The Genius Files: Turkey Turkey!

Image by Jenny Toms from Pixabay

Kate Davis, YSS Board Member and Programming Consultant for the Prairie Lakes Library System has introduced a new new email blast for her library system called The Genius Files. Here's Genius Files #5, focused on Thanksgiving/Turkey themed storytime.

Today's Genius Files was inspired by my 3 year-old grandson, Benji, as he wiggled and danced through our Target run yesterday singing, "I believe in the turkey in me!"  On our way home, his mama played the song "Turkey Turkey" for me so I could hear where these crazy lyrics were coming from. Turns out that it is one of the BEST Thanksgiving songs I've heard in years, so I had to share with you all! (I've also added some other super fun, Thanksgiving storytime favorite songs for you!)

Turkey Turkey (Big Block Singsong)

Turkey Song (La La Librarian)

Albuquerque Turkey (D.B. Rouse and the Blue Kazoo)

Let's Get Funky with Tommy the Turkey (Jack Hartman)

Looking for more rhymes, fingerplays, songs, book suggestions, and craft ideas for your Thanksgiving storytime? Here you go!

Make 2026 the Year of Math at Your Library!

Did you know 2026 is the United States' official year of math? Me neither but I'm excited to learn about it!

MoMath (the National Museum of Mathematics) is an award-winning museum in New York, New York that celebrates the role of mathematics in all the structures and patterns around us. But next year MoMath is expanding its reach by "curating picture-book spotlights, hands-on activity guides, and turnkey program ideas that any library can use to celebrate the United States' official 2026 Year of Math."

Join the Year of Math Librarians' Notification List to:

• receive early alerts when resources go live
• get tips for hosting math-themed storytimes and activities
• join a community of librarian committed to interdisciplinary engagement!

Are you planning any math-related programs at your Library? 

Using Literacy "Asides" in Storytime

In a recent ALSC blog post, Maria Trivisonno shared tips on using literacy asides within our storytimes. She suggests that December is a great time, while we pause many storytime sessions, to work on adding to our toolkit of literacy we incorporate into storytimes. 

As a trainer in Ohio, she and her colleagues base their training work on asides on the seminal work done by Melissa Depper of the Arapaho District Library. In this post she shares Melissa's handout!

Click here to read the post. [The Art of Literary Asides in Storytime. Trivisonno, Maria. ALSC blog. November 28, 2023]

Simplifying and Supporting the Process of Reading

Image by David from Pixabay

When Tess Prendergast, professor of librarianship and children's literature at The School of Information at University of British Columbia in Vancouver, writes or talks, I am at full attention. She has a way of breaking down complex theory into understandable parts that have always been of great use in my library career.

In a recent ALSC blog post she explored why reading can be such a difficult skill for some children. She writes: "In terms of human history, reading is in its infancy because 97% of the human era does not include any print at all. The fact that it is a fairly recent development does not reduce the enormous importance of print and reading on human life today. We also know that babies are not born with brains that are primed to read in the way that they are primed to understand and use language. 

Our brains are naturally prepared to organize themselves around language, but not around reading. Reading is an invention that has taken on immense significance to humanity which is why it is so important that everyone has an opportunity to learn how to do it. We must be taught to read well enough to take full advantage of all the benefits a literate life has to offer. So how do humans learn to read, and what are the best ways to teach them? We literally need to train our brains to read with ease and comprehension. It is a very complicated neurological process that could never be covered adequately in a single blog post, but I’ll try! "

She goes on to unpack a simple view of reading and how you can use this in your work with families.

You can read her fascinating blog post here. [Understanding the Simple View of Reading. Prendergast, Tess. ALSC blog. July 18, 2023.]

Fun Fridays - Sensory-Based Programming

Jamie Mercer is the Head of Youth Services at W.J. Niederkorn (Port Washington) Library and shares some extra fun with easy and/or FREE programming ideas/tips.

Happy Friday! 

Today I am here to give my short soap-box speech on sensory programming and to encourage you (if you aren’t already) to create sensory based programs at your library.  

