Slow day

I don't really have much to report about Friday. It was a very slow and monotonous day. I didn't really do too much. Got some things ready for my program on Tuesday, sat at the desk and answered questions and worked on Youth Bio. That's pretty much the extent of it. The only notable thing about today is that I came in to work to find a present waiting for me. Bill, the librarian I had worked with for Tuesday's program, had created a CD for me of royalty-free music I can use for book trailers or future programs. It was such a surprise and I was very grateful. But that was my excitement for the day!

Article: "A Great Program...for Me as a Gramma"

I wanted to find an article about dialogic reading because I know it's an important aspect of early literacy, especially with Every Child Ready to Read. I've been trying to do this with the kids at Little Tykes, asking them open-ended questions about the book we're reading. I came across this article, which covers a family literacy program in Canda. I can't speak to every aspect of this study because there are a lot of differences from a library program (and especially my program, since mine is not about family literacy). First, the program discussed here takes place in a school and lasts for much longer than a typical library program. Additionally, a meal is involved, with staff, children and caregivers partaking together. Finally, the program studied here uses a much broader definition of literacy than what most library early literacy programs use at their base.



It's really difficult to discuss this article but I think it was interesting to read. I'm not really an early literacy expert but some of the things about the program presented in the article rubbed me the wrong way. It's discussed that the facilitators don't teach parents any particular way of reading to their children. While there are many ways of reading and no one should be emphasized above the other, there is a definite need for facilitators and experts to teach parents the ways of reading to and with their children. This leads into another point. The program here emphasized parents sharing their own literacy expertise. There is no discussion of what happens when the parents don't know what this means. There is a bit of discussion about how facilitators need to address parental insecurity, which is definitely important. Finally, another issue that parents brought up in evaluative surveys was the inclusion of wordless picture books. Many parents felt these books lacked value and wondered how they could be promoting literacy when they don't have any words. I think wordless picture books are great for promoting one of the types of literacy with parents. These books encourage storytelling, which is great. Overall, I enjoyed this article. It was a different perspective than I had come across previously.



Anderson, J. & Morrison, F. (2007). 'A Great Program...for Me as a Gramma': Caregivers Evaluate a Family Literacy Initiative. Canadian Journal of Education, 30(1), 68-89. Retrieved from JSTOR database.

Atypical

Today was a bit of an atypical day at my internship. First thing this morning, I got all my supplies together for my program. I killed a little bit of time looking for articles and then I headed out. Today at Little Tykes we discussed cooking. I think today went much more smoothly than last week. The kids were late coming back from a bathroom break so we didn't start on time. This was a bit frustrating, but also a bit of a relief. After last week, I felt a little less excited about coming back so I was okay not starting on time. At the same time, though, it's frustrating to have everything prepared, physically and mentally, and not have that reciprocated. Especially when I ran out of time (again) to finish everything I have planned. Perhaps I am over-preparing and trying to cram too much into the program. But I would rather be over-prepared than not. Anyway, we started out with Open Shut Them and sharing the bell again. Then we got right into the story. I read a book about pigs cooking and had the kids talking about recipes and ingredients and what those words mean. I also had the opportunity to teach them what a squid was. Then I did a small activity where I showed them unique kitchen and cooking supplies and had them guess what they were. The kids were great at this, especially one little boy - it seemed like he knew what everything was! However, this was a great activity for teaching them new vocabulary and practical information. I also had a chance to explain to them what knuckles were (we were talking about cheese graters). Lots of unexpected lessons in today's program. After this, I read another story and I had the kids trying to guess what happens next. After I finished that story, we were almost out of time so I gave the kids a choice - did they want to sing a song or read another story? I was surprised when they chose the story. The last one wasn't really a story - it was more a kid's book about vegetables. They were really great at this, too - they knew most of the vegetables, though they were surprised to see that potatoes come in many different colors. Finally, we said goodbye, I packed up, and headed back to the library.





