storytime update

This is possibly my last season of storytimes.  Due to a reorganization of staff at my library system, my job will either be a patron support specialist (A.K.A. manning the desk) or a program support specialist (A.K.A. facilitating library programs).  Currently I do both and love the heck out of the variety of work and patrons I serve.

This reorganization started last August, and it has been a waiting game since then.  I thought fall may be my last storytimes, and now again this spring.  But it is now official.  We aren't having any staff-led programming this summer.  From May-August, all the connections I've built with not just storytime families, but also tween book club families will cease to exist either temporarily or permanently.  Dramatic, yes, but kids grow up.  The end of each season is already tough with at least one storytime family proudly announcing their child is going to preschool the following season. 

And tweens become teens, who then become adults.  I also do not know the outcome of the teen volunteer program, which my branch has been lucky enough to offer year-round.  Two of the six kids who volunteer are graduating, and summer is always the time to get them excited about maybe continuing during their school year.  This summer my branch is not opening up the opportunity to new teen volunteers.  I'm thrilled we get to keep the teen volunteers we currently have but sad that the future of the program is unknown.

I do not know if I will continue to work at my branch, whether I will get to work with kids at all, and what position I will be in.  It's a lot of uncertainty.  I still feel so fortunate to have even found where I belong, and not only that, but to work my dream job for over six years.  And who knows, maybe I'll love wherever I'm at as much as I love this current position. 

Storytimes are one of my favorite things about my job.  They are tiring!  And crazy!  And sometimes I'm still hearing the songs for hours afterwards, but the joy of being a part of storytimes and getting to know the littles and their families is unbeatable.

Last fall season I mostly did my family storytime, which I've done for a few seasons now.  I also subbed for several of my coworker's toddler storytimes and did two outreach storytimes at both a preschool and Montessori school - a wild and amazing experience.  It was a lot of storytimes!  I somehow managed to not get sick and made it to every one.  A storytime season with no illness despite drowning in oodles of germs.  

This season I'm doing both a toddler storytime and family storytime.  I tried to cleverly mix up the crowd favorites between the two storytimes.  At my first toddler storytime one of my family storytime songs was requested and in my family storytime, one of my toddler songs was requested.  The two separate storytime plans immediately became very smooshy, and so now I wake up and have no idea what plan I'm doing.

My go-to style of storytime is very family-oriented, with a couple things for babies and older kids and a lot of toddler components.  It's tough to do two very different storytimes that have such similar age groups and also have my family storytime regulars sprinkled fairly evenly between the two storytimes.  Some come to both!  It's that organic, see-what's-happening-each-storytime approach I've always wanted to feel more comfortable with, and now it's happening.  I'm enjoying every moment.  Even if it means I need more sleep on storytime nights. 😆

Here are some adorable moments I wanted to share:

* I was in the storytime room practicing for the first storytime of the season and I heard tapping on the glass.  I looked up and saw one of my families from the previous season.  They were at the library the moment it opened and could not wait to say hello.

* When I asked one storytime group what alligators do, one girl shouted, "They eat people!"

* While talking about bunnies, I asked the kids if they had long, floppy ears.  One grandpa shouted, "I do!"

* After a storytime, one of my regular kids introduced me to her My Little Pony toy and asked if I would sing the hello song to the toy.  I absolutely said yes.

* After singing our rainbow puzzle song and putting the puzzle together, a kid asked me why we weren't singing the song again as I took each color off the board.

* When I read Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes for one of my storytimes, two of the three sessions read and sang the entire book with me.  They knew all the words!  

I haven't been able to keep track of all the cute and special moments this season.  There are just too many.  Kids really do make the world a special place.  

Wogs & Wuddles

Depending on the day, the dogs and I go for either a "wuddle" or a "wog."  Wuddles are like walks but with constant cuddles.  Margo was the one who created this type of walk.  She does this thing where she throws her body against my legs.  Eventually I figured out that she gets so happy and excited on walks that she can't help but try to share all that excitement with me.  Thankfully she never throws herself hard enough to knock me over.  I'll give her some love, and then she'll continue on her way.  Cuddle, walk, cuddle, walk.  We must look like we're stuck together with Velcro.  

When Margo wants a different direction than where we are going she smacks my hand with her mouth and tries to herd me in the direction she wants.  This is NOT a wuddle, and I usually give her just as much sass as she gives me.  Josie will sometimes ask for cuddles on walks, but she's slightly lower to the ground, and just out of reach.  I have to lean over to give her any kind of love, and it gets a little wonky.  

Wogs are when we go for a combination of a jog and walk.  The girls have done an exceptional job learning that jogging is not a time for pooping or other stops.  They make small movements or slow a little to let me know if they need to do their business.  This is where the walk comes into play.  I usually walk the length of five houses.  This is about the perfect amount of time for the dogs to go potty.  After they go potty, we continue walking until we find a trash can, and then we start the process over again.  