If you haven’t ever held a sensory program at your library, it may be intimidating and it may sound like it requires an immense amount of work.  I have also heard of many librarians getting discouraged because it can be messy… let me assure you…it definitely can be…but it is what YOU make it…and… IT’S TOTALLY WORTH IT AND NEEDED! 

Let me put you at ease, after doing sensory programming for seven years now, I can tell you, it doesn’t have to be time intensive and it doesn’t have to be expensive.  Again, it is what YOU make it. 

Before I go any further into the how of sensory programming, I will give a brief synopsis of why it is so important and needed- 

As a librarian, you will really want to make sure you consistently include a sensory based program in your youth programming.  Not only does sensory play and sensory activities help children by supporting healthy brain development through different modes of sensory input, sensory play and sensory activities also engage children in problem solving, as well as aids in language development, building fine and gross motor skills, and finally helps children with social-emotional growth as they learn from one another by observing, imitating, and modeling as they play.  Because of the plethora of benefits, sensory programming is a wonderful option to offer ALL children and families.  It is also key to note that sensory programming is an excellent vehicle and opportunity to make your library more accessible to underserved populations such as the autistic community.  It is a chance to develop great community partnerships that just help the library and library staff grow in many different ways. 

Over the past year, due to time and staff constraints, my sensory programs have shifted from Sensory Storytime to Sensory Playtime.  I will talk briefly about both.  

When I planned for my sensory storytime, I would choose a theme.  I created a visual schedule that I would attach to the flannel board for storytime so participants could follow along and know what to expect (the visual schedule pieces stayed consistent for each storytime).  I choose one or two stories for each storytime to go with the theme (one of the stories would always be a flannel board story.  I usually made the pieces for the story myself with cheap felt from a craft store). I encouraged storytime friends to hold pieces so they could be active participants in the story…but understood if and when that didn’t work out.  And that was okay.  With any sensory programming you do, my best advice, just go with the flow. 

As far as finger plays, songs, etc., I also would choose one or two songs for the storytime.  I included props during the storytime and songs including shakers, bean bags/textured bean bags, bouncy bands, the bubble machine, etc.  Aside from the bubble machine, I have at one point or another in the past several years made all the props for my sensory programming including egg shakers with rice, tape, and plastic eggs.  I also remember sewing bean bags together after I had found really neat textured fabric on a craft store trip.  The props get used and lost along the way.  And that is also okay.  

It is definitely nice if you have funds in place to buy sensory programming supplies, but you can also have an excellent program with materials you find around home and/or make yourself.  Sometimes families appreciate this even more because they know it will be easy and affordable to replicate when they get home. 

As far as sensory playtime, I also generally plan around a theme for these programs as well.  After a theme is chosen, I plan 5-6 activities trying to focus on different senses, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and play activities that encourage interaction.  Big fan favorites include- water beads… anytime I take out a bin with water beads in it, that is where 70% of the children gravitate.  Playdough is also a favorite (I try to add different scents to this… based on season or theme…with essential oils).  I often use playdough recipes from Pinterest that our quick and with items that can be brought in from home…. there is an excellent two ingredient recipe that is cornstarch and hand lotion or conditioner that works great in a pinch.  

I’ve had success with several food related activities during sensory playtime (without issue or complaint, but realize that this will vary by library).  This past fall, I was able to bring in my apple corer for an apple themed sensory playtime where kids cored, peeled, and sliced their own apples.  Then they used it to make apple sauce in a crock pot.  They had a delectable time! 

I hope you found this brief post helpful, please pick my brain if you’d like more examples of activities or want feedback, etc.  If you aren’t doing sensory programming now…I hope you will try it.  And after you try it, I would LOVE to hear about it. It is hard to try something new, especially if you are nervous, and I would love to celebrate you and congratulate you. 

I am happy to answer further questions or help in any way I can.  If I don’t have the answer, I am happy to point you to a person or resource that may be of better assistance. 

Feel free to contact me at jmercer@monarchlibraries.org  

Penguin Random House Extends Story Time Temporary Open License to December 31st, 2021

Attention all library staff serving youth who plan to offer virtual story times into Autumn 2021!

