It's June and we're well into Summer Reading. I've taken Elianna to a couple library programs now, and with some of my former library coworkers posting on their pages about Summer Reading, there are times that I wistfully think of my Summer Reading Program days.
Several years ago (I was about to say "a couple" but then I did the math and, y'all, it's been longer than I realized), I worked in the children's department at the busiest* library in Cobb County. Part of my job was to plan story and craft time for 5-to-8- year-olds. During the school year I did this once a month; in the summer, I did one every week.
(*There were actually three "busiest" libraries, with "busy" being defined different ways. One was most patrons visiting, another was most computer usage. Ours was most items checked out.)
Actually, doing a story/craft hour "once a week" is not quite accurate. The first year, I did them once a week. Demand was so high that first summer that we had to add a second session of my story times the second summer. I had a day every week that the majority of my day was spent setting up, doing the first story and craft, re-setting the room, doing it again, and then cleaning up. It was a lot of work, but I loved reading the stories to the kids (doing all the voices, of course) and teaching different art and craft techniques.
I do miss it sometimes, even though it was crazy-busy and other aspects of the job eventually got to be too much for me. I keep meaning to do some craft projects with Elianna (though I also realize she doesn't have the attention span or fine motor skills for a lot of art projects yet). Taking her to her first story time (just a socially distanced story time with a basic craft you took to do at home) made me wistful - especially watching how much the librarian was enjoying herself.
But, as with many situations, many former jobs, ultimately I am glad that I'm not out working in a public position right now as some people race ahead to get back to "normal" while others are still cautious. I miss the art. I miss the stories. I don't miss the pressure. If you're still out there in it, still telling stories and coming up with craft projects for dozens of kids, I salute you.
Snake project from my second summer.
Elianna’s first library craft!
Not a summer craft, but one of my favorites.