I had a little time to kill so I prepared a little for my afternoon program by watching some YouTube videos. I helped a few patrons with questions. After lunch, I worked a bit more on Youth Bio, then it was off to another program. This was a teen program at the library and I was mostly just watching. The program was a class on making book trailers. I was a bit apprehensive because I didn't know too much about it. However, once we got started, I realized that I had used this software in a computer class in high school. It sort of all came back to me as Bill, the librarian running the program, explained everything to the teens. Plus, they were very self-sufficient.





In terms of evaluating this program, I think it went okay. Bill has a tendency to ramble a bit, so he may have talked a bit more than necessary for getting the kids ready to branch out on their own. Additionally, since this was only a one-time, hour-long program, the kids didn't really have time to actually create a book trailer. It can be time-consuming - to find royalty-free images and music to use, to think of what to say, even to come up with a book you want to promote. So, I think some of the kids were a bit dissatisfied with not actually creating a project, just experimenting with the software. Other kids seemed totally fine with this and I think might actually be motivated enough to go out on their own and work with this program (we used Windows Movie Maker). So it was kind of a draw.



We actually ran this program twice, back to back, because we were working in a very small computer lab and the space was limited. We had more kids interested than space available for one program, so we did it twice. The second time around went a little better in terms of Bill's tangents, but the majority of these kids seemed less interested in practicing with the software. Overall, I think it was a bit of a draw. I also had some time to talk to Bill and get information for future reference, in terms of finding public domain music to use in book trailers or programs I might make in the future.

After we finished up, I worked a bit more on Youth Bio. We're almost done already! I don't know what I'll do with my spare time around the library once we're finished; maybe the shelf labels that Suzanne has mentioned. I'm sure she'll find something for me to do! I made some reminder phone calls for Jaymi's baby programs tomorrow and then my day was done. Overall, it was a decent day, better in terms of programming, I think. Every day is a learning experience!

Alone

Friday was my first day all alone in the department. Totally alone, I was responsible for everything that went on during the day. My morning was pretty hectic. I arrived and went through opening procedures. Luckily, Diane (the library director) had already started setting up for the join program we'd be running. I'm not sure I would have had time to get it all done in time. So I finished opening procedures and finished set up for our morning program.

Since everyone else was on vacation or off for the day, Diane and I tag-teamed a program that Suzanne had planned. It was for a local kindergarten (I think that's what they were) and it was about cubism. It went okay. My issues with it were that I only found out I'd be doing it on Tuesday and it was someone else's program. I know Suzanne's passion is art and she loves introducing it to kids. But I don't share that passion and I'm not particularly knowledgable about art. So I wasn't too interested in the program to begin with. I also worried that the program was a little too specific and advanced for the children we were presenting too. Additionally, I was expected to present this program with the library director. THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR. Talk about pressure.

Once we got into the program, though, it was okay. It had clearly been a long time since Diane had run a program and I think she seemed a little nervous. Perhaps I was the only person who noticed but she seemed to ramble and lack focus a bit. I believe that you don't need to talk down to kids when talking to them. However, you have to make sure they understand what you're saying, and I'm not sure Diane really accomplished that part. And I discovered an additional issue with performing someone else's program: Diane kept mispronouncing the artists' names. After Diane's overview of cubism and my presentation on the color wheel, we let the kids loose with watercolors and reproductions of cubist paintings. They were great! They were all so into painting and so meticulous about the details. All the paintings were unique and well done. I was a bit at a loss about what to do while the kids were painting. I basically just told them how great they were doing. Diane kept trying to teach them information, which I think bothered some of the kids. Towards the end, I read a story while they finished up. They seemed to like it. Then we went outside and played with the parachute for a couple minutes. And then our program was finished. Like I said, it went okay. I don't think the kids noticed any discomfort Diane or I might have been feeling. I would have felt better if it was a program I had planned myself or had more of an express interest in.

I cleaned up after the program and then sat at the reference desk until lunch. I worked on my program while covering the desk. After lunch, it was more of the same. I sat at the desk, answered questions, signed kids up for summer reading and programs, awarded prizes, and worked on my programs in between. It was actually a really slow afternoon. Usually, the afternoon is the busier time, especially in the children's department. But I only had a handful of patrons throughout the afternoon. It was good in that I didn't feel too overwhelmed for my first solo day in the department, but it made for a long afternoon. Overall, I think the day went well. I did all the closing procedures and everything went pretty smoothly. I didn't come across any questions I couldn't answer and I didn't feel swamped at any point. I think I can do this!

