The Devil Went Down to the Giraffe Farm

I have been quiet because I've been sick.  Oh joy oh rapture another sinus infection.  I was lucky this time and managed to not have anything leading up to it (strep, flu, etc.).  I'm not really sure how that works.  I had a day of bad mood (thankfully not a work day) and a day of sniffles and fatigue (I'm assuming allergies).  I was still productive on those days and enjoyed life (bad mood be damned).  So I only lost 3 days to a sinus infection, melancholy, and sleep.  

I've been feeling gross but alive again.  A dangerous combination, especially for facilitating storytimes. Actually, perfect for storytimes, because no one cares that I'm a little snotty, and there's no better way to come back to life than surrounding yourself with a crowd (huddle? parade? gaggle?) of squealing, laughing, singing, and sometimes screaming children.  

My first day back to work and I did three storytimes.  That tells you how much happiness there must be in storytimes.  Enough to buoy a mucus-ravaged soul bleary from three days of nothing but sleep and HGTV.  

Storytime Highlights (AKA the only way you'll figure out the meaning of my NyQuil-induced title):

* My first storytime opened with some squabbling brothers, whose grown-up herded them out the door at least once.  Their grown-up was a rockstar.  The twins were wild things and maybe needed some time away from each other.  But I remember how much I fought with one of my brothers and also how much I adored him and wanted to be with him every second of the day.  Love and togetherness and also being a toddler is tough!

But, I was able to engage with them a few times, and each time it was a beautiful thing.

* One of my storytime regulars handed me a little drawing before storytime.  Just sharing some gushiness to warm your heart.  

* I did a really silly song about sharing that I found at Jen in the Library, and it was a hit!  I saved sharing a wig with a pig for last, and it got laughs in each storytime.  I only make a couple new magnetic board activities each season, because I now have so many, and I also like to give them the time and attention they deserve.  This was a new magnetic board activity for me, and it's coming back soon.

* We only had time for two books in each storytime.  The books were both a little on the long and preachy side, so I wasn't sure how that was going to work out.  But everyone loved both books.  They really connected with Llama Llama Time to Share, which is about Llama Llama sharing with a new friend, Nelly the Gnu (an anthropomorphized wildebeest as I discovered on the always enlightening Wikipedia). And we had some excellent discussions about emotions and body language.

* I had an older kid in my second storytime, so I asked him to be my helper.  The first time I asked him for help, another kid hopped up and made it very clear that he was a helper too.  I don't always remember to ask the older kids to help, but today was a good reminder that we all like to be asked to help.  And many hands make less work for all!  Plus, cuteness!

* At the end of my first storytime a grown-up and her child approached me, and with some encouragement, the child "requested" that we do shaker eggs the next time.  I made a note of his name and told myself that no matter what, if a child shows up with that name, we're doing shaker eggs.  It's such a big deal to voice our wants and needs to anyone, let alone a loud storytime lady.  I hope I can remember!

* So yea, eggs.  The first two storytimes were all about the parachute.  In the third storytime we had two babies.  One baby made the most beautiful spit bubbles during our goodbye song.  We had just started singing it, and there the baby went with all her spit bubbles and raspberries, so we paused and maybe encouraged her some.  

* The third storytime was when the best moment of the day happened (in my humble, loud storytime lady opinion).  We had some extra time so I asked if they wanted to read a book or sing a song.  They voted for a song, and I asked what song they wanted to sing.  A child shouted, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia!"

I kid you not!!  As you can see I still have a job, so clearly (and sadly) we sang something else.  When I asked for another suggestion I was temporarily relieved when someone suggested Old MacDonald Had a Farm. Humble, loud, and foolish. A winning trifecta here.  

When I asked what animal we should sing about first, the same child who suggested the first song, shouted, "giraffe!" 

He did so gleefully too, I might add.

So what's the key to a darn-near perfect storytime? 

Is it llamas and gnus that really get you?  Having the record for the most Patrick Mahomes jerseys in one storytime? (Five alone in the first storytime btw.) Inappropriate song suggestions? A spit bubble encore? Or singing about giraffe farms?