Stories, Songs, and Stretches! ─ Creating Playful Storytimes With Yoga and Movement

Young children love to move—and that’s a great thing! Because in addition to supporting early learning, storytime can provide young children with opportunities to explore physical movement. The centuries-old contemplative movement practice known as yoga is more than just a passing trend; it can offer physical, emotional, and mental benefits to practitioners of all ages, including young children. And getting started with yoga storytime doesn’t require any previous yoga experience. This new book from accomplished library trainer Scherrer shows how to use yoga and movement to create playful, active storytimes. A complete guide for library staff and others serving young children, this resource draws on Scherrer’s experience as a children’s librarian and a yoga teacher, as well as research from the health and education fields, to introduce yoga, exploring its history while dispelling myths about the practice; demonstrate how yoga and movement can support children’s early learning and social-emotional development; explain the differences between children’s yoga classes and yoga storytimes; lay out step-by-step directions on how to design and launch a yoga storytime program, including guidance on materials selection, the logistical arrangements of physical space, props, and marketing; provide descriptions of more than 35 basic, child-friendly yoga poses suitable for anyone to use with children; offer 12 ready-to-use yoga storytime plans; and include an extensive bibliography of helpful print and online resources for future program planning.Readers will find the complete guidance they need to immediately begin incorporating yoga and movement into their storytime programs.

Katie Scherrer is a consultant who specializes in helping libraries and educational organizations adapt to changing community needs. Formerly, as a children’s librarian, she focused on providing innovative and creative services to diverse populations, particularly first-generation Latino immigrant families. She regularly provides in-person and online training workshops on the topics of library outreach to Latino communities and bilingual storytime programming. She is active in REFORMA (The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking) and ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children). She received her MLIS from Kent State University in 2009.