Katrina
Deliramich
Libr.
260A
#4
November
20, 2010
Master
Storyteller
On Tuesday
November 16th I attended a Master Storyteller event at the Danville
Public Library in Danville, CA. The event was being held courtesy of the
Danville Library Foundation and the Friends of the Danville Library. I read
about the event in the Danville Patch, a local newspaper that gives weekly
updates on library news.
I
arrived at the library about fifteen minutes early and I was able to find a
seat at the back of the room. According to Youth Services Librarian Kathleen
Baritell, special library events can have up to one hundred and forty kids in
attendance. I was disappointed to see only about fifteen kids waiting when I
arrived. The room that the storytelling was being held in was very large and
had bookshelves surrounding the room.
Parents took advantage of the books and read quietly to their children
while they waited. At the front of the room a grandmother was reading a book to
her three grandsons. She was very animated and soon had a crowd of about ten
kids surrounding her. When she finished the first book they begged her to read
a second! The kids ranged in ages from two through six. In the library event
details online it said the event was appropriate for children over five. I
noticed a few families brought the younger children with the older children.
But one mother only had her three-year-old son, I think she might not have
known the age group; she might just have seen the sign and came on in.
Soon
kids and parents were trickling in and I would estimate around forty to fifty
kids were in attendance. A library assistant introduced Kirk Waller as the
special guest. When he came out he explained what he did for a living. The kids
enjoyed his animated way of talking and I found myself interested in his career
of telling stories for fun. Waller directed a lot of his comments in the
beginning directly to the parents in the room. I at first thought this was
strange but I noticed the kids were laughing along with the parents, even
though I am sure they did not understand what he was saying.
Waller
mentioned that he had a new CD coming out that focused on the favorite question
of Why?. I found on his website that he has two previous CD’s out already. He
has also won many awards including the 2010 Emerging Artist Award. While
explaining the reason for focusing on why? He jumped into a story about his
six-year-old son asking why the shell of a turtle is all cracked looking. He
immediately started singing some of the words in the story. He used very simple
sentences so the children could follow along and sing out loud with him. In a
matter of minutes he had the whole audience yelling out “Umm Hmmm!” “Swoosh!”
and “Gulp!”
The
story focused on a turtle and possum getting the best of a greedy wolf. The
turtle gets captured by the wolf and uses his head to get out of the situation.
Throughout the story the children were gasping and laughing whenever the turtle
looked to be in grave danger and then managed to escape. At the end of the
story Waller told the children to howl like a wolf, they kept howling and
howling. The story told that the turtle had broken his shell when he escaped
the wolf. Waller joked with the parents that his child had actually believed
his story and that it made him feel like he knew everything.
Next
Waller described the type of story he had just performed. He called it “pour
quoi” which is a how and why story. He explained the stories were a fun way of
teaching how and why something is as it is. He went into a story about a father
and daughter who lived out by the woods. The daughter does not listen to her
father’s warning to not leave the gate and she wanders off picking flowers. A
wolf comes and the daughter has to outsmart the wolf to return home safe. Although
he sang what sounded like a French song throughout the story I was not able to
locate the words online. However, I did find that the story was based off of a
story called “The Gunny Wolf,” which is an African American folktale. The
children liked the story because Waller had the audience repeating “pitter
pat.” Over and over again, louder and louder. I found the story to be very
entertaining, although I thought it was going to be “Little Red Riding Hood.”
Waller
proceeded to question the children about the story they had just heard. He
asked who had the most power in the beginning of the story and who had the most
power at the end. He then explained that it did not matter how strong you were
but it was more important how you used your head to get out of a bad situation.
He then asked the audience what pour quoi meant. Amazingly the children yelled
out Why?!
The
next story focused on a man named Bigger Better Badder. The children loved
yelling out his name each time Waller prompted them too. The story got
extremely complicated as Bigger Better Badder met Man Among Men and then Giant
Among All. Originally the three men are fighting for who is the strongest of
all. Soon Bigger Better Badder realizes that he has been too cocky and he
returns to the village humbler and wants to be called Just a Man. The other two
men continue fighting and are still fighting today up in the sky as thunder and
lightening. Waller mentions to the
children how important it is to show respect for everyone.
The
story time came to an end with the singing of a song called “Bear Went a
Courting.” The song was very familiar to me and Waller explained that there are
many variations of the song. The children were able to answer back “ah ha, ah
ha.” I was able to find a version online from Kid’s Corner about a frog. The
word frog is substituted for bear, the mouse was substituted for bunny and
instead of Uncle Rat, Waller used Momma.
