Okay, well first is this beautiful creation from Angie. YOU ARE SO WELCOME.
Drinking with friends and reading picture books is totally professional development.
Being recognized for your hard work always feels amazing!
Nothing like spectacularly odd children to make you smile.
And I just love stories of outreach storytime success!
Studies show that the relationships we have when we’re young with the adult caregivers in our lives make a difference in how we learn. Having loving caregivers who meet a child’s needs and provide stability and support goes a long way towards buffering toxic stress that can have a long-term impact on learning and growth.
Learn more about the importance of early relationships in this article from Zero to Three.
So, if you’re like us, you might be taking a lot of breaks in your day to say things like:
Because, yes. Often.
But today we’re bringing you awesomeness in the form of the brilliant things our peers are doing on the internet. Maybe by the time you’re done reading, you’ll feel like at least your corner of the world is a little less suck-y.
First, of course, Bryce wrote this post about being an ally for people with disabilities in the library. This is something that I’m personally still learning about all the time. A lot of us don’t have loved ones with disabilities, so their struggles may seem a little foreign to us. Thankfully, we have professionals like brave Bryce to guide us.
Then Miss Julie gave us some examples of STEM and STEAM-related programs that she thought were well done and responsive to the community’s needs and used it as a way to help us think about how overwrought and tone deaf other programs and services can be.
If you haven’t read Jbrary’s article on the important issue of talking to kids about race, please do so now. I love how this post makes it clear that talking about race, even in storytime, is not pushing an agenda. Just like pointing out the differences in shapes or talking about being kind to the child with the helmet, it’s essential to development.
I loved when Abby wrote about feeling overwhelmed. Her first post was several months ago on the ALSCblog and I hope you read that, too. It links to some of my favorite posts about burn out and I love how writing about it helped so many other people relax somehow. I have not been blogging as much because of my hectic summer, so I loved when Brooke chimed in too about her break from blogging. It’s okay to stop, people!
Holly found this gem on Youtube. You won’t be sad you watched it.
This month we’re celebrating another local chapter, and it’ssss *drum roll* WISCONSIN!
(No we did not pick it because it’s home to two joint chiefs. How dare you.)
You knew it was only a matter of time before we highlighted the great library state of Wisconsin for its active local chapter. Here’s why the joint chiefs are loving this group.
With 69 members, this group is off to a strong start and we can’t wait to see them continue to grow and learn from each other.
Thanks for all you’re doing to lift each other up, Wisconsin!
You may remember that we used to have a Storytime Guerrilla of the Month as a way to highlight some of the great work that our youth services peers are doing around the world. Lately, this feature has become less of a priority for us, but we still want to be sure that you can access the archives anytime. Please do re-visit these posts, as you can find them anytime under the new Storytime Guerrilla of the Month category linked to the right.
Laura Arnhold
Kristen Bodine
Tabin Crume
Kevin Delecki
Brian Hart
Jerri Heid
Dana Horrocks
Lucy Iraola
Lindsey Krabbenhoft
Mary Kuehner
Kirby McCurtis
Joel Nichols
Brooke Rasche
Rick Samuelson
Dana Sheridan
Soraya Silverman-Montano