today, one of my toddler storytimes had 41 people in attendance. normally, there’s about half that. the good morning/welcome song which we sing to each child took foreeeeeever! i was a little nervous about having a group that large (and i hope some people switch to a different time slot!), but it was actually ok. i didn’t feel like i “lost” the group at any point and it was almost exhilarating.
doing a successful storytime is like surfing a wave. wait. i’ve never surfed, so that might not be completely accurate. let’s see… doing a successful storytime is like trying to corral hungry howler monkeys into a cage. nope. never done that either. ok. one more try. doing a successful storytime is like…oh screw it. here’s an imaginary thing it’s like that i’ll be no one has ever done, so no one can contradict me. doing a successful storytime is like trying to manipulate four marionette puppets all at once, except that all of the puppets have a mind of their own, like pinocchio. crap. that sounds scary and manipulative, which is not what i’m trying to portray. what i’m trying to say here is that there is a real push/pull element in the timing of a good storytime. after you’ve done it for awhile, you get a feel for how much farther you can push the kids. do you stop at the first serious signs of antsy-ness and risk disappointing the kids who are still paying attention? do you push them just past their attention span in the hopes that it will grow just a little longer the next week? or could the group be pulled back together with a quick round of “ring-around-the-rosy”? i don’t know exactly how to explain to a novice the crowd cues that i use to make those judgement calls, but i know what works for me and that people keep coming back means i must be doing something right. it feels great to be really good at something.
do you have special skills that you are proud of? (if you take issue with my having a preposition at the end of that sentence, read this.)
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