Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

Day #2 of Summer Reading and I am so thankful that I get to sleep in and close the Library tomorrow. Today looked like this: STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math) Tuesday, K-5th grades: *Working in teams of 5-6, the kids had 10 minutes to build structures with 50 toothpicks and 100 mini marshmallows that would withstand an earthquake; earthquake simulated by placing structures in an aluminum foil pan full of jello and me shaking the bejeezus out of them. I was surprised how creatively the kids built the structures; we talked about what strengthens structures and what kind of buildings would handle the shock an earthquake better than others. Lots of laughter and lots of fun! Vision Screenings STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math) Tuesday, 6th-12th grades: *Tweens/teens made compost bottles--creating the beginnings of a compost pile in 2 liter pop bottles; discussed composting process. Family Storytime : Theme was growth/plants; books: Compost Stew Mary McKenna Siddals, The...

Prairie Dawn has recently begun to introduce nonfiction into her storytimes--we do 3/week: Toddlers, Family, and 4s &5s--and the kids are loving it! She recently did a turtles themed storytime which aside from the "aww!" factor of some of the photos of baby turtles, was great because the kids loved loved loved talking about turtles, sharing what they know, and asking questions. Introducing nonfiction: helps kids connect with their real surroundings broadens vocabulary by introducing new and more challenging words helps build up developing brains--new information gets taken in and stored in developing minds opens a door for great discussions with your young learners According to Susan Canizares, PhD, in "Early Literacy: How to Introduce Nonfiction to Young Children: "Good nonfiction contains the essence of life--pieces of the "story" about who we are, about the animals and plants with which we share our inhabitance of the earth, and about h...

Kids LOVE Mo Willems books. I LOVE Mo Willems books! We just love Mo Willems around here, whether it's his Piggie & Elephant series; Knufflebunny trio; or his popular Don't Let the Pigeon. .. series. Willems just gets it. He gets how to write to kids and really make them laugh. And his books make you, the reader, feel clever, like you're in on the joke too. This week, tired from Dr. Seuss overload, I switched to Mo Willems, doing: Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct Knufflebunny Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus with my storytime groups here at the library and during my Headstart visit. My Headstart kids and I turned our hand prints into Pigeon. Simple art project: Print a template of a bus (I literally googled, "Bus Template") Ask the kids to draw some people in the bus windows Ask them to draw the head and neck of the Pigeon peeking out the front (bus driver seat) window. I gave each table c...

Remember the other day when I mentioned that I'm working with a professor in the Education Dept. of Sticks College?--well, I had my first batch of students come this week and it went swimmingly! Not only is it great to have someone else reading the stories, so I can have a break, but it's also been fun encouraging the students and helping them through their anxiety. I was once an Ed. major too, and I remember that fear of being in front of others/being in charge for the first time; even though it's just small kids and their parents, it's still intimidating. It's also been great to have the students start coming because, until I hire a new children's librarian this spring, I've been doing between 6-7 storytimes a week on top of all my other Director duties, and filling in as people take vacation and get sick, and quiet honestly, you can only burn that candle at both ends for so long before you burn out. It's nice to have fresh energy and someone else tr...

Sticks is fortunate that it has a college in it, which is great because it: A. brings diversity to Sticks B. almost doubles our small population for 3/4 of the year C. brings lots of fun events to Sticks D. Sticks College is very keen on supporting local and being as active as possible in the community! I recently met with some of the Education Dept. professors and we worked out a way for the Ed. majors to get some of their Field Experience done right here at Sticks Library! I am excited to see how this new challenge unfolds ,and quite honestly, excited for some fresh ideas and energy--I've def. been burning the candle from both ends lately! Starting next week I will be splitting my storytimes with the Ed majors, meaning I will begin the storytime and they will finish them; we will be working the same theme (the students have to pick the theme and inform me of it the week before) and the students are responsible for some type of activity: game or art project. I am eager to ...