FROG WENT A-COURTIN'
Frog went a-courtin' and he did ride, uh-huh
Frog went a-courtin' and he did ride, uh-huh
Frog went a-courtin' and he did ride
With a sword and a pistol by his side, uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh
He road right up to Miss Mousie's door, uh-huh
He road right up to Miss Mousie's door, uh-huh
He road right up to Miss Mousie's door
Gave three loud raps, and a very big roar, uh-huh uh-huh
uh-huh
Said Miss Mouse, are you within, uh-huh
Said Miss Mouse, are you within, uh-huh
Said Miss Mouse, are you within
Miss Mousie said, I sit and spin, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh
Took Miss Mousie on his knee, uh-huh
Took Miss Mousie on his knee, uh-huh
Took Miss Mousie on his knee,
Said Miss Mousie, will you marry me, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh
Without my Uncle Rat's consent, uh-huh
Without my Uncle Rat's consent, uh-huh
Without my Uncle Rat's consent,
I wouldn't marry the President, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh
Uncle Rat laughed, and he shook his fat sides, uh-huh
Uncle Rat laughed, and he shook his fat sides, uh-huh
Uncle Rat laughed, and he shook his fat sides
To think his niece would be a bride, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh
Uncle Rat went running downtown, uh-huh
Uncle Rat went running downtown, uh-huh
Uncle Rat went running downtown
To buy his niece a wedding gown, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh
Where shall the wedding supper be, uh-huh
Where shall the wedding supper be, uh-huh
Where shall the wedding supper be
Way down yonder in the hollow tree, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh
What shall the wedding supper be, uh-huh
What shall the wedding supper be, uh-huh
What shall the wedding supper be
Fried mosquito and a black-eyed pea, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh
Waller
ended his performance by asking if anyone had any questions about his stories
or about him. No one asked any questions so he thanked everyone and left. I
enjoyed the program, although I think the children liked the program much more
than I did. The children were entertained throughout the performance and only a
couple children were escorted out by their parents.
Waller was great
at keeping the parents involved throughout and I felt like part of the
performance was geared towards me and not all about the children. If I had any
children I would bring them to see Waller. However, I did feel some of the
stories dragged on a bit too long and I was getting anxious and I could tell
other parents were getting concerned that their children would act out. I
noticed a few moms crawl up and whisper something to their child; I assume it
was to stay put and pay attention. I liked the songs that he sang and he was
good at acting out different voices. Overall the performance was one of the
best story time events that I have seen.
Contra Costa County Library website (2010). Retrieved
November 14, 2010 from HYPERLINK “http://ccclib.org/”
http://ccclib.org/
Danville Library Foundation website (2010). Retrieved
November 18, 2010 from HYPERLINK ”http://www.danville.lib.il.us/foundation.htm”
http://www.danville.lib.il.us/foundation.htm
Danville Patch website (2010). Retrieved November 16, 2010
from HYPERLINK “http://danville.patch.com/”
http://danville.patch.com/
Danville Public Library website (2009). Retrieved November
14, 2010 from HYPERLINK “http://www.danville.lib.il.us/childrens.htm”
http://www.danville.lib.il.us/childrens.htm
Friends of the Danville Library website (2010). Retrieved
November 18, 2010 from HYPERLINK “http://booksfromfriends.org/”
http://booksfromfriends.org/
Kid’s Corner (2010). Retrieved November 18, 2010 from
HYPERLINK “http://rosemck1.tripod.com/frog-went-a-courtin.html”
http://rosemck1.tripod.com/frog-went-a-courtin.html
Kirk Waller website (2009). Retrieved November 17, 2010 from
HYPERLINK “http://www.kirkwaller.com/”
http://www.kirkwaller.com/
Peck, P.
(2006). Crash course in children’s
services. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Schiller, P. & Silberg, J. (2003). The Complete Book of Activities, Games, Stories, Props, Recipes and
Dances. Beltsville, MD: Gryphon House, Inc.
Town of Danville website (2010). Retrieved November 17, 2010
from HYPERLINK “http://www.ci.danville.ca.us/”
http://www.ci.danville.ca.us/
Katrina
Deliramich
Libr.
260A
Assignment
Number (#2)
10/17/2010
Story Time Observation
The story time I
attended was given at the San Ramon Library in San Ramon, Ca. “Toddler Time”
was the name of the program, which is also offered various days at other
libraries within the Contra Costa Library System. The library offers a story
time for two and a half year-olds to three and a half year olds every Tuesday
and Thursday from 10:15-10:45 am. No registration is required and there is no
cut off number provided. The only specification the library gives is to make
sure to bring only children of the appropriate age to story time. Although
younger children can attend if they sit with their parents. Toddler time runs
all yearlong although they have additional and creative programs for special
times of the year. The story time is advertised on the library website and
there are links to the website from the county and city websites.