Do or Die Time...

Tuesday was a big day. As soon as I arrived at Mooresville, I started getting all my supplies ready for my program. I was a bit all over the place - I kept forgetting things I needed and having to retrace my steps. Just a bit crazy. But I finally got it all together and headed over. I got set up and then it was go time.

My first solo Little Tykes program. I was really nervous but so crazy rushing around that I didn't really have time to think about. I started out with introductions again then we did "Open Shut Them," an old standard song for story times. Everyone sang along so I was really excited. Good start. We shared the bell (which the kids love doing), and then did a little chatting about the theme for the week (parties). Then I read my first book, I Am Invited to a Party! by Mo Willems. They seemed to enjoy this one and it was a very easy read. After the book, we sang "The More We Get Together," another classic story hour song. And this is the point at which I think I lost them. Very few of the kids tried to sing along and one of the counselors gave off a vibe that she didn't really have any interest in helping me out. Next I brought out the instruments and we played along with an upbeat song. I knew this was going to be a tricky portion because I had a bunch of different instruments. I wasn't really sure how to go about distributing them so I kind of let the kids choose what they wanted. Only a minor disaster. One girl didn't even want to play because she didn't get the instrument she wanted. So, if I do this again, I will have to try to come up with some solution. However, I was really happy when the kids started sharing instruments on their own during the song. I made sure to praise them for this. Then I read another book, which maybe three or four kids paid any attention to. I tried to sing another song and absolutely none of them showed any interest. Then we got to the craft portion. I had brought some pre-cut birthday crowns and crayons and asked them to decorate them. They love to color, so I wasn't too worried about this. However, I discover that I don't have enough for each child. Our first program with them was attended by nine kids, so I brought supplies for twelve (I planned on extras, including one for myself). Turns out that this week, there were thirteen kids. So two children had to share and I felt like a complete amateur. I ended up running over a few minutes (and I still had another book and a song). Overall, I don't feel really good about how it went. I don't know what it was, but the kids didn't seem to pay as much attention as they did the week before. One of the counselors did mention that they had just played a lot of running games, so they might have been a little wound up. I don't know. I just really wish it had gone better. I was definitely not pleased to have one child say they didn't have fun and didn't want me to come back next week (granted, it was the little girl who didn't get the instrument she wanted, so she may have been bitter, but still).

Back at the library, I put away all my supplies and then covered the reference desk while Jaymi was at lunch. In the afternoon, I worked on planning more Little Tykes and working the desk. I also helped with assorted tasks as Jaymi and Suzanne asked. I had a brief meeting with Suzanne and Diane, the library director, as she and I will be running a program on Friday. Another thing for me to be nervous about. Not only will I be alone in the department on Friday, I'll be running a program that I didn't plan and really don't know much about with THE DIRECTOR OF THE LIBRARY. Not a big deal or anything. I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed this week. Especially since Friday, I don't have the luxury of the half hour before patrons show up to get opening procedures done. I have to do them when I get there at nine and the program starts at ten, so I will have to try to squeeze the opening procedures and set up for the program in the first forty-five minutes of the day. I just don't have a real great feeling about it. I'm probably underestimating my abilities, but I'm a worrier. I guess that's all for today.

Book: "Storytime Sourcebook II"

Since I have been focusing so much of my energy on planning my Little Tykes programs, I have been using this book nearly every day throughout my internship. I love this book. It's indispensable to me as someone just starting out with programming. What I love most about this book is that it's organized thematically. Pretty much any theme you could think of has a listing in here. And I absolutely love the suggestions of when to use the different themes - the book has interesting holidays and celebrations listed to go along with each theme. I love this feature! There are holidays I've never heard of that I think kids would just be wild about learning. Each theme has the holiday listing, then a list of videos & books. There are 15 books listed for each theme so it provides you with a wide variety to choose from. There is one fingerplay for each theme, then 2-4 activities and usually one song. What I don't like about this book is that I think there should be more songs listed. I know they provide a number of videos, which often have music, but singing songs with kids is a huge part of most library programs and you can usually use songs no matter where your program takes place. Another thing that I don't like as much about this book is that it only gives you the name of the fingerplay and the source it can be found in. It would be much more helpful if the actual fingerplay were included in this text in case you don't have time to go hunting in other books for the one listed. Overall, though, this book is amazing. I've consulted it for every program I'm planning. Eventually I'd like to not be as reliant on books such as this, but for really unique programming, this is an especially helpful title.