I know sometimes it's hard to be inspired by storytimes with the kiddos; sometimes you're tired and just plain tired of reading out loud to groups that sometimes consist of screaming little monsters who continue to bang their hands on the heater, forcing you to read EVEN LOUDER--not speaking from personal experience. It is at these low points when we need to be reminded why storytimes and librarians are important!  One of the many things that librarians and teachers have in common is that we are constantly thinking of ways to educate and stimulate children; as a librarian we can use this time as a means to experiment with how best to interact with and engage our audience—being creative, without worrying when things don’t work as you hoped they would. I have been working with children for over 10 years and every day is still a learning experience.   Storytime isn’t just about the kids hearing stories, it is about: exposing children to the Library, teaching a love of literat...

I really hate reading books that fall under the same theme each week when I do storytimes--I get it, themes help reinforce learning, blah blah blah--I fall into the school of thought that if you love what you're reading, you communicate something just as powerful to kids! Fortunately, when I do school visits the teachers give me free reign, just glad that I am there and giving them a half an hour break from being in charge. :) At a recent school visit I did a couple of stories I LOVE and also shared some Shel Silverstein poems to boot, the below storytime was with the first graders (the Kindergarteners have less time with me, so just some books geared toward to them).  The BEST 1st Grade storytime: One of my favorite pictures from Extra Yarn , Marc Barnett, illus. Jon Klassen Extra Yarn , Marc Barnett, illus. Jon Klassen  How can you not love a story about a girl who has magic yarn that never seems to run out--she makes "sweaters for things that don't even wear ...

This week at our storytimes we read wintry stories: The Snowy Day , Ezra Jack Keats (one of my all time favorite books from MY childhood) A Hat for Minerva Louise , Janet Morgan Stoeke We danced to Hap Palmer's "Rock and Roll Freeze," with our egg shakers, then we decorated winter mittens with stickers and crayons, then laced them up (this took a little bit more effort on the parents' part for the Toddlers); perfect activity for my 4 and 5 year olds. (The easy directions ; you can google mitten template if you are as art-challenged as I am!) Our cute results! Our cute results!

This week our storytimes were about our bodies; we heard lots about elbows and toes, fingers and noses, but we also read fun books like Eric Carle's The Mixed-Up Chameleon , which shows a chameleon who wants what makes other animals special, i.e. elephants trunk, deer antlers, until he's quite a hot mess...a "think outside the box," book about the body (and animals). Here are some of the books we used for all three of our storytimes (Toddler, 4s & 5s, Family) Dancing Feet , Lindsey Craig, illus. Marc Brown Here Are My Hands , Bill Martin Jr. & John Archambault, illus. Ted Rand From Head to Toe , Eric Carle The Mixed-Up Chameleon , Eric Carl All of Baby, Noes to Toes , Victora Adler, illus. Hiroe Nakata I have NEVER met a kid who didn't LOVE this book!

Having themed storytimes is a great way to reinforce what kids are learning about at school, or introduce and reinforce information to little listeners, but sometimes you just need to read books that have nothing to do with anything, other than the fact that you love all the books. Sharing your favorite books with kids is cool because when you love something you're more likely to be more amped about it! Today was Ms. Monster's favorites when I visited the Sticks' Kindergarten and 1st grade classes. The kids LOVED the books! The kids loved Gloria's antics! The kids LOVED looking for the shape on each page and knowing/guessing what came next! HANDS DOWN favorite with Kindergarten and 1st Grade. Audible gasps when I opened the page with the fold-out full moon!!

