Songs and Sounds around the World Program for Families

Here is the outline with hyperlinks:



Here is the take-home handout:



Here is the downloadable text/signage for the Rapp Song:

I Spy: Near and Far

I'm a little frustrated that Google Docs has made its older version unavailable.  (The older version allowed me to grab the embed code from my uploaded PDFs' "Properties".)  As far as I can work out, there's no simple way to embed an uploaded document.  (It's a different story if one uses Google to create the document in the first place.)  So I grabbed an embed code from somewhere on the net.  I'd like to display the code here, but I don't know how to display the code without the computer thinking I want it to follow through with the command.  Contact me if you'd like the embed code.

Home, Sweet Home Storytime Progam for Preschoolers

Here's a home themed program for preschoolers -- a bit more substance and involvement (talking/detail) than the toddler program.  I like having the early literacy tips highlighted simply in the side bar.



The embedded PDF above is available for download by clicking on "Toddler, ages 2 and 3" under the "Youth Services Programs and Resources" heading in the upper right hand corner of this blog: http://librarieslearnlead.blogspot.com/

"Kye Kye Kule" lyrics and signs in the "Graphics" folder.

Home, Sweet Home Storytime Program for Toddlers

I was (re) introduced to Microsoft Publisher and the possibilities it brings for attractive programming handouts.  Here's my first stab at it.  (You can see I'm still into a mostly linear approach ;) )  It's a balancing act trying to give myself an outline while putting in those early literacy and take home tips for the caregivers. 

This new format is making me think more about an interactive handout for children and caregivers to use at home.  The activity sheet on the back was the first step, but I feel the outline itself could be more interactive ...



The embedded PDF above is available for download by clicking on "Toddler, ages 2 and 3" under the "Youth Services Programs and Resources" heading in the upper right hand corner of this blog: http://librarieslearnlead.blogspot.com/

Storytelling vs. Story Sharing and Copyright vs. Creative Commons

As a still newish member of the National Storytelling Network (NSN), I'm viewing my librarian story sharing in a different light. I'm considering the art of storytelling (with the attention on oral aspects and audience feedback) removed from the science of early literacy and removed from story sharing techniques that rely on the book as a prop.  I'm also understanding the prevelance of sharing personal stories or folktales.  Why?  Copyright issues.

What if a storytelling artist wants to share a story that is originally from a picturebook (the oral, performing artist wants to bring a story to a different audience through a different sense) and the original writer is not a performance artist?  (Some writers, such as Patricia Polacco, Charles R. Smith Jr. and Chris Raschka, can perform their story as well as produce a physical form!)  The retelling artist must seek permission, of course.

Following the suggestion of my listserv friends from NSN, I did email Paul Owen Lewis in hopes that he would let me retell his Frog Girl, a perfect family story whose theme fits "One World, Many Stories."  Today, I have gotten his permission to retell it for not-for-profit settings!

On a related note, I'm exploring the idea of Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org/ licenses.  Anyone have thoughts and experiences with this?

Peace through Poetry

The following are two poems from Peaceful Pieces: Poems and Quilts about Peace by Anna Grossnickle Hines (March 2011), a great book to share during the "One World, Many Stories" Collaborative Summer Library Program . 

The poems are short enough to include one or two in a program and will prompt discussion. (They are good reminders for adults, too!) The last pages give a quote and brief bio from "The Peacemakers" (Mohandes Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Dorothy Day, Jimmy Carter, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Samantha Smith, and Mattie Stepanek) as well as Hines' creative and quilting processes:

Peace: A Recipe

Open minds -- at least two.
Willing hearts -- the same.
Rinse well with compassion.
Stir in a fair amount of trust.
Season with forgiveness.
Simmer in a sauce of respect.
A dash of humor brightens the flavor.

Best served with hope.

No In-Between

If one is right

the other wrong

how can we ever

get along?

2011 Summer Reading School Visit

This year, I made my summer reading school visit presentation the same for kindergarteners through third graders.  (It was a thirty minute auditorium visit by grade.)  Here is the outline:

Click here for the "Kye Kye Kule" lyrics and song clip, or
listen/purchase the versions below:

Below are the embedded supporting posters.  (There are also in this blog's "Graphics" folder.)  Images are from Microsoft Clipart.  I used them as a models to draw images for the other motions (not pictured).




I chose "The Alligator's Whistle" which is a musical story from Anne Pellowski's Storytelling Handbook


 , and I included optional audience participation. 

At one point in the presentation, I threw an inflatable globe (our library's summer reading prize/incentive) into the audience.  Whoever caught the globe had to say what they liked.  Of course, whatever they liked, I supported by mentioning the materials that the library had on that topic.  The older kids caught on to this trend and had fun trying to stump me with "likes" such as "cheese" and "sleeping" !!

Overall, the three most important steps I drill into the kids are: