Family storytime should not end when you close the book and announce “the end”. If you’re simply reading to your kids, you’re missing out on a lot of fun activities related to what you’ve read. You don’t have to do the actual activity the same day you read the book, especially since many of us read at night just before bed. You can create activities related to what you’ve read and then work on the activity the following afternoon. When I was teaching Tyler at home I often created activities to match a book that we read. Although we read at bedtime, we also had storytime during the day, generally just after lunch or immediately before.
There are so many activities you can create to coincide with what you’re reading. If your kids have ever attended a storytime you’re probably familiar with the types of activities that I speak of. In fact, I got the idea from the storytime that Tyler attended at the public library.
The activities can be as simple as a holiday-related craft, if you are reading holiday-themed books. Some of my favorite activities involve simple cooking activities. Making green eggs and ham was one of my favorites and Tyler got a big kick out of that one. Also, stone soup is another great one to try.
If you’re looking for more inspiration, check out some of the books geared toward children’s librarians. They are a great source of information. Besides activity suggestions, many will have song suggestions, related books and more. Or while you are browsing for books, leaf through a few and see if any suggestions jump out at you. You’re limited only by your imagination.
Another source is the internet. Check out teacher sites. I find a lot of good information this way. Remember, we’re not just parents, we’re teachers also. You can also get great resource material from the teacher supply stores but I find them to be a bit pricey. I have found cheaper books at the thrift shop, including teacher editions. I recently bought several reading/language arts and history books that were all teachers editions. They cost about two bucks each. But the great thing is they have ideas and activities there for the taking.
See also:
Finding Books For Family Storytime