Cullum, C. (2007). The Storytime Sourcebook II. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.

Bad day...

I suppose it has to happen sooner or later - Friday was my first "off" day at Mooresville.

The day started off fine - I had a bit of time in the morning to kill before accompanying Suzanne to Children's Park (local kindergarten) for a program about bugs and insects. The program went really well. She showed the kids pictures of bugs and asked them to guess if they were good or bad. The kids were not too bad at it - and they really seemed interested in learning about why some bugs are actually good. The program lasted for about a half hour and then Suzanne and I headed to the grocery store to pick up supplies for her Teen Council Lock-In. This was mostly unexciting but I did discover the joys of tax-exempt shopping and that she occasionally buys titles she thinks the library should have from the grocery store.

We headed back to the library and I had a little bit of time to work on my program (my first solo venture is Tuesday!). However, it wasn't long before Suzanne was hauling out brochures for me to staple and Jaymi was asking me to do some other menial task. I get it - I'm the intern so I get to do all the boring and monotonous tasks that they hate doing. And yes, I understand that it's probably taking me longer than it should to get these programs planned. However, this is my first time planning and executing a program on my own. I don't have a whole litany of books, songs, and activities that instantly come to mind as guaranteed successes. So, right now, the process involves quite a bit of research and checking things out for myself. I want to feel comfortable before diving in on Tuesday and, right now, I don't. Suzanne kept saying I could do these other things "when I had time" but it seemed pretty clear that they were expected to be done sooner rather than later. I just got annoyed.

After lunch, it didn't really get any better. My new distracting task was calling patrons about Saturday's program and about a third session of a program later in the summer. This was time-consuming. And, personally, one of my least favorite tasks in any job is phone calls. So I was doubly not excited for this. When I finally finished that, I tried to at least get Tuesday's program nailed down and I think I have everything figured out. However, I'm still very nervous. When I go in Tuesday, I'll have probably 45 minutes to get everything together and ready before heading over on my own. I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't spend more time researching for my programs at home so I won't get frustrated when I get sent these other tasks at the library. I guess I'll see how it goes Tuesday. One thing is for sure: I will need to practice my children's music at home before my programs. It doesn't go over well if you want the kids to sing and you don't even know the words. So I'll be spending some time doing that before Tuesday. Overall, I'm enjoying the experience and I think I'm getting a lot of chances to do many different kinds of things in the library. I just was a bit frustrated on Friday for lack of planning time.

Frenzy!

Today was a hectic day! First thing in the morning, I did a little bit of work on Little Tykes for next week and then Suzanne and I headed off to the park for the first Little Tykes program.

Suzanne had planned and was running this one so I wasn't too nervous. However, when we got there, the kids (and counselors) were nowhere to be found. That was a bit worrisome. We finally tracked them down and it became clear that they had not been expecting us at all. Apparently, they had us written down as coming on Thursdays, despite the fact that Suzanne and I had both emailed the director and confirmed Tuesday mornings. That was a bit stressful, but I'm glad Suzanne was there to handle it. They were surprised but accommodating and I'm sure I would have been fine on my own, but it was nice to have two of us there to confirm that we were in fact supposed to be there.

Anyway, after we got it all straightened out, Suzanne went into the program. We had nine kids between the ages of three and five and two counselors. We sang a song, then read a book, then did a fingerplay. Then we played with the parachute, read another story, drew some bugs and sang another song. Finally, we said goodbye and Suzanne and I headed back to the library.

