Story Time Q & A: Attendance, Community Culture, and Planning for Groups of Different Sizes

Today I'm answering the third and final batch of questions from the list I received following my "Tips for Story Time Success" webinar. If you'd like to see more Story Time Q &A, please email me your questions. I would love to make it a regular feature! 

Q: I'm having trouble with attendance. How do you find preschoolers in a rural area?
A: Here is the short version of some of the tips I mention in my book that may help drum up some more interest in your story times:

• Publish your story time schedule in local newspapers, on Internet forums for local events (including Facebook), and by word of mouth to every patron you see who knows or has children. Also put up flyers in public places that parents and young children are likely to go - grocery stores, doctor's offices, daycare centers, etc. Include contact information so they can follow up with you if they have questions. Also see if your community has any moms groups that might be willing to help you put the word out. 
• Reach out to local daycares and preschools and see if they would be interested in a story time for any of their classes. Offer to go to them, or arrange a library "field trip" where they travel to you. If the partnership looks promising, make it a regularly scheduled activity that occurs monthly during the school year. 
• If you're focusing only on preschoolers (I consider this to be ages 3-5) and not having much luck, consider focusing on babies (0-12 months) or toddlers (1-2 years old) instead. Sometimes one age group is just not well-represented in your community in a given year and you need to skew things older or younger in order to find a consistent audience. And the nice thing is - if you start off with a core group as babies, they might stick with you until they reach school age.

Q: I am interested in hearing more about judging and fitting the storytime with the community culture.
A: Tailoring your story times to your community's culture is something that occurs slowly over time. When I first start out at a new library, I find that my new coworkers are always more than willing to tell me what our patrons are like, and usually those impressions are pretty helpful for getting me off on the right foot. I also find it useful to spend a lot of time at the public desks in the first few weeks in a new position. Having short conversations with patrons at the desk on a regular basis starts to give you a pretty good impression of who is in your community and what is important to them.

If you have been working with a community for any length of time, you probably already have a gut instinct about what would go over well at story time and what wouldn't, just based on your observations and your experiences sharing different materials with them. If you feel you would like to know more, I think casual conversation with patrons about what they might like to see added to story time, or a more formal survey of the needs of your story time attendees are both great ways to gather that kind of information.

Q: What are some best practices for researching and determining community values when doing outreach story times for different and unfamiliar communities?

Doing outreach story times is a little bit different from getting to know your regular library community. Working in a library all day every day makes it easy to observe how the community uses the library, what materials interest them, and when kids are available for programs. You also have the benefit of coworkers' institutional knowledge - any time I have been a newly hired librarian, other staff members have been quick to tell me their impressions of the community, and that has really helped me get off on the right foot. 

When you take on new outreach opportunities, however, you don't always have the benefit of anyone else's background knowledge. In those situations, I try to find out as much as I can about the organization I'll be working with. I do ask others if they have done story time there before. I also Google the organization and see if there is a mission statement or other indication as to the focus and purpose of the group. I also make sure to ask my contact person at the organization what he/she expects from the story time. That kind of open-ended question is probably the best research because it allows the organization to let you know what they truly want and need, and gives you the chance to tailor your plans to their expectations. 

For an outreach story time at an unfamiliar location, I would probably also plan a lot more material than I needed. That way, if I find that longer books don't work for them, or they don't like to sing, or they are very quiet, I have a bunch of back-up activities to meet those needs.

Q: How does your planning change for a small story time (for maybe 4-10 children) as opposed to a larger one (over 15 children)?

A: The biggest difference I see between small and large groups is in how much you have to manage their behavior. My story times for large groups (and large for me has occasionally been upwards of 100 kids) are very heavily structured and we move quickly from one activity to the next so that I don't lose their interest. I will use lots of transitional songs and rhymes with large groups to make sure they are never given the chance to get bored and start misbehaving. Smaller story times, though, are usually calmer and quieter experiences. I can read more books to a small group, and I find it easier to use props when there are only a few kids to handle them. I do still include a movement activity at the halfway point in a smaller story time, and I always sing a song when I collect any props so that the kids understand that the activity is over, but otherwise, the session is more loosely structured when there are fewer kids. I will also say that sometimes smaller groups are shy about participating because the kids feel very conspicuous with just a few peers around. If I know a group is inclined toward shyness, I don't push the interactive stuff. I still read and sing, but I make it possible for them to watch and enjoy without feeling pressed to perform themselves. Sometimes those smaller audiences just don't get involved, and I think that is just the nature of kids in small groups at that age. 

