Notes from OLA, Pt. 1

Guerilla Storytime at the OLA Conference 2016
By Bethany Grabow, bethanygrabow.com
Out of all the things at a library conference, my favorite type of session is idea sharing. So imagine my delight when I saw Guerilla Storytime advertised as one of the options for the first breakout session of the conference. We sat in a large circle and shared our best ideas and practices for storytime. Some of the discussion involved brainstorming solutions to real life problems encountered in storytime. Other time was spent sharing something that works for you, such as your favorite flannel board or book. One idea I can’t get out of my head is singing, “All the single babies. Put your hands up!”
Here are some other great things I learned from this session:

• CSD has an early literacy calendar on their website. This customizable 12-month calendar has early literacy tips and tools for each day for a whole year! A Spanish version is coming soon.
  
• There is an awesome free app called Vroom that parents can download to get a daily early literacy tip right on their phones.  
  
• Have adults make a nametag, too. It builds community and can help you as the storyteller if there are chatty parents you need to redirect.
  

Here are a couple of songs that were shared:
Watermelon Song
Tune: Are You Sleeping?)
Watermelon,
Watermelon,
Watch it drip.
Watch it drip.
Up & down my elbows.
Up& down my elbows.
Spit out the pits!
Spit out the pits!

Popcorn
You put the oil in the pot and you let it got hot.
You put the popcorn in and you start to grin.
Sizzle, sizzle… (crouch down while repeating the word sizzle)
Pop! (jump)

And here are some favorite books for storytime:

• Any book by Jan Thomas
  
• Bee & Bird by Craig Frazier
  
• I Don’t Want to Be a Frog by Dev Petty
  
• Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard
  
• The Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend
  
• Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
  
• Snack Time for Confetti by Kali Stileman\
  
• How Chipmunk Got His Stripes by Joseph Bruchac
  
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin
  
• Press Here by Herve Tullet
  
• It’s a Tiger by David LaRochelle
  
• Pom Pom Panda Gets the Grumps by Sophy Henn
  
• Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London
  
• Froggy Learns to Swim by Jonathan London
  
• ​Where’s Spot by Eric Hill
• 
  

Thanks to everyone who shared their wonderful ideas during this session, only a fraction of what I shared here. I walked away inspired to make my storytimes better. I hope you, reader, found some inspiration too.