My feelings about the whole thing are mixed. I know they are preschoolers and, thus, a very forgiving audience, but I still can't help but feel nervous for next week when I do this all on my own. I plan on doing the same song for opening every week so that the kids can really get to know it and feel comfortable with it and can get the feeling that they've mastered something. I might also try to do a similar thing with closing - pick one song and sing it every week with them at the end. The books went over rather well - I will have to try to make all my stories interactive because the kids really like that. The kids also really loved the fingerplay which is something that I had been really hesitant about before so I might have to rethink my position on that. I had been all about the parachute beforehand because Suzanne told me how much they love it. However, after seeing it in action, I'm not sure I want to go for it. It seemed to get the kids a little too high-strung for the next thing. The drawing went well for the most part - of course, the kids weren't terribly good at it and following directions was not their strong point but they seemed to have fun with it. Clearly, I won't be able to do anything more complex than that in terms of crafts with them so I'll have to figure that out.

Back at the library, I worked a bit more on Little Tykes planning for next week, then took my break. When I got back from that, Suzanne and I set up for the teen program, button-making. This was much better attended than I expected it to be and it went pretty smoothly. The kids got the hang of it really quickly so it almost didn't seem necessary for us to be there but, of course, we still needed to supervise. Suzanne told me to make sure that any library I work at in the future has a button-maker because it's an easy, fun craft that kids love and she uses it to make buttons all the time. It's also not terribly messy so that's good too. We picked up afterwards and then I pulled some books for Suzanne for the next program. I helped her set up the room for that as well. Again, I had a little bit of time to work on Little Tykes but then Suzanne poked her head out of the program room and asked for my help so I stepped in to assist.

Suzanne was having Boys Adventure Club, talking about pirates. She had already done a PowerPoint with information and the boys were working on making their own pirate flags. She had 24 boys in there all by herself! I helped clean up after the pirate flags and then helped them with making pirate ships. A lot of the kids wanted to keep their pirate ships so I helped try to dry them off for bringing home. What I learned from this program - never have 24 boys all on your own! Suzanne definitely needed a helper! Also, I like the idea of having separate programs for boys and girls but, before I went in to help, I definitely heard a few girls who wished they could participate as well. Suzanne told me that they didn't really enforce the segregation; this program just happened to fill up. Another thing I noticed about this program was that the older kids really seemed to like helping the younger kids; they just needed a bit more direction on how best to do so. This is definitely helpful if you're by yourself with this many kids, or even if there are only a few adults helping.

After we cleaned up from that program, I had just a little more time to work on Little Tykes planning. I imagine I'll have more time on Friday to polish up my plans. Today was hectic but good. I felt like we got a lot done and had great attendance so yay for the library! I also feel like I'm getting a lot of ideas to hold on to for use in my own career. I think this is turning out to be even better than I expected!

Book Chapter: "Picturebooks"

Since I am most concerned with selecting picturebooks for my preschool program, I went back and reviewed the chapter in one of my textbooks regarding the subject. I love this textbook; I think it's an invaluable resource for any children's librarian.

The chapter on picturebooks covers a wide range of information. There is a brief definition of picturebooks and then an in-depth discussion of the art and artists in the picturebook world. This is fascinating to read about but it is not my primary concern for this programming. It has gone into my considerations, however. I always try to look at the illustrations of the books. I know there was one book I didn't choose because I felt the illustrations would be too overwhelming for a child of this age. This is something that I probably wouldn't have given much thought to before previously reading this chapter and knowing that illustrations are as important as content.

The rest of the chapter focuses on themes and subjects of picturebooks. Most picturebooks deal with familiar subjects for children and this is important. Kids love to see their own experiences and images reflected back to them through books. It makes it much easier for them to engage in the story and invest in it. However, fantastical books that engage their imagination are incredibly important as well. I'm hoping to strike a balance between the two in my selections for storytime.

Kiefer, B. (2010). Picturebooks. In Charlotte Huck's Children's Literature: Tenth Edition (pp. 154-223). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Preparation is Key

Let's see...Friday was another full day at Mooresville, and another day without Suzanne. Much like the previous days where Suzanne was not working, it was a more free-form sort of day with Jaymi and I each doing our own things.