Story Time Q & A: Early Literacy, Supervisor Support, and Organizing My Repertoire

Today I'm answering the second batch of questions from the list I received following my "Tips for Story Time Success" webinar. 

Q: Can you talk about the early literacy benefits of storytime? There is a push in the field to focus on early literacy, as if there was a right and wrong way to do storytime.  What do you think? Early literacy-focused vision of storytime vs. a FUN-focus?

A: There is definitely a big push in the field to focus on early literacy, but it has not caused me to change how I present story time. Every time we read, sing, play, or talk with a child, we are helping her work on her early literacy skills whether we say so explicitly or not. Story time has always accomplished this, even when librarians didn't talk about it all the time. It is definitely helpful for librarians to be aware of what children need to know before they can learn to read, and to incorporate a wide variety of activities into story time, but I am not a story time presenter who ever announces to the audience which early literacy skill we are practicing at a given moment, nor do I share asides with parents as part of my story times. I also don't consciously plan activities to match each skill.

Certainly story time is more than just entertainment, but it is also not school, and for me, the push for early literacy instruction at story time feels more academic than is necessary for kids under five. The job of small children is to play. If we make story time a playful and fun experience, they will learn all of those early literacy skills without even realizing it - and their parents will repeat story time activities at home, not because the librarian says to, but because the child enjoys them and wants to experience them again and again. So I am not big on early literacy focused story times. It's one right way to do story time, but definitely not the only way.

Q: How do you find success without promotion/support from a branch manager or director?

A: It can certainly be difficult when the vision that a manager or director has for the library does not include support for children's programming, but this does not mean you are doomed to failure. Sometimes an indifferent or uninvolved supervisor can be a blessing in disguise, because their lack of interest in story time frees you up to do what works for you and build up the program yourself. Often, after you do this, the supervisor is forced to become more invested in story time because other members of the community (prominent patrons, library board members, local officials, etc.) begin to recognize your success, and the supervisor doesn't want to look like he is out of step.

If your supervisor is involved with the work of the children's department, but is specifically not interested in having story time, or not convinced of its importance, this can be a bit trickier to navigate. In that situation, I might try a few things. I might tactfully make the case for story time, using articles in professional publications and books like mine to justify why story time is so important to public libraries and why it should be a part of your library's service to its patrons. If you have an existing story time schedule, you might ask the patrons who do attend regularly to fill out comment cards or surveys indicating the importance of story time to their families. This way, your argument for focusing more heavily on story time is justified by patron interest, not just your own.

Ultimately, though, I have never felt that a supervisor's involvement was a key factor in how successful my story times are. It's certainly nice to have a supervisor who appreciates story time and values your work, but it is possible to succeed in spite of a supervisor who does not have that outlook.

Q: How do you organize your repertoire of story time resources/ideas? 

A: My organizational system involves three websites:

• this blog, where I post all of my story time plans; 
• my wiki, which houses all of the lyrics, tunes, and links for the songs and rhymes that I have used; and 
• my Goodreads account, where I shelve all the books I read at story time according to theme, with notes about when I read them and links to the corresponding blog posts.

I also have a large Rubbermaid container in my garage at home filled with flannel board pieces and stick puppets, which is organized by category using a bunch of manila envelopes labeled with different subject areas (people, animals, food, clothing, etc.) 

Do you like this feature? Would you like to see it continue? Email me with your own story time question at storytimesecrets@gmail.com. 

Read Around Town: The Bus

Read Around Town is a series where I highlight picture books that celebrate the people and places in a young child's immediate community. Today's post focuses on buses and bus drivers.

School Bus by Donald Crews
Follow the daily travels of a school bus in this boldly illustrated title from Freight Train creator Donald Crews.