The
library is located in a small town in Northern California. According to the
City of San Ramon website, San Ramon has a population of 44,772 (2010, City of
San Ramon). San Ramon is located within Contra Costa County, which has a total
population of approximately one million people (2010, Contra Costa County).
According to the demographic information provided on the City of San Ramon’s
website the majority of residents are white, totaling 34,354 people. The next
highest races are Asians at 14.9% and Latinos at 7.2%. According to the US
Census data supplied on the city website a large number of residents are
college graduates approximately 51% (2010, City of San Ramon).
I
arrived a half an hour early and waited patiently outside for the library to
open. I was pleasantly surprised to see many parents and children waiting
anxiously outside as well. When I entered the library I saw an area with seats
set up to my right and a coloring area for children set up to my left. Parents
seemed to know the routine and immediately walked over to where the story time
would be held and grabbed the program for today’s toddler time. On the back of
the program was a coloring picture of a cat. A few parents led their kids to
the coloring area and had them begin coloring. Other parents took seats in the
story time area and placed their children towards the front of the room.
The
room was very slow to fill at first but by the last few minutes many people
were trickling in hurrying to get a spot. I noticed a large amount of
grandparents present and a couple dads as well.
I
noticed a large window behind where the speaker would stand and next to her
seat was a large board, later I realized this was a felt board. Toddler Time
was being held by Miss Amy, Amy Mockoski, the Youth Services Librarian. She
holds all the Tuesday story times and a Miss Robin holds all the Thursday story
times. When Miss Amy came out all the kids started saying Miss Amy! and getting
very excited. The room got very crowded and Miss. Amy took the time to show off
coloring pages from last weeks story time.
When
Miss Amy was ready she clapped her hands together twice and said, “Who can
guess what we will learn about today?” Many kids yelled out cats, kittens and
some random answers. They got a hint from a stuffed animal cat sitting on the
table and their coloring picture. She responded positively to every reply and
then said “Lets sing out beginning song” (A. Mockoski, personal communication,
October 12, 2010).
OPENING SONG
“Come Along”
Come along, come
along, come on everybody let’s sit on the floor.
(Beckoning with her
hands, and patting the floor)
Not the ceiling, not
the windows
(Hands raised high
and then outstretched)
Come along everybody
let’s sit on the floor.
(Beckoning with he
hands, patting the floor)
Repeat Twice.
The song got
parents to release their kids and let them move forward to see well. Shy kids
moved forward and away from their parents a bit as well. As soon as the song
ended Miss Amy picked up her first book and began reading.
BOOK
Bud and Gabby by Anne Davis
Miss Amy used silly voices for each of the characters.
The story is about two cats, one gets sick and the other cat has to deal with
the separation. At the beginning the kids seemed to be interested in the book
and the funny voices. Miss Amy stopped a few times to explain a part of the
story when the kids were asking what? Towards the end the kids were squirming
and uninterested, she hurriedly finished the story.
Miss Amy grabbed a
stack of felt hats from the table next to her. Slowly, one by one, she places a
hat on the flannel board and calls out the color. The children caught on
quickly and started yelling out the colors before Miss Amy did. Once the hats
were all on the board she asked the kids to help her find a little cat hiding
under on of the hats.
FLANNELBOARDS
Little Cat Under the Hat
Little cat, little
cat are you under the purple hat?
(Remove the first hat
and the children respond, No!)
Repeat for each color
hat.
(When the cat is
found the children yell Yes!)
This activity got
the children very excited and moving around and yelling out loud. I was
wondering how she would get them quieted down when she picked up her next book
and just started reading.
BOOK
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff
The children immediately got quiet and sat
mesmerized by the books. They kept laughing and asking what would happen next,
Miss Amy would just ignore questions and keep on reading at a slow and steady
pace. Overall they sat very attentive through the entire book.
ACTION SONG
“Popcorn”
Put the oil in the
pot and let it get hot.
(The kids stood up,
cup their right hand and wiggle their left hand under the right hand)
Put the popcorn in
and start to grin.
(The kids pretend to
sprinkle popcorn into their right hand and then use their fingers on their face
to make a grin)
Sizzle, sizzle,
sizzle, POP!
(The children wiggle
and bed towards the ground and then jump up on pop!)
Repeat three times
After the popcorn
song the children were very excited and laughing and jumping up and down. Miss
Amy took advantage of this to start her next song.
ACTION SONG
“If You’re a Kitty”
If you’re a kitty and
you know it scratch the ground.
