This week’s class focus on library programming was a subject I recently discussed with a local children’s public librarian. As part of my internship hours for SLIS 794, I observed Ms. Snelgrove (also a USC MLIS graduate!) conduct a mid-morning toddler story time at Pelham Road Library, part of the Greenville, SC Library system, on September 30th. After enjoying the thoroughly engaging nature-themed half-hour experience (we sang, we danced – wait, did that count as exercise?!), I asked Ms. Snelgrove what elements go into creating her toddler story time. She shared that the materials she selects are entirely up to her (and the other children’s librarians when they create their own story time), except for one element: in partnership with the kindergarten readiness program, First Steps of Greenville, the story times must connect with one of the elements of the Five Palmetto Basics below.
The success of Ms. Snelgrove’s story time, as shown by the happy faces of its participants, was partly based on our class textbook’s statement, “A [library] program that includes a variety of types of stories and provides a change of pace and mood will appeal to the greatest number of children" (Greene & Del Negro, 2010, p. 213). This particular multi-media story time program, meaning those that use a combination of at least two “storytelling, film, music, [and] dance” formats (Greene & Del Negro, 2010, p. 220), included a variety of books, songs, and dance. The event began with an interactive song, followed by a foot-stomping read aloud, and went on alternating like this until it ended with my favorite activity that day, the catchy, finger play, "One from the Left" (below).
While it is evident that much preparation went into creating
this event, I believe the biggest contributor to its success was Ms. Snelgrove’s
positive demeanor (it doesn’t hurt either that she has a beautiful singing
voice!). It was highly obvious that she was enjoying what she was doing, from her inviting
smile to her encouraging words throughout the program. (Not surprisingly, these
traits were what led me to introduce myself to her at her story time with my youngest
son a couple of years ago when we first met.) Ms. Snelgrove's story time experiences display that, “The storyteller establishes the mood of the
storytelling program” (Greene & Del Negro, 2010, p. 96).
References
Gill, J. (2016, May 30). One from the left (A finger play) [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/2CX-jFsVtR4
Greene, E. and Del Negro, J.M. (2010). Storytelling: Art and technique (4th ed.). Libraries Unlimited.
Palmetto Basics. (2021). Palmetto Basics. https://palmetto.thebasics.org/
Love you read and danced! Sounds like it was a fun nature time.
ReplyDeleteMichelle,
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job with this post! I think it so important for us to seek our others in our field and get experience through learning from others. The finger play "One From the Left" is adorable, I've bookmarked it for later. :) I also appreciate that Greenville is partnering with First Steps and they include one of the five "Palmetto basics" in with their storytimes. We are all stronger and more successful together in our mission for literacy! Good job.
Ashley Hutto