With the uncertainty around school full or partial closings, we have extended the Penguin Random House Story Time Temporary Open License until December 31, 2021. We are heartened by the role that books and reading is playing to help connect us when we are physically apart. Please continue to share our books and stories with students and readers everywhere.

Details about the extension and some clarifications around the Open License have been made. You’ll find all the details HERE.

Thank you for your shared commitment to storytelling and reading, and to our collective belief in the power of books to connect us—especially during times like these.

Best,

Story Time Temporary Permissions

Have you heard about any other publishers who have extended their license?  Tell us in the comments!

Planning for Fall Preschool Services

Image by Prawny from Pixabay

We recently posted about what programming might look like in the fall. 

With the delta variant gaining traction and many pockets of our state still well under the vaccination level needed to get us to herd immunity, there remain many questions on how best to provide services - especially preschool programming - to our families.

Two recent blog posts continue to add to the conversation and our thinking.

The first is from the ALSC Early Childhood Program and Services Committee. This committee devised a survey to collect data on early childhood programming plans for fall to see where people were at. This post shares some early results as well as links you directly to the data collected. You can also fill out the survey to share your library's approach. You can read the July 22, 2021 post here.

The second is from Katie Salo aka Storytime Katie. She shares what she has done with her storytimes - her methods, thinking, processes, data collection strategy and set-up. This post is a great way to see what another librarian is doing as well as to help us think about where we might be going as fall planning starts. You can read Katie's blog post here.

What are your plans?

Be Part of a Study on Storytime!

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

An opportunity shared by Tessa Michaelson Schmidt

Based on findings from the Institute of Museum and Library Services-funded Storytimes for School Readiness and Community Needs project (LG-96-17-0199-17), a multi-state study of public library storytime programs designed for preschool children, we created a fully online asynchronous module designed to support librarians’ learning.

 

Enhancing Storytime Programs to Better Support Children’s Learning Outcomes is both the title and the focus of the learning module which was developed at the University of Kentucky. The learning module consists of a narrated presentation and video demonstrations as well as self-reflection questions and responses embedded throughout. The module is freely available and accessible via this link until June 30, 2021: https://www.hdilearning.org/product/adult-child-interactions-in-storytime/

 

We estimate the module will take approximately 95 minutes to complete, and participants will be offered a certificate of participation upon completion of the module. The module is hosted on the Learn Dash learning management system licensed to the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute. To access the learning module, you will be required to create a username and password.

 

As part of the learning module, you will be responding to self-reflection and knowledge questions embedded throughout the module. You will have the option to consent to allow researchers at the University of Kentucky to review your responses and include them as part of a larger study designed to help us understand more about librarians’ priorities when planning storytime programs. You may not get personal benefit from taking part in this research study, but some volunteers experience satisfaction from knowing they have contributed to research that may possibly benefit others in the future.

 

If you do not want to be part of the study, you may indicate that preference. You will still be able to utilize the learning module, but your responses will not be reviewed nor included in the study. Your employers will not know whether or not you have agreed to allow the data to be used by researchers.

 

The questionnaire is designed to be part of the learning module, and the module will take about 95 minutes to complete. 

 

There are no known risks to participating in this study.

 

Your response to the questionnaire will be kept confidential to the extent allowed by law.  When we write about the study you will not be identified. Your responses will be linked to your username; however, prior to making the responses available to the researchers, staff in the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute will remove all other data, including the username. The researchers of this study will not attempt to connect your responses to your identity in any way. If you decide to stop participating after you begin the questionnaire, you can continue the learning module without responding to additional questions and still be offered a certificate of participation upon completion of the module.

 

The information collected in the responses may be used for future research or shared with other researchers without your additional informed consent.

We hope to receive completed questionnaires from about 1,000 people, so your answers are important to us.  Of course, you have a choice about whether or not to complete the questionnaire, but if you do participate, you are free to skip any questions or discontinue at any time. You will not be penalized in any way for skipping or discontinuing the questionnaire.  