(The children bend
over and scratch the ground)
If you’re a kitty and
you know it scratch the ground.
(The children bend
over and scratch the ground)
If you’re a kitty and
you know it then you’re scratch will surely show it. If you’re a kitty and you
know it scratch the ground.
(Children wiggly to
the first sentence and then bend over and scratch the ground)
If you’re a kitty and
you know it meow.
(The children meow)
If you’re a kitty and
you know it meow.
(The children meow)
If you’re a kitty and
you know it then your meow will surely show it. If you’re a kitty and you know
it meow.
(Children wiggly to
the first sentence and then meow)
If you’re a kitty and
you know it lick your paws.
(The children hold up
her hands and pretend to lick the backs)
If you’re a kitty and
you know it lick your paws.
(The children hold up
her hands and pretend to lick the backs)
If you’re a kitty and
you know it then your lick will surely show it. If you’re a kitty and you know
it lick your paws.
(Children wiggly to
the first sentence and then lick their hands)
The song is repeated
using all three actions together.
Parents help Miss Amy to get the children quieted
down and sitting again. She brings out her next book and starts to read.
BOOK
Cat and Mouse by Ian Schoenher
The
children have a hard time settling down for the book. A few parents remove
their kids from the area. Once the book gets into a familiar rhyme, hickory
dickory dock, the kids start chanting the rhyme along with their parents. The
book is very short and gets the children focused and happy. Miss Amy finishes
the book and pulls out her flannel pieces for Hey Diddle Diddle.
FLANNELBOARD
Hey Diddle Diddle
Hey Diddle Diddle.
(She places the moon
and background on the board)
The cat and the
fiddle.
(She places the cat
playing the fiddle on the board)
The cow jumped over
the moon.
(She places a cow
over the moon)
The little dog
laughed to see such a sight.
(She places the dog
on the board)
And the dish ran away
with the spoon.
(She places the spoon
and dish on the board and then has them running away)
Repeat twice.
The children ask Miss Amy a million questions during
Hey Diddle Diddle. They are confused with the dishes and the flying cow. It is
comical to watch and see what they are thinking and Miss Amy tries to answer
some questions and ignores others.
BOOK
Cat the Cat, Who is That? By Mo Willems
Cat the Cat is a participation story and Miss Amy
was great at getting the kids to participate. She repeated each page and then
had the children yell it back ay her. The story was quick but the ending left
kids confused asking many questions. I was confused as well by the ending.
Immediately after the book Miss Amy went into an action song.
ACTION SONG
“Little Puppies and Kittens”
One little, two
little, three little kittens.
(Miss Amy had the
children hold up their fingers as they counted along to three)
Were napping in the
sun.
(Miss Amy made a fist
and pretended it was the three kittens)
One little, two
little, three little puppies said,
(Miss Amy had the
kids hold up their fingers as they counted along to three)
‘Come on let’s have
some fun.’
(Miss Amy beckons
with her hands)
Up to the kittens the
puppies went creeping
(Miss Amy had the
kids make a creeping motion with their fingers)
As quiet, as quiet
could be.
(Miss Amy held a
finger to her lips)
One little, two
little, three little kittens.
(Miss Amy had the
children hold up their fingers as they counted along to three)
Went scampering up a
tree.
(Miss Amy had the
kids make their fingers run away)
Repeat twice
This activity caused a lot of commotion with the
kids. Miss Amy tired to quiet them down and asked them to sit down. She pulled
out the cat stuffed puppet and the kids went crazy. They were jumping and
climbing towards Miss Amy. She asked repeatedly for them to stay seated. Once
Miss Amy told the kids that she would bring the puppet around for everyone to
touch after she was done, they quieted down. She then started another action
song.
ACTION SONG
“Soft Kitty”
Soft kitty, warm
kitty, little ball of fur.
(Miss Amy slowly pets
the top of the at puppet)
Lazy kitty, pretty
kitty, purr, purr, purr.
(Miss Amy continues
to pet the kitty)
Repeat Once
Miss Amy proceeded
to go around the room with the cat puppet and let each child touch it. Some
kids got aggressive and she gently scolded them to be nice and gentle. Once she
was around the room she sat back down and asked if everyone had seen the cat.
She took off the puppet and picked up another flannel board piece. There was a
stack of felt cats that she placed on the board.
FLANNELBOARD
Scat the Cat
I’m Scat the cat, I’m
sassy and fat. I change color just like that!
(Miss Amy removes the
top felt cat from the stack and it goes from black to green)
I am the color of
green grass
(Miss Amy has the
children yell out the color as she goes along, along with a descriptive word
for each color. The colors include, blue, yellow, orange, red, purple and
white. When she gets to the white one…)
I’m Scat the cat. I’m
sassy and fat. I change color just like that!