I have succeeded at a lot of things in life - my most recent accomplishment was learning how to use an electric toothbrush in such a way that I don't have to change several times for work.

But for all of my accomplishments, I have never been able to jog with poop.  My peaceful, mindless jog is suddenly spiked with frantic thoughts of bursting bags of poo as the poo swings and thumps, swings and thumps.  Maybe the solution for this is a doggy saddle bag that looks like a dumpster.  As much as I dislike the swinging bag of poo, the dogs are absolutely appalled by it.  They will eat poopy popsicles of all varieties, but if it's their poop swinging against them as we jog, they try to outrun it while throwing me looks of horror and disgust.  You terrible human!  How dare you smack me around with my own poop!

So, as you can see, the dogs and I like to go for walks and jogs for different reasons.  The dogs like to poop and pee as many times as possible, and I like to turn off the internal noise and exert myself as much as possible (this helps turn down future internal noise).  Obviously we have different goals.  So we've settled on the wog for most days and wuddles for days when we are exhausted from outrunning flying poop.

Hikes are usually their own thing.  When we go for hikes, we don't do much wogging or wuddling.  But the other day, while out on a hike, Margo decided to do extended wuddles with me along the trails.  I felt very loved.  It was also challenging sometimes as we wuddled our way over rocks and roots, around mud puddles (me) or through them (Margo).  I don't know if this was just a one-time wuddle hike, or if this is what it looks like as the girls ease their way into middle-age, but we soaked it all up.  

 

crickets of doom, henna, favorite things, maps, pinging, & big words

Ode to a Bad Day by Chelsea Lin Wallace and illustrated by Hyewon Yum (Picture Book)

Everything wears a frown during this girl's bad day, including her food! This girl's ode to a bad day is poetry at its best and her emotions light up the phenomenal illustrations. The wild blasts of color, especially the colors of today on one side and the colors of tomorrow on the other side, were so powerful I was almost wearing a frown! Though her bad day carries on a little bit too long for me and her dreams of a better day tomorrow are slightly obnoxious, I was in love with her bad mood and her little cricket of doom from the very first page. The poem at the very end, "An Ode to an Ode," was the icing on the bad day cake!

A Garden in My Hands by Meera Sriram and illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat (Picture Book)

A mom grows a garden of family stories and memories through the henna she draws on her daughter's hands. The reader is invited into their ritual and feels all the anticipation, love, and warmth the daughter feels. The illustrations are radiant, exuberant, and spellbinding. This is one of those gardens you won't want to leave! Included in the back of the book is more information about henna and a touching author's note.

Oskar Loves by Britta Teckentrup (Picture Book) 

A simple exploration of some of Oskar's favorite things. Oskar encourages his readers to think about their favorite things and talk about them with others. Maybe like me, you will find yourself agreeing with Oskar as he lists his favorite things. The simple text and illustrations explore all the senses and radiate wonder, joy, and contentment.

Papa Brings Me the World by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw (Picture Book)

This is one of those books that needs your undivided attention. It's a bit too wordy for me but worth it for the spectacular illustrations and stories Lulu's papa brings back from his world travels. The Author's Note and map of where Lulu's treasures come from are the best part of this book, so be sure to check those out at the end!

Ping by Ani Castillo (Picture Book)

A philosophical look at reciprocation and the ins and outs of putting yourself out there with the expectation of getting nothing back but recognizing this is everything. It will make you pause and wonder many things. Am I pinging even when it's scary? Are they good pings? How about pongs? Do I pong to the best of my character? How about my intentions when it comes to both?!? When do I need to pause when pinging and ponging? What if I wait too long?!? How do others ping/pong? This book will have you thinking for days and potentially creating a small ping pong tournament inside your head.

Little Geniuses series by Susan and James Patterson and illustrated by Hsinping Pan (Picture Book)

Fun!  You won't be able to resist saying each of these words out loud and having a nice chuckle as you make multiple attempts with your favorite words.  My favorite words included, "gnashnab," which is a person who complains a lot (sometimes me) and "quaquaversal," which is a shape that "starts at the center and spreads out everywhere beautifully."  Though these were my favorite words, the one I couldn't resist saying over and over again was, "fünfundfünfzig," which is pronounced like this: foon-foond-FOONF-zig.  I also can't forget to give a nod to the illustrations.  Bright and exuberant with color combinations that create instant happiness when your eyes absorb them.  

Diaper Face

Is there anything scarier than a diaper face?  Here's a more important question.  Who in your life would you like to turn into a diaper?  Since reading this several weeks ago, whenever I come across my diaper person, I think of this book, and it always makes me smile.  I'm sure I also sometimes look deranged from trying to hold the laughter in, but no matter!

P.S. This is from the book, The Haunted Hamburger by David LaRochelle