Planning a story time

One of the most awesome parts of my internship so far has been using the resources built by the DMA's educators.  Having access to past programs, family guides, and tours has given me a better idea of the ways to introduces themes, provide historical information, and ask thought-provoking and meaningful questions.  In my time away from the museum, I've been working on a database that compiles the artworks used in programs, the studio activities that accompany them, and the books read in as part of the tours.  While data entry is not the sexiest task, this has given me a great opportunity to absorb hours and hours of work done by talented educators.

One of my tasks for this summer has been creating and executing a story time, which has been a great way for me to become more familiar with the DMA.  I've already spent some time scouring the cabinets of children's books (pictured above) that have been thoughtfully collected, and last week I wandered around the galleries looking for artworks that fit with some themes I found in the books.  It also helped to read through some existing lesson plans to see how books had been incorporated into tours in the past.

Right now the idea I'm most excited about for a story time has a nighttime theme.  I have begun narrowing down my list of books, which right now includes Where the Wild Things Are; Good Night, Moon; and The House in the Night.  I'm also considering in-gallery and studio activities like making nighttime drawings on black paper with light-colored pencils and crayons or drawing daytime pictures with waxy crayons and then painting over them with black or blue watercolor to make them nighttime pictures.  Perhaps we could even encourage kids to come in their pajamas!  This is still in the planning stages, but I'm looking forward to putting all of this together!