 

Please be aware, while we make every effort to safeguard your data once received from the online learning management company, given the nature of online surveys, as with anything involving the Internet, we can never guarantee the confidentiality of the data while still on the learning management company’s servers, or while en route to either them or us. It is also possible the raw data collected for research purposes will be used for marketing or reporting purposes by the learning management/data gathering company after the research is concluded, depending on the company’s Terms of Service and Privacy policies.

 

If you have questions about the study, please feel free to ask; my contact information is given below. 

 

Thank you in advance for your assistance with this important project.

 

Sincerely,

Maria Cahill, PhD

School of Information Science, University of Kentucky

PHONE:  859-218-2293

E-MAIL:  maria.cahill@uky.edu

 

If you have complaints, suggestions, or questions about your rights as a research volunteer, contact the staff in the University of Kentucky Office of Research Integrity at 859-257-9428 or toll-free at 1-866-400-9428.

 

 

Maria Cahill, PhD Associate Professor University of Kentucky School of Information Science, College of Communication and Information Educational Leadership Studies, College of Education Lexington, KY 40506 859-218-2293 maria.cahill@uky.edu

 

Storytime Goes Digital - Guest Post

Today's guest post is from the ever fabulous
Abby Bussen of Muskego Public Library!

Let me start by saying this: I am NOT an expert on doing digital storytimes—I just livestreamed my very first one ever, so I am sure I will continue to evolve and learn as this becomes my weekly practice.

I chose to do a full storytime with a slightly modified format. I did this because my storytime kiddos know exactly what’s coming next and research proves that kids routines are beneficial for all kids. They’re also particularly important for our kiddos with developmental differences. This is an unprecedented situation, but I want my families to have something they can count on.

Here are some observations I made as I reflected on this experience.

1)      I realized in my trial run that if I used forward-facing camera, everything was mirror image, so pictures and words were all flipped. If you can (if you have another set of hands around), do the normal camera instead of forward-facing. I had EXTREME anxiety about not being able to see myself until I remembered that for the viewer, this experience was no different than normal. In short, it’s hard not to be self-conscious because We (as a society) are so used to being able to reshoot and review everything we create to perfect it before posting, but I’m here to tell you this: you’re great and you know it, so just go with it!

2)      I wanted to be far enough away from the camera to do my shape game and read and have everything in the shot, but in the future, I will move closer specifically when I’m reading the book(s). When I rewatched it (I shouldn’t have, btw, I was so critical of myself in the rewatch), it was a little hard to see the pictures. I’m glad I’m an animated reader, I think that’s what saved me in the greatest “not being able to see the pictures very clearly” debacle of my life. No one complained about it tho, so [shrug].

3)      I chose to do a format super similar to what I do on a normal basis instead of posting a clip of me reading. I did this to give our kiddos the familiarity of routine. I have considered doing just a reading on its own and posting that either on our page or on YouTube. If I do this, I will add in subtitles as an accessibility measure.

4)      Get ready to not be interrupted. Seriously, when was the last time you got through a whole storytime without interruption? Never. It’s a little awkward.

5)      I also thought, well maybe I shouldn’t clap and say good job after everything because who knows if they’re doing a good job. But then I remembered the kids whose parents have told me that if the parents don’t clap and say “Great job listening!” after every book they read at home, the kids get like legit MAD. It’s part of my routine, so I included it. I felt weird clapping in a room by myself, but to the kids watching, I’m clapping for them.

6)      Get ready to cry afterwards. I’m not kidding. When I saw pictures and videos of the kids I love following along…WOW. The community response has been SO WORTH my anxiety. I WAS SWEATING BUCKETS DURING AND AFTER THIS. Storytimes virtually, it turns out, are higher stress than in person for me :D

7)      I ordered a mic and tripod last week in anticipation of this possibility, but it’s not here yet, so this was all shot on my iPhone. I logged into our library’s Facebook page and went live and it went ok. If you don’t have high-tech gear, you’ll be ok. I promise.

