11/19/14 Casa Latina Workshop Tess Xochitl

I went to the workshop last week with Xochitl and Jen. I feel that Xochitl and Jen had a great plan for the event: plan for a larger number of attendees but be able to adapt to a smaller turnout. They had expected about 8-9 kids to come and we ended up having 4 kids and one parent in attendance. The age group, for the most part, was very young: one 8-year-old, one 18-month-old, one 9-month-old, and one 6-month-old. The workshop started out with a storytime and songs as Xochitl and Jen had planned. Also according to plan, we moved on to snacks and then craft time. However, since the age-group was so young and it was a very small group, craft time was altered.


The word "failure" was used in the list of possible reflection questions, but I wouldn't describe anything that happened at the workshop unaccording to plan as a failure. The things that became somewhat of an improv were just different and unplanned. The 8-year-old took part in the lovely crafts, while the three of us watched and entertained the babies. In my opinion, the whole thing was a success. Although it turned into somewhat of a babysitting session, it was still fun and worthwhile because the kids were still exposed to the stories and songs that Xochitl and Jen had selected despite there being some alterations of the plan. I guess the lesson learned from this workshop was that when we're practicing librarians holding programming sessions and storytime and such, we should be prepared for anything. We should either have a backup plan or be able to quickly adapt or change the existing plan.





Xochitl Rocha


Tess, you said: "The lesson learned from this workshop was that when we're practicing librarians holding programming sessions and storytime and such, we should be prepared for anything. We should either have a backup plan or be able to quickly adapt or change the existing plan" this is so true! I am learning this in my DFW as well. When working with children you really have to be willing to adapt and veto and alter your plan, flexibility is a key trait as a youth services librarian!