As an education major, I wrote a lot of self-reflection papers. Because of that, I always think about the process and planning, the outcomes, and the changes I would make to programs at the library. Now I am going to reflect (and vent) about one of my worst storytimes.
This past Monday I went to a local daycare to do storytime for the two-year-olds and preschoolers. In the past we did not read to the preschoolers, but they wanted to roate them in so they could enjoy storytime.
My first storytime with the two-year-olds was wonderful because the kids remembered me, they behaved, and the teachers interacted and participated. I read through four books and we sang six songs. It was going so well that I didn't want to leave, but I had to move on to the next class.
(Insert dramatic music here. Duh-Duh-Duhh!!!)
I walked into the preschool room and immediately knew it wasn't going to go well. The room was chaotic and the teachers were too focused on getting the kids in and out of the bathroom. Once the kids were seated on the carpet, we sang our introduction song. (This was the best part of storytime and it only went downhill from here.) Then, I read a dinosaur counting book. There was a significant mix of whining and excitement over it. Some kids were scared and others were happy for the book. While I read, the teachers continued to interupt and pull kids out to go to the bathroom. The book went OK, but not great. I probably wouldn't read it again in storytime. Then I think I read "Chickens to the Rescue," which has worked very well in the past. Of course it bombed here. Then we sang a song and jumped into "Press Here," which is my favorite storytime book this fall. It took about ten minutes to read since the kids were behaving so badly. I witnessed scratching, kicking, hitting, annoying touching, and heard a lot of whining. I spent more time trying to discipline than actually reading. Nothing that I did was successful and storytime continued to be miserable. After that awful book, I wanted to give it one more shot and read something to calm them down. I chose and introduced "The Big Yawn." I was just about to open the book and the teacher came and tapped me on the shoulder to inform me that they had lunch in seven minutes. I closed the book, sang our goodbye song, said goodbye, and left the room since I felt so unwelcomed. I was so frustrated because the teachers were to busy getting the kids in and out of the bathroom, getting their cots out for naptime, preparing for lunch, and leaving the room for a good portion of time. They never participated or discpilined the kids. They took it as a break for them to get other work done. I felt very disrespected that they just threw their class at me and barely aknowledged that I was there.
I give this advice to teachers who are having a storyteller come into your classroom:
1. Be respectful.
2. Participate and set a good example.
3. Don't leave the classroom.
4. Lay out rules for the kids to follow before storytime begins.
What I would change change next time:
Next time I will be giving the kids rules before I begin storytime. These rules will be: 1. Be respectful of me and your classmates. 2. Keep your hands to yourself. 3. Raise your hand if you have something to say.
I will also move my chair to the other side of the carpet. I think that will help since the teachers are going to continue to take kids to the bathroom. It would also help to sing and move more. They had a lot of energy and I didn't give them a chance to burn much of it.
This was an extremely frustrating experience. I don't expect kids to behave all of the time, but I do expect teachers to stay in their classrooms, participate in storytime, and respect me.
