May 31st: Sweet Firsts at Sweetwater

 

There is a saying that ta;ks about how the beginnings are so sweet, and there is truth behind that saying. My first time leading a face-to-face storytime ever took place today at the Sweetwater community gazebo. It was such a sweet experience. I met my supervisor Ms. Karen B. at the main library and from there I helped her finish getting the bookmobile ready to drive by checking to make sure carts were secure and moving cones. Once we got to Sweetwater, we parked and set up the bookmobile for operations. After the bookmobile was ready we took the extra chairs, rug, stool, and other storytime supplies out to the community gazebo where I would be hosting storytime. Ms. Karen B had the idea to bring a little gate like barrier which we set up on the parking lot side to help prevent little ones from running into the street (it came in very handy when one little one bolted later and their mom was able to catch them as they were stopped by the barricade).

At around 10, I started storytime with three barely toddlers and their moms. I was originally expecting a broader age range, so I altered my plan on the fly to meet this group’s needs. We started with Monsters Love Color and all the movements to help keep the little ones engaged. The movements seemed to be a hit with the moms who guided their toddlers along through each motion. Shortly, after I had an older girl and her father join us and even later more older kids and one three-year-old. When the little girl joined, I taught the group signs in American Sign Language for the most common colors before reading our next book where I signed each color mentioned. They we did a "what color was is this object?" activity before reading our last book. For the last five minutes of storytime I reviewed the color signs with the group and played a guess the color game and group ISpy (the older kids loved this). 

The whole experience was very sweet even though I had to adapt as I went as my audience demographics changed. During our meeting afterwards my supervisor told me that was fairly common, so it was good to be flexible and always have several plans just in case. This is a piece of advice I will take into account for the next storytimes.


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