Instant Professional Development: Four Favorite Storytime Gems I Learned In 2013

2013 was a big year for me! I started my third children's librarian job, and my first new job in almost 5 years. My family and I moved so I could cut my commute to that new job from 90 minutes to under 30. It was a big leap of faith to take a new job and start over in a new part of the state, but I am so happy to say that I love my new job and couldn't be happier. Woohoo!

To close out the year, I'd like to share with you 4 new storytime activities I learned this year and give a shout-out to the people who taught me them. I haven't had the chance to try all of these with my storytime kids yet, but I'm looking forward to our new session starting in January! Thank you Mary, Kendra, Lindsey, Dana, and Anna for being a part of my professional learning network (and my virtual colleagues and friends). Ready? Here we go (in no particular order)...

1) "Sleeping Bunnies" which I discovered via Mary's awesome ukelele at storytime posts
Learning to play the ukelele is on my list of things I want to learn how to do before I retire. You'll note that my retirement date is approximately 2049.

2) "Let's Go Riding on an Elevator" via Kendra
Wicked fun with the parachute! We do it with the kids under the parachute and the adults holding around and then we SNAP the chute down while the kids scream in delight.

3) "The Elevator Song" via Jbrary 
 I'm calling 2013 as "The Year of Elevator Storytime Activities". You heard it here first.

4) "The Watermelon Song" via Anna
Silly, quirky, simple.

That's it! Happy New Year, everyone! Thank you for reading my blog. And if you're wondering if I will start a YouTube channel to post videos of myself, NOPE!