The quarterly meeting was held at the fantastic Skokie Public Library. There were demonstrations from three area librarians of their Sensory Storytimes and ideas. Being new to the Sensory Storytime program, I was really impressed with how detailed and well-thought out these storytimes were and I hoped I could replicate the same. One simple idea that I really liked was rolling the ball to a child while saying the name during introductions. Sometimes, as librarians, we take for granted such simple gestures when we do so many storytimes every week. Yet, this was an easy and kind gesture that invoked warmth and welcome.
The presentation also included a great definition and goal outline for defining the Sensory Storytime. Book ideas, game and movement activities, sensory ideas, and structure were displayed, as well as, titles and descriptions of each library’s storytime. We also went around the room and shared different ideas about what we have done in our own sensory storytimes, what’s worked, what didn’t work, and shared samples. Holly Jin, gave a demonstration of several Ipad and tablet apps for kids with autism or other needs. What a fantastic way to incorporate technology! Technology can be a great way to bring visual aids and interactive tactics into the sensory storytime. I love this idea! Technology seems to be so focused on STEM, which is great, but can also be less inclusive and special needs kids deserve just as much attention. So many other ideas were shared including early literacy grants, applying with Lekotek and tweens with special needs.
This was such an inspiring meeting full of ideas! I can’t wait to wrap my head around all the great work shown and incorporate new ideas and projects into my work.
The Librarian of Spark and Spirit 