Flannel Board Redux

While on vacation, I took time to update an illustrative flannel board that was past its prime -- not because it had worn out, but because the content was outdated.  It was a set of different hats made out of laminated cardstock and backed with sand paper.  I had used the pieces when doing stories about clothes, hats, and community helpers.  One of the "hats" was an old style nurse's cap, which is no longer worn.  I had made the flannel board pieces early in my career.  The last time I pulled the pieces out, I realized that current audiences would have no clue as to who would wear such a "hat."  I found a new set of larger patterns, and I made new, colorful, and different hats out of felt.  The old set has been retired, and my newer, brighter hats can be used when doing preschool programs about clothes, hats, community helpers, AND colors.  Just as personal possessions get old, worn, and in need of replacing, so do materials used in programs.

Pet Peeve

Mine is parents who bring very young children to programs intended for school-aged children.  As in parents with infants, toddlers, or preschoolers (with shorter attention spans) who attend programs for their older children.  Example:  Last week during a summer reading program, a very young child in the room had  a piercingly loud temper tantrum and we could not continue the program.  Although I had announced at the beginning of the program (over the PA system and also in the room before the program began) that it was intended for children in grades K-5, the mother brought the younger child in anyway.  Over the child's high-pitched screams, I finally had to address the mother by calmly saying, "I'm sorry, but you'll have to step out with her."  I acted on behalf of all the other children in the room for whom the program was intended.  Those children were ready, listening, and waiting for the activities to continue.  The mother of the screaming child became enraged and said she intended to let my manager hear about the incident.  It is unfortunate when we sometimes encounter misinformed parents with anger management problems.  It is also unfortunate that courtesy to others is sometimes forgotten by self-serving members of the public.

All About Ambulating

For a year or more I've been doing babytimes and storytimes for 3,4, & 5 year olds.  My current partner and I have changed it up a bit and I'll continue to do the storytimes, but she'll take over with the babies and I'll "move up" to the toddler programs.  While this doesn't sound like a terribly huge change, it is actually a major shift in focus for me.  When working with babies and their caregivers I primarily concentrate on simple touch, tickle, bounce, clap, and peek-a-boo rhymes.  With the toddlers it's all about ambulating.  I do lots of activities and songs that involve movement with them, because that's what they do and like, and that's what gets their attention.  In any given toddler program we may gallop like a horse, splash like the rain, twinkle like a star, tip over like a teapot, row our boats, and stop like a dragonfly on a leaf, among other things.  At the end of Toddler Time we are all exhilerated and a tad tired, which is a wonderful seque into quietly (?) looking at books.

Ntrospection

I did a program yesterday that pretty much bombed.  It was an outreach at a local Boys & Girls Club.  I had prepared what I thought was a pretty nice plan for "campfire stories."  I brought in a lantern and marshmallows, arranged the chairs in a circle, dimmed the lights, and had a camping wordsearch and bookmarks as give-aways.  There were jokes for the kids to read, a game to play, and a couple of fun books about expecting the unexpected when camping in the wild.  The kids were everywhere but with me.  There were only 12 girls.  Only second and third graders who wanted to come inside for stories were in the room.  But they didn't listen.  They were restless.  They asked for treats.  They swapped their seats.  They interrupted.  They picked on each other. I was camping in the wild!  I got through it, knowing I had not succeeded in getting their attention much.  Only 1 second grade girl listened consistently and responded appropriately to me.  Was I having an off day?  Were they so used to hearing coaches yell at them, but not pay real attention to their antics, that my spoken words were meaningless?  Were they sugared up from their icecream snack just before my visit?  Was I out of energy and unable to effectively redirect their behavior?  Was my first impulse to vow never to return there again  for outreach programs?  Yes.  But mulling it over this morning, I reminded myself that I did reach at least one child.  And that I needed to dig deeper and find different ways to reach the others in the group next time.  Uncertainty is important.  It is the occasional jab to one's confidence that promotes professional growth.  I guess it's like pruning a plant back in the spring to promote future growth.  I definitely was pruned yesterday!

Recommended Read

CLOUD TEA MONKEYS by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham.  Illustrated by Juan Wijngaard.  (Somerville, MA:  Candlewick, c2010).

"Tashi took her bowl of sweet tea outside and stood beside the rough road in the blue morning."  I love that line, from the second paragraph of this beautiful, pay-it-forward story about a little girl named Tashi whose mother is ill.  Because she is ill, Tashi's mother is unable to work and thus cannot pay for a doctor's care.  Tashi is too young to pick tea leaves on the nearby plantation.  And she is sad because she cannot help earn money for a doctor.  But Tashi has always treated the monkeys in the village with kindness and respect.  And when the monkeys discover the reason for Tashi's sadness, they bring her a basket full of rare and valuable tea leaves.  This is a lovely story, gently told, and embellished with jewel-toned illustrations that perfectly capture the tenor of the tale.

Successful

Per Random House College Dictionary:  Successful = having achieved success; Success = the favorable termination of endeavors; Succeed = to accomplish what is intended.   It's not about how many programs are offered or how many people attend them.  It's about how well they are planned and presented.  Period.  Exclamation point.

Mismatch

I love Shannon Hale's books for young adults.  They are full of heart, intrigue, magical happenings, and rich description.  Her settings are places full of danger, but also where love can triumph over any treachery.  Hale's books are fairytales for teens.  But I hate the new covers of her books -- with realistic looking (superimposed photos?) of teenage girls wearing generically bland blouses.  The new covers, while probably a misguided marketing move, just don't do justice to the evocative pages within.  They make me cringe.  And wonder if the author had much say in the new look of her books.