<div dir="ltr">Taylor,<div><br></div><div>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.</div>
<div><br></div><div>hope this helps</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Feb 4, 2014 at 12:08 PM, Kimbre Chapman <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:kimbrec@yahoo.com" target="_blank">kimbrec@yahoo.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div><div style="font-size:10pt;font-family:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif"><span>
<div><span>Hi Taylor,</span></div>
<div><span></span> </div>
<div style="font-size:13px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif"><span>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.</span></div>
<div><span></span> </div>
<div><span>Hope this helps.</span></div>
<div><span></span> </div>
<div><span>Kimbre Chapman</span></div>
<div><span></span> </div>
<div><span>Kimbre Chapman</span></div>
<div><span>Children's Services Supervisor</span></div>
<div style="font-size:13px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif"><span>McMinnville Public Library</span></div>
<div><span><a href="mailto:kimbre.chapman@ci.mcminnville.or.us" target="_blank">kimbre.chapman@ci.mcminnville.or.us</a></span></div>
<div><span><a href="tel:503-435-5569" value="+15034355569" target="_blank">503-435-5569</a></span></div>
<div><br></div></span></div>
<div><br></div>
<div style="FONT-FAMILY:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif;FONT-SIZE:10pt">
<div style="FONT-FAMILY:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif;FONT-SIZE:12pt">
<div dir="ltr">
<div style="BORDER-BOTTOM:#ccc 1px solid;BORDER-LEFT:#ccc 1px solid;PADDING-BOTTOM:0px;LINE-HEIGHT:0;MARGIN:5px 0px;PADDING-LEFT:0px;PADDING-RIGHT:0px;min-height:0px;FONT-SIZE:0px;BORDER-TOP:#ccc 1px solid;BORDER-RIGHT:#ccc 1px solid;PADDING-TOP:0px" readonly>
</div><font face="Arial"><b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold">From:</span></b> Taylor Worley <<a href="mailto:youthlib.taylor@creswell-library.org" target="_blank">youthlib.taylor@creswell-library.org</a>><br><b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold">To:</span></b> <a href="mailto:kids-lib@listsmart.osl.state.or.us" target="_blank">kids-lib@listsmart.osl.state.or.us</a> <br>
<b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold">Sent:</span></b> Tuesday, February 4, 2014 11:02 AM<br><b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold">Subject:</span></b> [kids-lib] Small Library Storytimes - Looking for Advice<br></font></div>
<div><div><div class="h5"><br>
<div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>Hello, <br><br>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: <br>
<br></div>Itty Bitty Storytime (Ages 0-2)<br></div>PreK Storytime (Ages 3-5)<br></div>Family Storytime (All Ages, but we usually see ages 2-7 at this one)<br><br></div>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.)<br><br></div>The families also seem resistant to trying the younger storytime and we've had trouble building a regular attendance base for that program. <br><br></div>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. <br>
<br>Thank you! <br><br></div>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. <br>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>-- <br>
<div dir="ltr"><span><font color="#888888">
<div dir="ltr"><font color="#444444"><font face="georgia, serif">Taylor Worley</font> |</font><font color="#444444" size="1" face="georgia, serif"><font face="garamond, serif"> </font>Youth & Community Services Librarian, Creswell Library</font>
<div><font color="#444444" size="1" face="georgia, serif">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></div>
<div><font color="#999999" size="1" face="georgia, serif"><i>"Always remember you're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." - A. A. Milne</i></font></div></div></font></span></div>
</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></div></div>_____________________________________________________<br>Kids-lib mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Kids-lib@listsmart.osl.state.or.us" target="_blank">Kids-lib@listsmart.osl.state.or.us</a><br>
<a href="http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/kids-lib" target="_blank">http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/kids-lib</a><br>Hosted by the Oregon State Library. The Library is not responsible for content.<br>
Questions related to message content should be directed to list owner(s) or the sender of the message, by phone or email.<br>Technical questions? Call
<a href="tel:503-378-8800" value="+15033788800" target="_blank">503-378-8800</a>.<br><br><br></div></div></div></div><br>_____________________________________________________<br>
Kids-lib mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Kids-lib@listsmart.osl.state.or.us">Kids-lib@listsmart.osl.state.or.us</a><br>
<a href="http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/kids-lib" target="_blank">http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/kids-lib</a><br>
Hosted by the Oregon State Library. The Library is not responsible for content.<br>
Questions related to message content should be directed to list owner(s) or the sender of the message, by phone or email.<br>
Technical questions? Call <a href="tel:503-378-8800" value="+15033788800">503-378-8800</a>.<br>
<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div>Denise Willms<br>Youth Services Librarian<br>Willamina Public Library<br>382 C. St<br>Willamina OR 97396<br>503-876-6182</div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div><u>Prayer for Librarians</u></div>
<div> </div>
<div>Lord, grant me the serenity to accept that the book is lost forever;</div>
<div>The courage to refuse a loan when there is an overdue book;</div>
<div>And the wisdom to know when its time to take a break.</div>
</div>