Kids Are Customers Too

I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to attend Kids are Customers Too this year. I have come away with many good ideas that I am looking forward to share with our staff.
One of my favorite parts of the day was Gloria-Anne Bartas’ session on Storytime Transitions. She had so many good suggestions for transitions that were easy and fun to use. It was also useful to see what themes and books she might choose for her programs. One of my favorite ideas was using the song “The Bear Went over the Mountains” with a bear puppet heading over a flannel board mountain and then seeing…whatever object you might choose from your collection of flannel boards, stuffed animals, etc. The sillier the better! I couldn’t help wondering many times during her presentation, “Why didn’t I think if that?” Hoping her handout will be up on the MLA website soon, so that we can make full use of all of her ideas!
Jill Hutchison presented a very interesting program called “Wiggle Giggle Storytimes”. Her library in St. Mary’s County present these storytimes with the goal of mainstreaming children from the Infants and Toddler Program with other “wiggly” children who may also benefit from a shorter, more interactive program. Jill presented many practical tips to consider in organizing such a program. It was especially useful to be reminded that we might inadvertently over stimulate these children with our choice of really bouncy, active music. Jill suggested using more calming music from artists such as Raffi and Hap Palmer. I will definitely keep the information presented and share it with our staff at Wheaton to help in planning future visits from the Infants and Toddlers program.
Other highlights included the lively presentation by author, Jennifer Holm on the creation of her popular graphic novel series, Baby Mouse and the discussion of the Blue Crab Young Readers’ Award (thanks, Susan Modak and her committee!) Some of titles presented, such as Abracadabra! Magic with Mouse and Mole will be perfect for upcoming visits with the early grades. It was also good to see how easily Mo Willem’s Piggie and Elephant books lend themselves to being acted out.
All in all, the conference was a great way to get recharged with new ideas and to get the time to visit with colleagues from MCPL and other systems.