How to slow down a children's librarian

I have discovered a way that will absolutely 100% slow down a very active children's librarian. Break her toe. Yep. Last Saturday (a week before summer reading starts), I decided that it would be a good idea to get my foot caught in a rut (while doing something as mundane as closing my garage) and break my pinkie toe. For some reason I remember hearing something about how humans don't need our pinkie toes for balance. Let me state for the record that this is 100% false! Now the fact that mine is currently twice its normal size may have something to do with this. Anyway...we are rapidly approaching the craziest time of the year for my profession, and I am hobbling around in a walking boot. Considering that two of the storytime programs I lead are Music & Movement for infants/toddlers and preschool/early elementary, I am going to have to get really creative and start leading the Frankenstein shuffle or something. Or I may adapt my signature car dancing moves into chair dancing. Ugh. According to my research (totally in my nature of course), broken toes take 4-6 weeks to heal which means I am going to be moving a lot slower than usual. This should be interesting...

Beware of the slide!

So one of the biggest things that I have been talking about this month, both during school visits with kids and presentations to parents is the Summer Slide. I have also heard Summer Drain, Summer Melt, and Summer Stop. With the kids I call it Brain Drain. Call it what you will, it's bad. I'll use the analogy that I use with the kids. Imagine your brain lifting weights. During the school year your brain is working hard, and with every new thing that you learn it gets stronger and stronger. You're reading books, practicing your math skills, filling your brain with science, social studies, and language arts. Then summer comes. Imagine doing absolutely nothing to keep your brain strong. If you've been lifting weights and suddenly stop, pretty soon it's going to be really hard to keep holding them up before your muscles weaken and you drop them. Then imagine being expected to not only be able to pick up the weights again in the fall, but to be able to lift heavier ones. It's not going to happen, at least not without a heck of a lot of practice to get back to where you were and then you're behind the rest of the pack. The solution is to keep working out your brain over the summer. Read books, practice your math skills, do a crazy outdoor science experiment, or go on a field trip with your family to learn and discover something new. Don't let your brain get weak. It sounds so easy that everybody should be doing it, but sadly this is not always the case. There are countless websites, blogs, books, and articles that talk about this very topic. In many cases children in economically challenged areas suffer the most. I've witnessed it firsthand, having worked in a very disadvantaged community for almost 10 years. I can't tell you how many times I would go on school visits and see kids that I had never seen before in my life. I always wondered what happened to them when the school year ended. More often than not, turnover was so high that kids I saw before winter break were not the same ones I would see during summer reading visits. Reasons why these kids who are most in need don't attend the library or read over the summer vary significantly with the biggest ones being transportation, lower quality child care if any at all, and parents who struggled in school which continues the pattern. As much as I would love to be able to reach everyone, it's just not possible. So I try to make the most with the contact I get with kids and let them know how important it is for their educational future to keep the learning going all year long. I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that I recognized many of the kids during this year's summer reading visits which is significant because I've only been at my current location for about a year. It just reiterates the differences between communities. While not the most affluent community in the area, the kids are at a definite advantage. My hope is that the topic of Summer Slide continues to become more mainstream so that it reaches more people.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Everyone thinks that Christmastime is the most wonderful time of the year, but I am here to tell you that it is Summer Reading time! Okay maybe not to most people, but definitely for children's librarians. I've been spending the better part of this month so far visiting schools to talk about our upcoming summer reading game and summer programs. We are on "break" from storytimes, but the month of May is probably the busiest one of all. I would estimate that I have talked to between 1500-2000 kids in schools throughout my area. I can tell you anything and everything about summer reading, the summer slide, and summer programs. I probably even do my pitches in my sleep, although I would have to get confirmation from my husband about that one! I am probably more caffeinated than usual these days, but I could probably function just as well without it (WHAT?!?!?) because I am running on a combination of adrenaline and kid excitement. I love, love, love going on school visits. After storytimes, it is my next favorite thing about my job. Way back when I was at the crossroads of deciding which grad school path to take, library science or education, I went my library route because I thought it would be the best of both worlds. This has been proven true, at least in my experience. In 11 years of being a children's librarian, I have gone on countless school visits, but this year has been the best one yet. It's the first time doing summer reading visits in my new branch so I have been extra pumped. The kids have been amazing and are so enthusiastic about reading. It's awesome. I've even seen unbridled enthusiasm in my 5th graders which gives me hope that they won't turn into jaded middle schoolers who think reading isn't cool over the summer. I desperately want to plead with them to stay as awesome as they currently are and not find me uncool or worse, an evil librarian in three months. The transition to middle school is a whole other topic I could talk about about... Anyway, my kiddos have been so psyched about reading and coming to the library this summer which fuels me like no other. This round of visits has totally reaffirmed my life choice of going to library school and completely confirms that this is what I was born to do. That's a definite bonus. I've had parents ask me how to get kids excited about reading, and my answer is always the same. You have to be excited about it first. Kids have a strong BS detector. They know when adults are not being genuine, authentic, or worse...faking excitement. If you are one of those adults who isn't excited, the first step is to talk to a librarian and let them help you find your soulmate book, the book that connects with you and gets you excited. From there, it'll be a breeze. Plus you will WANT to help your child find their soulmate book and connect with their love of reading. The summer reading game adds an element of fun to reading that provides an incentive for reading. Prizes always make everything better. I gave all the kids homework assignments to sign up for the game and come visit me at the library this summer, and so many have already done both! I love it! The energy is so high and so positive during the summer. That's why I make the case that it is the new most wonderful time of the year. I should write songs about it!

Yay! First post!

Hi! I am Jenni, A.K.A. The Caffeinated Children's Librarian. Many of my crazier ideas come as a direct result of one too many Venti Iced Americano drinks. If I were an action figure (which is such a bucket list item BTW), I would absolutely need a little coffee cup attached to my hand. I wanted to create a place where I can share book suggestions, library program ideas, and any of the other crazy things floating around in my brain. I've been a children's librarian for 11 years, but I grew up with a preschool teacher mom and an elementary school art teacher grandma. Skinnamarink is always on my go-to storytime playlist, and Sharon, Lois, and Bram were some of my earliest rock icons. :) I have many hopes for this site, and I am looking forward to getting it rolling. Welcome!