[kids-lib] Small Library Storytimes - Looking for Advice

Tue Feb 4 13:37:09 PST 2014

Taylor,

I have one storytime a week in the library ( I do outreach at headstart)
 it is an all ages storytime, so I have babies on up.  We have lots of
homeschool families that come to storytime so I have a couple of kids that
are 8 and 9.  I usually have 20 children attending each week.  I started
doing kid yoga to start our storytimes it gets the kids ready to listen and
moms can do it with their babies and toddlers (which is super cute to
watch).  After we strech and are ready to listen we do a finger play or
wiggle, we talk a bit about what we are going to read then we have our
first sotry.  The first story is usually really simple and sometimes I will
have an older child come up and help read it.  Another wiggle and a longer
story follows which leads into our craft.  I try to do things that are real
simple  but can be taken up a notch for my older kids.  Every community is
different but I find that my all ages storytime works great here and our
older kids act as helpers and readers which gets my younger ones excited to
learn so they can take a turn being a reader.

hope this helps

On Tue, Feb 4, 2014 at 12:08 PM, Kimbre Chapman <kimbrec at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hi Taylor,
>
> You could run a survey regarding  what the parents want.  Another thing
> you can do is to create a toddler storytime (aimed at ages 2 - 3), which
> has the advantage of capturing a wider audience because you can aim it in
> between the developmental stages.  Do you do puppetry?  Using a puppet or
> two (and they can be stuffed animals used as puppets) attracts a variety of
> ages and you can write some fun dialog for your character or character.
> Bubbles at the end are fun for a variety of ages. Are you getting babies?
> If not, you could just have a preschool storytime ages 3 - 5 and a toddler,
> 2 - 3 using the same theme but more advanced material for the
> preschoolers.  Visiting a few places that have a toddler time will helps
> kickstart some ideas too.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Kimbre Chapman
>
> Kimbre Chapman
> Children's Services Supervisor
> McMinnville Public Library
> kimbre.chapman at ci.mcminnville.or.us
> 503-435-5569
>
>
>   *From:* Taylor Worley <youthlib.taylor at creswell-library.org>
> *To:* kids-lib at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
> *Sent:* Tuesday, February 4, 2014 11:02 AM
> *Subject:* [kids-lib] Small Library Storytimes - Looking for Advice
>
>     Hello,
>
> I'm looking for some information regarding storytimes in libraries with
> under a 10,000 service population. Specifically, I'm curious as to how you
> incorporate all ages into very few storytimes. Right now, I have the
> following three in-library storytimes:
>
> Itty Bitty Storytime (Ages 0-2)
> PreK Storytime (Ages 3-5)
> Family Storytime (All Ages, but we usually see ages 2-7 at this one)
>
> Our largest storytime by far is our PreK, but a number of the families
> dislike that the storytime doesn't hold their young kids' (ages 1 and 2)
> attention or that the after-storytime craft is too complicated for the
> younger age group. I've tried to be accommodating by providing and
> after-storytime sensory play area that usually isn't set up, etc., but I
> haven't changed the focus age of the storytime. I'm also trying to add more
> repetition from week to week without "getting stale." (I already use the
> same structure, opening/closing songs, etc.)
>
> The families also seem resistant to trying the younger storytime and we've
> had trouble building a regular attendance base for that program.
>
> I'd be very interested to hear from other libraries that have had this
> type of problem (or if this is a unique problem for me, that's good to know
> too) and how you've approached or successfully resolved the issue.
>
> Thank you!
>
> P.S. I'm happy to collect and forward responses to anyone who is
> interested, just let me know if you'd like the information.
>      --
>  Taylor Worley | Youth & Community Services Librarian, Creswell Library
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *"Always remember you're braver than you believe, and stronger than you
> seem, and smarter than you think." - A. A. Milne*
>
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-- 
Denise Willms
Youth Services Librarian
Willamina Public Library
382 C. St
Willamina OR 97396
503-876-6182

*Prayer for Librarians*

Lord, grant me the serenity to accept that the book is lost forever;
The courage to refuse a loan when there is an overdue book;
And the wisdom to know when its time to take a break.
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