(Miss Amy puts the
black cat back up and said, “Scat decides he wants to just be himself.”)
Miss Amy does not repeat the activity but instead
asks the kids if they are all done with the books. They count out loud to four
and she holds up each book again. She gives a moment for the parents and reads
the activities and events coming up. She then stands up and says it is time for
the goodbye song.
LAST SONG
“Now It’s Time to Say Goodbye”
Say goodbye, say
goodbye, I’m glad that you could come.
(Waving from all the
kids to the beat of the song.)
Repeat three times
LAST SONG (Miss
Amy tricked the kids and sings another song)
“More We Get Together”
The more we get
together, together, together. The more we get together the happier we’ll be.
(Swaying from side to
side)
Cause your friends
are my friends and my friends are your friends.
(Pointing to the kids
and to herself, the kids join in)
The more we get
together the happier we’ll be.
Miss Amy thanks
everyone for coming and invites all of us back for story time on Thursday. She
then says she will meet the kids in the back to pass out stickers and to go
color. The kids run to the back and line up for stickers while the parents
talk.
There
were many kindergarten readiness skills featured during the story time. Rhyming
was present in a few books and activities, this allows children to learn that
words are made up of smaller parts which helps them to develop phonological
awareness (Story Time Share Website). The songs with the repeated phrases make
it easier for toddlers to learn the song and remember it. By having the popcorn
song describe the activity and allowing the child to follow along the child
develops narrative skills. By making story time interactive and fun children
learn to love songs and associate reading as a positive activity. Parents who
join in at story time can bring the songs home and help keep children
interested and reading throughout the week. The flannel board activity “Scat
the Cat” was a great addition to the story time because it covered readiness
skills as well as lending a focus on demographics. By having the children
participate and see Scat change colors to try and fit in and then realize he
only needed to be himself it brought attention to the differences in the kids
at story time and how it does not matter what they look like as long as they
are themselves.
I was very
impressed with Miss Amy’s story telling abilities. She did some great voices
and remained patient throughout the presentation. The songs were well known to
the kids and must have been repeated frequently in sessions. She really knew
what to do when the kids got out of hand and she did not come across as mean or
scolding. Overall I enjoyed the story time and I was able to listen and
participate and did not feel it was too crowded. I liked that there was no
registration or cut off because many parents came in towards the end and they
would have missed out on the fun.
Bay Views ACL Website (1999-2010). Retrieved October 13,
2010 from HYPERLINK "http://www.bayviews.org/” http://www.bayviews.org/
Contra Costa County Library Website (2010). Retrieved on
October 11, 2010 from HYPERLINK “http://ccclib.org/”
http://ccclib.org/
Contra Costa County Website (2010). Retrieved on October 11,
2010 from HYPERLINK “http://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/”
http://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/
Davis, Anne. (2006). Bud
and Gabby. New York: HarperCollins.
First-school Website (2001-2010). Retrieved on October 14,
2010 from HYPERLINK “http://www.first-school.ws/theme/animals/pets/cat.htm”
http://www.first-school.ws/theme/animals/pets/cat.htm
Numeroff, Laura. (2008). If
You Give a Cat a Cupcake. New York: Laura Geringer Book.
Peck, Penny. (2006). Crash
course in children’s services. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
San Ramon Library Website (2010). Retrieved on October 10,
2010 from HYPERLINK “http://ccclib.org/locations/sanramon.html”
http://ccclib.org/locations/sanramon.html
Schoenher, Ian. (2008). Cat
and Mouse. New York: Greenwillow Books.
Story Place Preschool Library (2010). Retrieved October 12,
2010 from HYPERLINK “http://www.storyplace.org/”
http://www.storyplace.org/
Story Time Share Website (2008-2010). Retrieved October 14,
2010 from HYPERLINK “http://earlylit.net/” http://earlylit.net/
SurLaLune Fairytales (2005-2008). Retrieved October 13, 2010
from HYPERLINK “http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/storytime/cats/index.html”
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/storytime/cats/index.html
The Best Kids Booksite (1999-2010). Retrieved on October 14,
2010 from HYPERLINK “http://www.thebestkidsbooksite.com/”
http://www.thebestkidsbooksite.com/
The City of San Ramon Website (2010). Retrieved on October
10, 2010 from HYPERLINK “http://www.ci.san-ramon.ca.us/”
http://www.ci.san-ramon.ca.us/
Willems, Mo. (2010). Cat
the Cat, Who is That? New York: Balzer + Bray.
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