{"id":10031,"date":"2015-01-16T00:01:46","date_gmt":"2015-01-16T05:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=10031"},"modified":"2015-01-15T22:52:50","modified_gmt":"2015-01-16T03:52:50","slug":"keeping-storytime-fresh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2015\/01\/keeping-storytime-fresh\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping Storytime Fresh for You!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><figure id=\"attachment_10032\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10032\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/uke-resolutions.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/uke-resolutions-300x284.jpg\" alt=\"My resolution: learning the ukulele. [Photo courtesy of the author, originally posted on Instagram.]\" width=\"300\" height=\"284\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10032\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/uke-resolutions-300x284.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/uke-resolutions.jpg 602w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10032\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">My resolution: learning the ukulele. [Photo courtesy of the author, originally posted on Instagram.]<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\nIt occurred to me the other day that this spring officially marks five years since I took over storytime. <\/p>\n<p>While I&#8217;m feeling very reinvigorated since starting at my library almost a year ago, I know that keeping your storytimes fresh is an integral part of avoiding librarian burnout. Here&#8217;s some tips I brainstormed to freshen up your storytimes! <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Take a break. Try to <a href=\"http:\/\/tinytipsforlibraryfun.blogspot.com\/2014\/01\/storytime-hiatus.html\">take some time off<\/a> or have a co-worker cover you for a few weeks. Breaks are a great way to re-energize yourself and your storytimes.<\/li>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<li>Change your routine. If you&#8217;re been using the same six songs and you&#8217;re feeling bored, chances are your storytime patrons are feeling it too.<\/li>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<li>Read all of the picture books on the new shelf. Think of the ideas that might spark from new books!<\/li>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<li>Learn a new skill. If you&#8217;ve never tried live music or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/so-you-want-to-make-flannelboards\/\">flannelboards<\/a>, now is the time to give them a whirl. (My personal goal is to learn three ukulele songs this year!)<\/li>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<li>Visit another library&#8217;s storytimes. See if you can arrange a swap between a neighboring librarian and yourself to offer constructive criticism.<\/li>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<li>Attend a <a href=\"http:\/\/alamw15.ala.org\/\">conference<\/a> or training session. Being around other librarians can often spark new ideas and thoughts.<\/li>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<li>Introduce a new manipulative. Maybe it&#8217;s time to <a href=\"http:\/\/familysponge.com\/create\/kidsart\/re-use-plastic-eggs-musical-sound-shakers\/\">make some shaker eggs<\/a> or invest in a <a href=\"https:\/\/klmpeace.wordpress.com\/2013\/03\/20\/parachute-play-with-babies-and-toddlers\/\">parachute<\/a>.<\/li>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<li>Randomize some of your choices. Make a <a href=\"http:\/\/storytimeunderground.org\/2015\/01\/05\/hey-why-dont-you-make-a-songrhyme-cube\/\">song or rhyme cube<\/a>. Throw all of the themes you&#8217;d like to do one day into a jar and pick them out a few weeks before.<\/li>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<li>Fall down a storytime rabbit hole online. Check out <a href=\"http:\/\/melissa.depperfamily.net\/blog\/?page_id=519\">some new blogs<\/a>. Watch a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCnjsY7TmClktuQLNCXXra6Q\">great Youtube playlist<\/a>. Scour a Pinterest board. <\/li>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<li>Reach out to other librarians. Host a <a href=\"http:\/\/storytimeunderground.org\/guerrilla-storytime\/ideas-from-guerrilla-storytime\/\">Guerrilla Storytime<\/a> for local librarians. Organize a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sotomorrowblog.com\/2015\/01\/announcing-storytime-petting-zoo-at-ala.html\">Prop\/Flannelboard Petting Zoo<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What are your favorite ways to keep storytime fresh? Let me know in the comments. <\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Katie Salo<br \/>\nEarly Literacy Librarian<br \/>\nIndian Prairie Public Library<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/storytimekatie.com\">http:\/\/storytimekatie.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It occurred to me the other day that this spring officially marks five years since I took over storytime. While I&#8217;m feeling very reinvigorated since starting at my library almost a year ago, I know that keeping your storytimes fresh is an integral part of avoiding librarian burnout. Here&#8217;s some tips I brainstormed to freshen up your storytimes! Take a break. Try to take some time off or have a co-worker cover you for a few weeks. Breaks are a great way to re-energize yourself and your storytimes. &nbsp; Change your routine. If you&#8217;re been using the same six songs and you&#8217;re feeling bored, chances are your storytime patrons are feeling it too. &nbsp; Read all of the picture books on the new shelf. Think of the ideas that might spark from new books! &nbsp; Learn a new skill. If you&#8217;ve never tried live music or flannelboards, now is the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[120,136],"tags":[117],"class_list":["post-10031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogger-katie-salo","category-storytime-2","tag-storytime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10031\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}