Story Time Programs for May

There are many things in my life that I am thankful for, and one of them is that there are 'holidays' and observances that I can use to create programs for Story Time Adventures.

The month of May comes with two observances: Cinco de Mayo and Mother's Day. Because of these two holidays, a birthday, and a standing gig with Santana Row Mall in San Jose, I have 7 performances occurring within 8 days. I have three with the YMCA in San Benito County, one at the San Juan Bautista Library, one at Linden Tree Book Store in Los Altos, a birthday party in Hollister, and story time at Santana Row which will be about Cat in the Hat.

I started thinking about May story time program ideas last month and knew that I could score a couple with Mother's Day, which I did, but then someone suggested Cinco de Mayo. That's how I scored three more programs for the week, with the YMCA. I'm very fortunate that they have liked my programs, and I think they want to try to incorporate something 'cultural' into their after school program. Again, my main thing is I like to wear costumes of some sort while I do my program, so I was able to purchase two straw sombreros from a local thrift store, and a friend was able to lend me a sarape that she said I could use.

I also received some exciting news that our local library wants me to do a story time program June 30. This year's summer reading theme has to do with world travel, and my program is "Around the World in 60 Minutes!" During my program I will don four or five different costumes and read books that relate to that costume. So far I have the costume for Mexico, one for the Pacific Islands/Polynesia, and one for Asia.

I'm hoping that I can book several programs for the summer to help supplement my income while school's out (I'm a substitute teacher.) If you know of any groups that would like a story teller, you can contact me via my site www.storytimeadventures.wetpaint.com. Thank you! Julie Engelhardt