Preschool Pals Storytime

9:30 am - 11:30 am
2 hours
Total time to date: 60 hours (halfway!)

Today, I had the privilege of filling in for Ashleigh, who normally leads story time for the 4-5 year olds, the Preschool Pals. I wasn't able to speak with Ashleigh on Tuesday, since she was out with a sick child, so I came in a little early to set up and to get a look at the plan and the books for the day. Ashleigh had left plans for story time that included reading two picture books, a flannel board activity and song, a group activity, craft, and snack. Halee did most of the set up and helped during the program, but I welcomed the kids and parents and led the program. It was a blast. The stories were appropriately about St. Patrick's Day, so I did a little introduction of myself and talked a little about St. Patrick's Day, leprechauns, and wearing green before we started the first book. I loved the first book, The Night Before St. Patrick's Day, by Natasha Wing. It was a parody of The Night Before Christmas, and the kids seemed to enjoy it.

Then, we did a rainbow building activity/song before reading another book, Saint Patrick's Day, by Brenda Haugen, which was a picture book about the origins and customs associated with the holiday. It wasn't quite as engaging for this group as the first book, but it was still a good choice because it approached the holiday from an informational stand without being too advanced. After another activity, we did a shamrock painting craft, then the kids got to build their own rainbow snack with several colors of jello. I think they had a good time. There were about 14 children, plus a few siblings and their parents. I enjoyed getting to have fun with the kids and play around with the St. Pat's Day theme. Because I have kids in this age group and I have been a teacher, this activity fell right in my comfort zone. I do have plenty to learn, however, about these story times and I'm sure Halee and Ashleigh have a lot of good tips about what kinds of books to choose and activities that work well with the children. I hope I am able to work more with the children and perhaps help out with the planning for some of the future programs.