Storytime Tips From A Preschool Teacher

The class was sitting criss-cross applesauce, they were ready for their favorite time of the day, Storytime! There it was, the book that I was planning to read to the students sitting on the table located a long way across the room! Instead of sending the teacher’s aid, I giant stepped across the room to retrieve the book. Meanwhile, Sally kicked Fred and Fred proceeded to turn around and grab Sally’s hair. Two crying children and ten sad onlookers did not set the tone for a quality storytime!

Lesson Learned: Be Prepared

Make sure you have everything you need for the storytime ready to go. This can include,kleenex,toys or pictures that will help you to introduce the book, a cozy pillow or blankie and of course the book of choice! The fewer distractions (such as cell phones, toys in the child’s hands, tv on ect.) the more you will be able to focus on the story that you are presenting. By eliminating as many distractions as possible before the reading time you will be able to concentrate on the children and the wonderful story that they are about to hear.

“I can’t see, I can’t see teacher!” “Teacher the book is on fire!” What is happening? I thought to myself. Pausing, I craned my head to look at the book and was blinded by the sun glaring off of its pages. What did I do? I first of all breathed, then told the kids “Ok everyone,please put your hands over your eyes and on the count of three can you turn your feet towards the clock on the wall behind you without standing up?” The students thought this was fun and we proceeded to laugh about the sun’s rays shooting through the window like some kind of zapper from a cartoon. A brief learning discussion of the sun followed and then we all enjoyed the book.

Lesson Learned: Put Yourself In The Child’s Shoes

Can they see the pictures well,can they hear you read with the correct volume? Do they need to go potty? All of these things are truly important for children to be able to attune to your words and enjoy the story that you are reading to them.

Fun fact: It takes approximately six to eight minutes to read a thirty two page children’s picture book out loud to students.

For more tips on reading books to children I invite you to check out my website NLRaddatz.com. Here you will find games, coloring sheets, activities and some surprises that will help you plan your next super storytime adventure.

NLRaddatz.com