- 1). Do a finger play at the very beginning of the story time, signaling to the children that it is time to be quiet and listen. Do the same finger play before each story time session. Try the following: "My hands upon my head I'll place/ Upon my shoulders, on my face/ At my waist and by my side/ Then behind me they will hide/ Then I'll raise them way up high/ And let my fingers fly, fly, fly/ Then clap, clap, clap them/ 1 2 3/ Now see how quiet they can be." (Children do the actions as you say them.)
- 2). Use a puppet to get the children's attention. Children immediately focus on a puppet when you make it talk or move. Hold your ear to the puppets mouth and pretend as if it is whispering to you. Relay the "information" the puppet has given to you to your young audience. You might even consider letting the puppet read the story to the kids.
- 3). Create different voices for the characters in the picture book. Don't be afraid to make silly sounds or funny movements with your body. Children love to listen to a lively storyteller who is dramatic and delivers the story with energy and excitement. When you read the story dramatically, you hold your young listeners' attention.
- 4). Draw children's attention to the pictures in the story. Think aloud during the story. Ask out loud, "What do you think will happen next." Be careful with this tactic. It's easy for you to get off track if children begin to ask questions or talk about something irrelevant to the story. Most of the time, it's best to keep the action going and ask questions about the story later.
- 5). Get the children up and moving. After a story, play the Dance and Freeze Game. Put on a children's music CD. Ask the children to dance as the music plays. When the music stops, they stop moving and pretend as if they are statues. If you plan to read more than one book to the children, let them do some type of physical movement in between stories.
- 6). Sing songs with the children. Children love to sing. If you see that they are getting antsy, lead them in a kid-friendly song.
- 7). Switch to another story if you see that the children are bored with the one you are reading. Even if you're in the middle of a book, pull out another one and read it. The kids might like the second book better.
- 8). Keep story time short. Don't read long picture books to preschool children. Their attention span cannot handle listening to long stories.
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