First in the morning, I went through most of the opening procedures on my own since Jaymi had a program at 10am that she had forgotten to get entirely ready for (see: entry title). It took me a little while to get everything done to a point where I felt comfortable. While Jaymi had her program, I sat on the desk on my own, a little bit without direction and trying to get in library mode for the day. But, I finally realized that I needed to get working on Little Tykes, so that was my plan for the day: get all my programs figured out.

Plan not entirely successful. It is a lot of work to get programs planned! For each program, I need to find 3 or 4 books and 3 or 4 songs plus some sort of activity that fits the weekly theme. Easier said than done. So, despite working on this planning all day (literally, ALL DAY), I still don't have any of the programs completely planned out. Granted, it wasn't a steady day where I locked myself away to work on planning - I was on the reference desk all day, registering people for summer reading and programs, answering reference questions, and giving reminder calls to all the kids signed up for Saturday's programs (4 different programs!). There was even a period when I was on the desk by myself and, while I was nervous at first (as I usually am about new things), everything went fine. I feel like every person I interacted with went away from the desk mostly satisfied. The only thing that really bothers me about being alone at the reference desk is when I encounter questions that I just don't know the answer to because I am new to the library. I hate having to rely on someone else for answers - I feel like I should be able to figure it out - but it's just a fact of life here. I'm not from the area and I only work at this library two days a week for three weeks now - I just don't have all the answers!

Anyway, the day was mostly just a day of regular library business. I worked on Little Tykes all day. My process was such: look at theme. Search catalog for children's picture books that fit theme. Write down locations. Search document on sharedrive for songs and music that fit theme. Write down titles/CD information. Gather more than I need of both. Read said picture books and decide which might work. And that's about as far as I got. I have some books picked out for each week but not enough for all of them and some of the ones I chose, I'm not really completely satisfied with. I didn't do any of the music stuff yet and I still have to work on figuring out activities that preschoolers will do where I don't have to lug huge quantities of supplies back and forth (did I mention this Little Tykes is taking place off-site?).

Jaymi and I went through closing procedures and we all headed home. I am going to try to look at some of the resources I have here at home for more picture book options before I go back on Tuesday. It is much more difficult than one would aassume to select picture books for preschoolers. A lot of the titles that I was most excited about ended up being way too long or complicated for a preschool audience. I am hoping this is something that will get easier to do the longer I work in the field.

I think that's all for me today! First actual Little Tykes program is Tuesday morning so I will get to see what it will actually look like!

Full Swing

Today was a nice steady day, although with too early of a start for my liking. This morning, I arrived before the library opened for a staff meeting. We had a brief session regarding cataloging before joining the rest of the staff for the regular meeting. It was interesting to see how things work at the library on a managerial level. They are just now having one person head a cataloging "department". Additionally, they are having issues with RFID. Mooresville was the tenth library in the nation to adopt RFID when it first arrived on the scene and now all their equipment is antiquated so it's impossible to replace. However, to update everything is a huge budget expenditure so they really have to consider and plan for this. During the regular staff meeting, the director spoke first, covering a variety of topics, including increased patronage due to the Got Access? program, the success of some recent events, and upcoming events. Then representatives from the various departments took turns providing information about happenings within their departments. The meeting lasted for just over an hour and then I headed off to the children's department and Suzanne left for a while.

Jaymi and I went through opening procedures, each taking separate tasks, so I will need to be reminded of the things she handled before I'm there by myself. Time seemed to fly by this morning as we completed these opening duties, registered kids for summer reading, and I worked on Youth Bio. I got the hang of that pretty quickly and worked on that for most of the day, answering reference questions and getting kids signed up for summer reading throughout the day. After Suzanne came back and ran her art program, we set up the community room for the family program tonight. Then we had a brief meeting about Little Tykes. I still feel pretty unsure about it, but I guess I'll see next Tuesday how it goes. I'll just have to work on planning that on Friday.

I actually don't mind working on Youth Bio (although this is only my first real day with it, so I may regret that statement later). Sure, it's tedious, but it's real technical library work. It makes me feel important being able to change the cataloging information. I don't know if it's really the best idea for space-saving but I suppose all libraries deal with space issues differently. Hmm...seems I don't really have much to say about today. I think days at the library will be more ordinary from now on. I suppose we'll see. I enjoyed it!