Pinning Storytime

Storytimes are made more awesome by Pinterest. There. I have declared it as an absolute truth! Every week, I consult Pinterest for at least one of the ideas I use during storytime, be they crafts, snacks, activities, books read, songs, or fingerplays. During summer reading, I do the same. My typical storytime search consists of the week's theme (this week, trains), the word preschool, and the type of activity (craft or snack, usually). Then I sift through results, adding several promising ones to my Story Time Board , which I will consult again when I am ready to make a decision. Sometimes, the link only takes me to a photo or worse, it's a blocked or bad link that goes nowhere. In those cases, I can usually track down the source of the pin myself using keywords inspired by the pin in a Google search. Then I look through images until I find one that matches it. More often, though, I find abundant ideas that take me to wonderful, detailed instructions and step-by-step photos. If you are struggling to find fresh or quality crafts or activities to correspond with your storytime themes, I highly recommend a Pinterest account! Follow other libraries, especially ones located near yours and the ones in the big U.S. cities for relevant pin recommendations when you first log in. 

One of the things I love about Pinterest is the ability to "put a pin in" any idea I love, but doesn't fit anything I'm doing at that moment. I have several boards thus dedicated, including "Thematic Decorating" and "Storytime Craft Ideas." Now that I have been doing storytime for over two years, I also find myself returning to previously pinned items in my storytime list, as themes get repeated on occasion. Any librarian can appreciate an awesome, free resource with minimal ads (in the form of sponsored links) and endless possibilities. 

All that said, sometimes Pinterest does not have anything I like for a theme, especially for a really obscure one. That's where the browser extension button comes in handy. Say I am starting to plan for storytime for the week after next. I want to look over a few ideas but not commit to anything yet. Nothing on Pinterest for the theme catches my fancy. So I go to Google, type in the same keywords I use in pinterest, and see what pops up in the images, OR I search that theme and "storytime" to find what other librarians have done with it in the past. When I find something I like, I use the Pinterest browser button to turn it into a pin and save it to my storytime board. 

What are your experiences using Pinterest in program planning? Share them, and any additional online resources/suggestions here!