Kathe Hudson, Certified Storytime Yoga Teacher

I am a children’s services librarian and conduct Storytime for preschoolers. Most of the children begin coming to Storytime around the age of 3. They are usually quiet and shy. By allowing them to participate at their own pace, connections are gradually made.

After years of working with children and conducting Storytime, where I read stories to children, I was eager to learn to “tell” stories. Having practiced yoga regularly for several years, when I came across Storytime Yoga my interest was piqued.  Yoga and storytelling! I registered as soon as I could to become a Certified Storytime Yoga Teacher. Fun, fun, fun!

Now I had to figure out a way to incorporate this new method into my regular Storytime sessions. I am a librarian, not a yoga teacher. I tweaked things just a bit. In addition to our regular sessions we now have Storytime Stretch for ages 3-6 once a month. Here I am able to introduce yoga to these curious and creative beings.

Using the Storytime Yoga method, I get to “tell” a story and then we all do yoga poses, to get those images in our minds, the children then retell the story, becoming storytellers themselves.  The children love trying out the poses.  Their verbal skills are still developing but I am ever surprised just how much they remember and are able to retell.

I took an oldie but goodie, “It Looked like Spilt Milk” by Charles G. Shaw and turned it into a Storytime Stretch session. This story is best read so that the children can actually see the images. There are 12 images in all and you can come up with some brilliant poses to go with each one. The favorite pose of the day was shoulder stand. We did this one for the image of birthday cake with candle. So cute, little legs in the air, everyone toppling over.

After the story we discussed how clouds change shape when the wind blows them and how if we use our imaginations we can see different objects in the clouds. Of course we looked at clouds and found all sorts of grand things floating by in the sky.  We followed this with action rhymes about clouds and a make your own cloud art project ended the day.

We expanded and added another session for school age children 6-12 years old.  We call this one “Moving Tale.” It is offered after school and our audience is growing.  We have a simple art project to reinforce the story and the children are so creative it is hard to get them to stop so I can put away supplies!

Both age groups sit enthralled, they are mesmerized by the storytelling. They have lots of fun practicing the yoga and enjoy the retelling. At times an individual child wants to retell the entire story!  I attempt to find balance in juggling patience and prodding.

I have had nothing but positive feedback and my biggest challenge so far is in containing my own enthusiasm for story and yoga!

 

Kathe Hudson's Bio:

She has more than 20 years experience in the fields of Education and Library and Information Science. She is a professional storyteller and a Certified Storytime Yoga Teacher.