Both storytimes this week felt like a bit of a train wreck. I fumbled with a few things in the first storytime, and though I managed to cobble together all my wits (and marbles) for the second storytime, the kids had way too much energy and it didn't matter.
My theme was all about counting this week.
Yoga Pose: Volcano (from last week), which was a hit in the first storytime, but the kids in the second storytime were much too quiet and shy for this in the second storytime. I'll let you know the second the peanut butter and jelly hit the fan here in a moment.
Sign Language: Last week we learned "thank you" and "you're welcome," which everyone appeared to enjoy learning. This week I taught the sign for "please," but nobody gave a fart about it. I got a lot of blank stares and very little grown-up participation.
Books we read:
Eggs 123 by Janet Halfman and Betsy Thompson
I thought the kids were going to have so much fun guessing the animals. It was definitely trickier than other guessing books we've read, but I thought they were ready for it. Only a couple animals were guessed. During the first storytime I received a lot of blank looks and incorrect answers (which I realize is better than nothing). Right as I picked this book up to read in the second storytime my small group of quiet kids suddenly had infinite amounts of energy and could not focus on this book.
Ten Hungry Pigs by Derek Anderson
Both groups were too wound up to enjoy this much.
Parachute Play (during first storytime):
This was the same as last week and everyone enjoyed themselves.
Shaker Eggs (during second storytime):
I handed out the eggs and then my mind went blank. I couldn't remember a single shaker egg song. I think the chaos level in the room wasn't helping my brief memory lapse either. I finally cobbled together a song about shaking the eggs from "ear to ear" and other body parts the kids suggested. This turned out to be fun and one of the few moments the kids were engaged during the second storytime.
Magnetic Board Rhymes:
Valentines, which I did last year. The first storytime enjoyed these. The second storytime didn't care one bit.
I also attempted to do the Five Little Elephants activity but I completely messed it up. Even with lots of practice, I still manage to bomb things. I didn't bring this out in the second storytime because A. I was still mortified. And B. They were too wound up to focus on this rhyme.
Songs: I changed up our first quieting down rhyme today with "Open Shut Them/I Have 10 Little Fingers by Kathy Reid-Naiman. The first group really enjoyed the first half of this song so I'm going to play that half next week. The kids in the second storytime were all sitting so sweetly and quietly I didn't think we needed a quieting down song. I am not exaggerating when I say these kids went from quiet and shy to crazy energetic in less than a second.
We also sang 10 Little Bubbles by Sara Hickman, which has been such a hit in the past. Sadly, one boy said it went too fast for him in the first storytime, and it was a total flop in the second storytime.
Learning Moments:
* Always have shaker eggs and shaker egg songs at the ready.
* Slow down and take deep breaths, even if it's in front of a crowd of children. Especially if it's in front of a crowd of children. I usually do a great job of asking everyone to take deep breaths with me, and today I totally forgot.
* Don't bring out any magnetic board activities when the kids are too wound up to focus on them. Even if it's close to Valentine's Day and I'm super eager to share my Valentines with them because it's a once-a-year thing.
* Lastly, I've decided to share this, because I think it's important. Like lots of people I sometimes struggle with anxiety. I don't talk about it much because I don't allow it to control my life. I've spent many years managing it and feel like I've made peace with it. Usually my anxiety only lasts a few hours at a time, and rarely does it last more than a day. When I struggle with anxiety I think of it as "The Doom." It's a mixture of things including dread, sadness, my brain trying to question nearly all of the decisions I've ever made in my life, and negative thoughts about nearly everything I do that I normally think I do fairly well.. Pretty much my brain turns against me, and it's a struggle to turn it off and/or re-focus. The Doom usually just happens. I've never been able to figure out if there's something that causes it.
Though Rachel had some struggles last week, we created a path forward, which is all I ask for with her tendency to make poor life decisions and her off-and-on struggle with self-destructive behavior. She even came home over the weekend, which gave us all time to talk. I had a great day at work this past Saturday and came home feeling happy with pretty much everything, including two successful teen programs. Saturday evening The Doom hit. And it decided to stay for a few days. I think I'm finally escaping it, but this is one of the longest periods that The Doom has visited.
Izzy and I struggled with homework pretty much the whole day on Sunday, which gave me little time to tackle The Doom. It also put me behind a day. I never thought I would spend an entire day trying to teach someone what verbs/adjectives/nouns are, especially after going over them nearly every day for the past several months. Izzy's memory issues can be so tricky, and sometimes I just want to sit down and cry because I'm consumed by all theses questions about how she's going to make it in the world without all the lists and reminders and help she gets on a daily basis. She is making so much progress though and has tenacity for days (enough to carry me when I'm struggling).
The Doom lasted for a couple days but I was super proud of keeping it together and getting so much done. Art projects like collaging are a no-go during The Doom, but carefully grooming an elderly golden retriever is almost cathartic. I try to focus on tasks that are black and white, nothing creative or difficult. I only yanked the tail off a paper quail I've been working on for a while. Then I moved on to other things. This is a huge improvement for me.
If someone had told me ten years ago I was going to give storytimes while struggling with The Doom I wouldn't have believed it. I also wouldn't have believed that a storytime, crazy or not, could make The Doom go away, but it's happened a couple times. I really enjoy toddler and preschooler energy and the crazy things they say. Their joy is infectious. So while these storytimes weren't amazing, I think everyone still had a great time, and shortly after storytime (and a lunch time nap) The Doom finally disappeared.
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