8)      I spent a lot of the night before/morning of talking to my virtual hype person – another librarian whom I love deeply, who is doing her own first virtual storytime too, and who was also nervous about this new platform. You are going to do GREAT AT THIS! You are great at this every week in person! Your families love you and can’t wait to see you! Authors and illustrators are gonna watch you read their books and be like “Wow, that librarian is CRUSHING this. They are better at this than I am! I should have them read all my books to people all the time!” I mean, maybe they’ll be like that. They would be like that if they saw you reading their book. Just sayin’.

9)      IF YOU NEED A HYPE PERSON, I WILL BE THAT PERSON FOR YOU! Don’t hesitate to reach out to me! I will tell you all about how great you are and I won’t be lying.

10)   Overprepare. Just today I realized that I might need to stream storytimes as I work remote from home and I have no idea how long that could last. No one does. Tracy Jordan (30 Rock) said “Live every week like it’s shark week.” It doesn’t have a direct correlation, but I’m taking it this way: Leave work every day with everything you need to do your job from home for an indefinite period of time. 

My #1 crush, Lin-Manuel Miranda, wrote “History has its eyes on you.” I encourage you to take that phrase to heart. Journal. Blog. Take photos. Track your experience. History textbooks will write about this crisis and the first-hand experiences of all of us are valuable. If you have reflections from your own virtual storytimes, please comment below! 

Virtual Storytimes YSS blog COVID-19 series:

• Online Storytime Creation Tools  11/18/20
• Flipgard, Fanfare and Friends: Celebrity Storytime  9/23/20
• ALSC Virtual Storytime Guide is Out!  6/11/20
• Getting Started with Virtual Storytimes  5/27/20
• “How to Do a Virtual Storytime” Webinars 4/13/20
• Tips on Doing Online Storytimes During COVID-19 Closures 3/16/20; updated 3/20/20
• Storytime Goes Digital 3/20/20
• Digital Storytimes- You Do You! 3/31/20
• Digital Storytime, Screen Time and Intentionality – Oh My 4/6/20
• Facebook Live Online Storytime Tips 3/24/20
• Fixing "My Book is Backwards in Online Storytime!" on iPhone 3/22/20

Permissions (Books, Authors and Music) YSS blog COVID-19 series:

• Many Children’s Books COVID-19 Publisher Permissions Extended  6/24/20
• Virtual Storytime – Tips on Fair Use & Kids’ Privacy 5/4/20
• Want Permission? Current Info on Publishers and Authors 3/22/20; updated 4/23/20
•       Music Permissions? Look No Further  3/27/20; updated 3/31/20

Lessons Learned from Play & Read Groups at La Crosse Public Library

Submitted by Brooke Newberry, La Crosse Public Library and Rebecca Sutherland, AmeriCorps

submitted

La Crosse Public Library Play & Read (part of a collaboration between AmeriCorps Serve Wisconsin and the Department of Public Instruction) successfully facilitated six (6) Play & Read groups with 2-6 children in each group. Through stories, songs, crafts, and play each group learned early literacy skills, such as letter recognition and phonemic awareness, and concepts, such as colors and shapes.

A few things we learned along the way:

• Start with what they know! Name sticks were a regular part of each of our groups as a soft landing project. The kids would come in and work with their grownups on matching clothespins with letters on the ends to corresponding letters that spelled out their name on a colorful paint stick.
   
• Sensory bins keep us busy and engage our fine motor skills! The kids loved sorting and searching for colors and shapes in buttons, beans, shredded paper, and even snow! These sessions were always difficult to wrap up, in a good way.
   
• Boxes are the best! Our Found Object lesson led to trains, towers, tunnels, and more all made from boxes provided by area businesses. Paired with books like Meeow and the Big Box and This is Not a Box, it made for a very creative time.
   
• Offer odd hours! Two of our groups met in the evenings between 5:30 and 7pm. Late for many families, but those who made it were happy for the late times. Due to odd working hours they would have never made the other groups.
   

In addition to the Play & Read groups, we were able to do outreach story times to local day cares, head starts, and preschools. In total, we brought storytimes to 15 centers along with the farmer’s market over the summer months. Through the Play & Read project we were able to reach hundreds through our outreach efforts and programs. We continue to offer our outreach story times and have a growing relationship with community partners in reaching families with opportunities for learning together.