I’ve been wondering how to freshen up my storytime this year. I realized, looking back at my old plans, that I tended to use the same few songs from only a few CD’s. I’d begun using recorded music at the end of my storytime more and more, and I think it may become a permanent pattern. If I’m going to try and add a music element to my storytime each week, I definitely need to expand my repertoire.
When I started searching out new music for storytime, I stumbled upon the debate of CDs vs. A Cappella. The pros and cons of both are discussed on Mel’s Desk and That’s So Juvenile, Hi Miss Julie made the wonderful point I tell my parents all the time: Kids don’t care about the quality of your voice. Sing anyway! And Future Librarian Superhero takes a strong stance against recorded music during storytime, and makes a great point that this give the caregivers at her storytime no excuse to not sing at home. This conversation has been popping up around my library system as well lately, and so I wanted to add my voice to the chorus.
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