A silly penguin puppet, a colorful paper fish, a furry cotton ball fox! Storytime crafts encourage Play! Storytime crafts also encourage some of the early literacy skills. From library programs, visiting the early learning space or viewing our Raising a Reader early literacy website, library customers are encouraged to play everyday at the library, especially at storytime.
Do you remember your first storytime craft? I remember reading the book Verdi by Janell Cannon and creating a colorful paper plate snake. I was surrounded by piles of paper plates, crayons and scissors. I remember adding as many colors as possible and encouraging everyone to wiggle their snake.
When I worked at New York Public Library, my friend and co-worker Children’s Librarian, Rebecca Schosha always had creative crafts ready to go for her storytime. She still does! I recently visited her at NYPL and fell in love with her sloth craft! We discussed favorites and I asked her a few questions about her storytimes.
Paige: Where do you find your storytime craft ideas?
Rebecca: I find them all over. Sometimes, they even come to me randomly. The more practice I get, the more creative I get. These days, I get most of my ideas from pinterest and instagram. There are so many great people on instagram, and sometimes I will do a hashtag search (#frogcraft) to see what comes up!
Paige: I love that you use round stickers. Clever!
Rebecca: Stickers are great, but I like using torn paper as well…
Paige: My top five craft supplies are paper plates, paper bags, tissue paper, pipe cleaners and popsicle sticks. What about you?
Rebecca: I use a lot of different stuff, but honestly, as long as I have construction paper, paper bags, googly eyes, glue, and crayons, I’m good to go.
Paige: Googly eyes are a favorite! I love exploring new and favorite librarian blogs like Jbrary, Storytime Underground and Storytime Katie. Do you have a favorite?
Rebecca: I love Jbrary and Storytime Katie!
My favorite craft people are:
- Learn Create Love (also on Instagram)
- Red Ted Art (red ted art with Mary Alice on Instagram too)
- Art with Mr Gianetto blog
- Art with Mr. Gianetto on Instagram
- Krokotak (also on Instagram)
- Kreatistudio on Instagram
- Paper crafts-TR Instagram or YouTube – Giraffe Craft with Paper Towel Tube
photo by Rebecca - iheartcraftythings or on Instagram
- paper magic reny (really good youtube site, too)
Paige: Amazing resources! Thank you! Do you find the books / theme before the craft or a little of both?
Rebecca: During the school year, the alphabet and holidays tend to dictate the crafts. Sometimes, I will find an amazing book that determines the craft. Generally, if I find a great craft, I will save it on Pinterest until it fits into a book/theme.
Paige: Agree, the alphabet is a great way to encourage early literacy and it’s always fun to discover new crafts. Thanks for sharing your creative ideas!
Do you remember your first storytime craft? Do you have a favorite storytime craft website? Please share in the comments below.
This post addresses the following ALSC Core Competencies: III. Programming Skills.