The Wheels on the Bus by Maryann Kovalski
While two kids wait for the bus with their grandmother, they sing the favorite children's song so exuberantly they forget to board the bus.

The Bus for Us by Suzanne Bloom

At the bus stop on the first day of school, Tess asks her friend Gus whether each of a series of vehicles is the bus or something else.

The Babies on the Bus by Karen Katz

In this vibrantly colored book based on "The Wheels on the Bus" the driver and passengers on the bus are all babies!

Busing Brewster by Richard Michelson, illustrated by R.G. Roth
This historical picture book relates Brewster's experiences being bused from his primarily black neighborhood to a white school.

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

When the driver must leave the bus for a moment, he instructs the reader not to let the pigeon drive the bus, but the pigeon is not very compliant.

Bus Stops by Taro Gomi 

A public city bus travels its route, picking up and dropping off various passengers throughout the day.

My Bus by Byron Barton
A bus driver picks up and drops off groups of feline and canine passengers in this companion to My Car. (Read my review here.)

The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort, illustrated by G. Brian Karas

In this silly version of "The Wheels on the Bus" wild animals noisily ride the bus all around the town.

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena, illustrated by Christian Robinson
As CJ rides the bus home from church with his grandmother, he expresses his frustrations over having to take the bus, not having the latest technological devices, and living in a poor neighborhood, to which his grandmother responds with kindness and patience. 

Story Time Q & A: Repetition, Large Groups, STEAM, and Behavior Problems

Today I'm answering the first batch of questions from the list I received following my "Tips for Story Time Success" webinar. These are the questions that could be answered in just a paragraph. There will be two more posts this week and next which will include answers to the more involved questions. 

Q: I repeat a lot of games and songs when it comes to my preschool storytime, mostly because the kids learn them and love them, is that okay?

A: Since we know children learn best by repetition, I think it is a great idea to repeat the same material over the course of several sessions, or even at every session you present. If you enjoy it, and the kids enjoy it, and it works for your story time, keep it up!

Q: If possible could I get some aesthetics pointers for very large groups (my storytimes are usually have between 60 and 75 in attendance) [Note: This question refers to the section of my presentation where I talked about the appearance of the materials you use in story time.] 

A: It can definitely be hard to make sure everyone can see when a story time is this large! Here a few pointers:

• Choose books with bold lines, bright colors, and solid backgrounds that help the figures to stand out on the page. Books where a single, simple image appears on each page, and fills the entire page, are easiest to see at a distance.  
• If you can manage it smoothly, try using big books, or using a projector to show book pages on a screen or wall. 
• Substitute physical movements for visual aides. Instead of singing a song with a puppet, find hand gestures to accompany it, or use your fingers instead of flannel board pieces to count five little ducks, monkeys, flowers, etc. 
• Use very large flannel board pieces with distinct features and bold lines. Avoid flannel board stories that require a lot of pieces to occupy the board at once - instead, tell simple stories without a lot of moving around of figures.
• Tell stories without the book and make them visual in some other way - hand gestures, full-body movements, facial expressions, etc.

Q: Have you added STEAM elements to your story times?

A: I have always done STEAM programming separately from story time, but I do have a list of story time starters for STEM themes that I created to go along with the Fizz, Boom, Read summer reading program in 2014 that might be of interest!

Q: How do you address problem children? It is difficult when the parent is sitting in the same room but refuses to calm her child down, who is then riling all the other children up to misbehave as well!
The entire last chapter of my book is devoted to story time problems, and there is a big section in there about child behavior. In the specific situation you mention - a parent refusing to calm down the child - I would probably address the parent in the moment in a friendly, but firm way. Something like, "Whoops, this little guy needs to find his mom." That lets the child know you see what he is doing, and the parent know that you expect parents to handle those types of behaviors. If it escalates beyond that, I would probably have to ask the parent not to bring the child anymore, or at least to leave with him when his behavior gets out of control. I would try to have a supervisor or colleague in on that conversation if at all possible.

Do you like this feature? Would you like to see it continue? Email me with your own story time question at storytimesecrets@gmail.com.