family Services Librarian
Webster Public Library, Webster, NY
I have been doing Toddler Time for 2 years now and here are some
things that I have found work for me.
We have 2 sessions per year (spring and fall); I had been doing 4
week sessions up until this spring. After just trying a 6 week session I
will do that from now on. It gives the kids a chance to learn the routine
and they get to know you and your puppets a little bit better.
I do require sign up ahead of time, and I make name tags for the
kids to wear during storytime. Attendance is limited attendance to 15
children and their parents/grandparents, usually about 11 sets attend.
My Toddler Times last about 25 minutes. Something that has worked
really well to engage the parents is to have "Quiet Time", where the
kids go
a pick a book from a pre-selected pile and share it with their caregiver. I
usually do this before the last story that we read and it lasts about 3-5
mintues.
Of course, I do have the occasional parents who are friends and want
to chat the whole time, but a gentle reminder usually helps to get them back
on track as far as participating and sharing the time with their Toddler.
I
do have to say that some groups of parents are wonderful: they participate,
they sing and they do all the movement activities with me. Other groups
aren't as animated. For the groups that aren't as active, I usually say
something about parents being welcome to participate, or encouraging
everyone in the room to sing long with me. It usually helps (sometimes I
think the parents just don't know what to do).
Cheers!
Brenda Fay Children's Librarian North Shore Library Glendale, WI
53217
I set my toddler times to run the same as my other storytimes usually
10 to 12 weeks in length
Yes I have them sign up. 10 is my limit due to space
Normally around 6 toddlers and their parents
I have two books I read, some figure plays, some action rhymes and a song we
dance too. I don't do crafts at this age.
I type up a sheet with everything I do and type the word parents after the
title if they are supposed to do it. Also I have a set of four rules that
I
hand them when they sign up. One of the rules is to dress appropriately
because you will be sitting on the floor and participating along with your
child.
------------------------------
End of PUBYAC Digest 1071
************************* |