Setting Up Storytime!

The last time I talked about my storytime set-up, I was in my last library. Since then things have changed and I thought I would share my new set-up.

My library has a dedicated storytime space. The room can hold up to 45 people comfortably but it definitely gets hot in there with that many bodies!

I now have a long countertop that I can utilize throughout storytime, so most of my belongings are stored here, on the back wall — out of reach of toddlers!

I keep everything in the same order every week so I know where everything is without looking: CD player and CDs, bag where I store my puppets, clipboard that has my outline on it, books, song cube & parent hand-outs, bubbles, and flannelboards.

I try my very best to keep the bubbles hidden behind my flannelboard and easel, otherwise the kids would be demanding bubbles from the start of the program. But you can still see them if the kids are looking really hard!

I really like this set-up compared to my last library’s where most of my belongings were stored on my flannelboard easel’s shelf. I think that not rummaging through the shelf to find what I’m looking for makes for easier seamless transitions. The only thing I don’t like about this set-up is that I often turn my back to the group to get something. I try to keep talking while I do that so I’m still engaged with the group.

How is your storytime space set up? What do you think about it? Do you have anything you wish was different? Let me know in the comments!

– Katie Salo
Early Literacy Librarian
Indian Prairie Library
http://storytimekatie.com