Sunday, April 28, 2013

Wordless Character Pieces

Yuck. I've been sick for the past couple of days. I went to the doctor to see what it was (mainly because I didn't want it to be flu and if it was, I certainly didn't want to be around kiddos with it) and they couldn't figure out what it exactly is. Definitely something viral though, so the best I can do is drink lots of fluids, get lots of rest, and ride it out. It has a whole array of awful symptoms that I won't go into, but let me just say that it isn't pleasant at all.

There's only one thing being sick is go for and that is giving me time to read... and time to write...

About a week ago, I thought I'd pay a visit to some old friends- characters that I had created in junior high and somehow stayed with me all this time. I'm a little embarrassed to type about them. I'm not ashamed of them as characters. Granted, they've matured a lot as characters but... at first, part of me felt really weird that I still thought about them and even considered them friends (yeah, guys, I am so shy and socially awkward that I rely on my imaginary friends) ... anyway, I decided that I didn't care what anybody thought and if writing about them would make me feel better, I was going to do it! So I have...

Not all of them have remained. Some have died out, but a few of them persist. And in the past, I used to listen to pop music to inspire me for their personalities, but as I've gotten older. Words and lyrics are just so ... so confining! - now, I have to listen to classical music to define them, and today I'd like to share the top remaining 3 characters and pieces that fill me with thoughts of them whenever I listen to them! Granted, they are all rather soothing sort of pieces that speaks to their characters, I think. Action parts I save for less... um... romantic sort of pieces.

I'm curious to hear if anybody does this with their own original characters, and if so, what kind of music do you listen to? What does the music say about them as a character?


Victoria - Rubenstein's "Romance in E flat Major, Op. 44"



Tess - Chopin's "Etude in E Major, Op.10: No.3"



Ophelia -  Mozart's "Clarinet Concerto, K.622: II. Adagio"





I'm a little shocked that Ophelia didn't end up with a Brahms piece. Still three outstanding composers.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

One-Two-THREE Storytime!

BEFORE :

ALL-RIGHT! My wish came true :)

I get to do another storytime this week. It's the same school, so same kids. I hope I do well!

Unfortunately, I didn't get to observe Ben's storytime the other day, so I have no new knowledge to try to improve my storytime on. I'm still not sure what to say between stories. Maybe it will come to me though.

AFTER :

I read four wonderful books today. They are ....










Not necessarily in that order though, haha. This time, I let the kids decide which order to read the books in. We read about dragons, rabbits, hats, and then Hugo :)

I tried to be a little more interactive and explain the big words to them as we went along. Maybe the books were a little above them, but the teachers seemed to enjoy them a lot. The kids were a lot more vocal. That made me feel pretty good about what I was reading. I hope they come again soon.




Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Reflections on my Second Storytime

BEFORE:

I'm a little nervous about storytime today, and I don't know exactly why. I guess it is just because I like to do storytime so much and I want the kids to like it too. I want to be really good at storytimes, because I've never been so comfortable with myself in my life than I am at the youth desk. I'm just a big kid at heart; this is perfect for me. I'm so afraid of messing anything up.

I know I'm probably just overstressing. I'm laughing inside because I told my friend Elyse the same thing yesterday - "you worry too much!" - and here I am, worrying. I guess we are more alike than we like to think sometimes.

Well, here they come. I'm going to try my best!

AFTER : Wow! I had 39 kids and parents show up today. I'm glad so many attended but it didn't help my nervousness at all. I only felt more pressured. The kids seemed to be in good moods today though. They liked the books. I ended up reading another book for them that I impulsively pulled off the shelf. I hadn't read it before so I had no idea what to expect ....




The other three books I read were kind of silly, and this book is really more serious so I don't think they liked it as well, but it had some really cute pictures.

Well, I think I'm pretty good at reading the books themselves, but my dialogue in between and before and after when I'm all on my own... I just don't know what to say or do! Perhaps I should be more observant this afternoon and see what the others say and do. We have another story time at 2p, but I think Ben is doing it. I will take a closer look.

I had a lot of fun. I hope they let me do more storytimes soon :)

Monday, April 22, 2013

Storytime! Take Two!

Tomorrow is my official second story time! It's the same school and the same kids so I hope I can make a better impression.

I only get to do story times at the library when everyone else in the youth department is unable to do so. I'm kind of at the bottom of the totem pole again, and not very experienced... the kids enjoy the others a lot more because they are better at it. But I've been told over and over to just be myself and to keep doing it, because practice really does make perfect.

I've already decided on the books I want to read to the kids. I really like them and I hope they do too. They are preschool aged kids; I'm still trying to get the hang of reading levels and what is good to read to kids that age and what is too hard for them. Last time, I think I may have picked a couple that were a little too hard. I'll let you guys be the judge though. These are the three that I plan to read ....






There's lots of sound effects and voices I can make in these books, so I'm going to work on being more animated in my story time tomorrow. If you can't tell already, I kind of picked a 'transportation' theme. We have had a lot of requests for books about planes, trains, boats, cars, etc.... I thought maybe it would be a good idea to read some that way they could kind of connect it to what they do in class. Maybe. I dunno. 

My fear is always that the kids have already read the books that I pick for story time, haha. If so, I hope I do a better job reading.

Wish me luck!