One of the goals of this program, believe it or not, is to focus more on books and less on "fluff." Rhymes and songs have their place in story times for very small kids, but for older kids, I've noticed they start distracting them from the focus of story time, which is, in a word, reading. So instead of drawing out the afternoon by starting the craft at 3 and then trying to do a thirty minute story time at 4, I've combined them, and as future weeks progress, I hope to link the crafts more and more closely to the books, and to literacy in general.
Here's what the program looked like this week:
The Craft: Lincoln Penny Pendants
I. Supplies
- Star template
- Scissors
- Crayons
- Glue
- Hole Punch
- Yarn
- Pennies
II. Prep
The only preparation I did ahead of time, aside from dividing the supplies amongst four tables, was to cut lengths of yarn so the kids could just grab one in their selected color and attach it to their necklaces. I also created an example pendant, pictured below, to give the kids an idea of how to put them together.
III. Process
Most of the kids - except one family whose mother insisted upon it - did not layer their stars, but just used one and stuck a penny on the center of it. The library only has one hole punch, so making sure everyone got the chance to punch a hole was a bit of a tedious task, to the point that next time, I might go back to punching holes ahead of time. Even though I didn't really plan on latecomers, some kids also came in just for the craft after the stories were over, and the last child didn't finish until right before we closed at 5:30.
The Read-Alouds: Books About Presidents
Farmer Brown's duck decides to run for president of the farm, and from there launches an unexpectedly successful political career. Though this is not nearly as great as Click, Clack, Moo, and some jokes went over the kids' heads, they still really liked it. I actually wish I'd read a second funny one to keep the laughter going after this.
This is not a great read-aloud, and really only a useful book for kids who have already learned about the life of George Washington. Events that happens on his fictitious seventh birthday hint at and parallel events in his real life. The kids seemed to like it, but I know they didn't really "get" it. It also confused the heck out of a mom who was actually quizzing her kids on what they learned at story time. (Oy.)
The Book Display: More Presidential Books
For the first time ever, I displayed books in a story time that I wasn't going to read, and kids actually looked at them. A brother and sister spent almost half an hour with a chart of U.S. Presidents, just figuring out who was dead and still alive. Their favorite discovery was that Adams and Jefferson died the same year and were in fact friends. Talking to them about that chart, which was in the back of Hanoch Piven's What Presidents Are Made Of, was the highlight of my entire afternoon.
Here's the full list of what was on display:
- What Presidents Are Made Of by Hanoch Piven
- Madam President by Lane Smith
- My Teacher for President by Kay Winters
- Presidents' Day by Anne Rockwell, illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell
- The Worst of Friends by Suzanne Jurmain, illustrated by Larry Day
This is an interesting idea to have them working on their crafts WHILE you read. That is one of my concerns with the storytime I lead at our library is that the kids are easily distracted, but if we were to give them a specific distraction such as coloring or working on their craft they could be listening to the stories while they work. Fingerplays and songs between stories don't seem to work as well as well for my group.
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