A few weeks back one of the girls asked me to do a Princess storytime, but so as to not entirely alienate the boys, I said we'd do royalty! I am too tired to go into much detail, but wanted to at least share all the titles we used, age appropriateness of books varies, since these are for 3 different aged storytimes: King Bidgood's in the Bathtub Olivia and the Fairy Princesses The Princess and the Packet of Frozen Peas I want my dinner (Not a big fan of this, but the kids seemed to enjoy, and that's all that matters). The Nothing King The Paper Bag Princess , Robert Munsch **LOVE LOVE LOVE this book**

Last week's storytimes found us reading books about farms (you know I love farms!). In the midst of one of our books, which had something to do with pigs, a 4 year old interrupted me to ask, "Did you know that Mama Preying Mantises bite the heads off the Daddy Preying Mantises?" It's funny, but I literally looked down at the book in my hands, as if I missed something, reading on auto pilot or something. Once I collected myself I said that I did know that and asked where she had learned that (making sure to leave out the part about how it happens after they mate). "Oh, we heard about it in a book." I got such a kick out of that kid and her comment and wondered all day what her parents read to her. Working with kids can be so funny sometimes. Also, for some reason, her comment made me think of this .

Lately I feel like there's just not enough time in the day. I try really hard to stick to my 40 hour week, but last week I worked closer to 50 hours, which is ok, except I haven't worked out since before I moved and haven't been cooking as much as I should and dammit, my pants are fitting a little snugger! I love my job, I just wish the days were longer, or could go by a little slower so I could everything I needed to done. I guess if that's the worst complaint after my first month and a half, I am good. :) So, what have I been doing lately? A lot. I am really proud of all I've accomplished since I started! And the team I work with is phenomenal and always so willing. Lately I've: Weeded the Reference collections, Adult's and Children's, because do we really need 13 dictionaries? Fortunately I was able to donate a set of encyclopedias to the local high school, since the set I wanted to get rid of is more current than theirs. Also, I learned from St...

This is exactly how I feel when no one shows up for storytimes! Except I am wearing clothes...oh, God, I've made it weird, haven't I?! Since I will be away on vacation next week, we had our Halloween themed storytime this week (only had a family of three show up for my Toddlers group, no one for my Family storytime, no one for my 4s and 5s group). Still working at getting more people to attend! Without further ado I give you, TODDLER HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR! Flannel Board: "5 Little Pumpkins" 5 Little Pumpkins sitting on a gate, 1st one said, "Hey, it's getting late," 2nd one said, "Witches in the air," 3rd one said, "Hey, I'm not scared!" 4th one said, "Let's run, let's run!" 5th one said, "Isn't Halloween fun?!" --author unknown Book 1: Pumpkin Heads, Wendell Minor *we talked about visits to the pumpkin patch; what different faces were carved into pumpkins Book...

...my first Board Meeting! And they were really impressed with how much I'd accomplished during my first two weeks. AND they complimented me on my Director's Report, which I'd typed up and mailed out with the Board Meeting Agenda. I was beaming!..and worried that maybe I set the bar too high. :)  Everything went great, except it's really hard sitting in a meeting with someone who looks like Kenneth Brannagh--just saying. Post weeding the VHS and Books on Tapes I am still trying to figure out the best way to get rid of these things: checking with Salvation Army/Goodwill; looked into recycling, but still not sure about the cost; donating some to another library nearby for their book sale. Since moving the Audio/Visual Collection we've labeled the areas, and I had the Circ staff go through and relabel anything that is non-fiction with appropriate Dewey Decimals--these DVDs are now separate from feature films; it didn't take long since our collection is so small. ...

Thought I would share the notes from my last storytime here in OHCity. I am moving today, wish me luck! More stories on life in Sticks to come! FARMS! 1.       Intro myself and theme 2.       Music/Movement : “Shake Your Sillies Out,”   #13, Raffi’s More Singable Songs 3.       Flannel Board: Who took the Farmer’s Hat?, Joan L. Nodset 4.        Prop Story: Many Colored Hens 5.       Music/Movement: “Jumping and Counting," #7, Jim Gill's Irrational Anthem 6.       Book 1: Barn Sneeze , Karen B. Winnick 7.     Book 2: This Little Chick , John Lawrence 8.   Music/Movement: “Pig on Her Head,” #7, The Best of Laurie Berkner Band 9. Music/Movement: “I Know a Chicken,” #16, The Best of Laurie Berkner Band I had an entirely different storytime planned, but wound up wi...