Project: Visual Storytime Schedule

If a visual schedule of storytime isn't familiar with you, it's a concept that many libraries are using. For children with special needs, or are on the autism spectrum, it shows them a timeline for the storytime. They have an idea of what is coming next and can prepare for it, and it also gives them an idea of how much time is left within the storytime. Some examples are like the one found on Seattle Public Library's site or the one on the blog post by Association for Library Services to Children about Sensory Storytimes.

I've watched several webinars (and read many books) regarding this practice for library storytimes. There are also many other ways to provide a welcoming and comfortable environment for children with special needs, but not every idea is conducive to every library or community. The one idea that is easy enough to include in a storytime that isn't labeled as a sensory storytime is the visual schedule. Plus, younger children will benefit from the visual schedule even if they do not have autism or other special needs. It's a win-win, all around!

In my search for visual schedules for ideas, I found "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" story/craft on A Spoonful of Learning blog. It was such a cute idea, that I decided to create my own template based on the craft as my visual schedule. 

Here's what I did:

Before I laminated them, I cut out the circles and glued appropriate Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) words as well as pictures to go along with the activity for the different parts of our storytime: 

After I laminated them, I put Velcro on the inside so that they will close. After we do the activity on the storytime schedule, we will close that part of the caterpillar before we move on to the next one:

I also put sticky hook-only Velcro on the back of them to hang it from the felt board:

I added loop Velcro to the edges of my flannel board that I use at storytime:

And then I put my storytime schedule up on the board:

This was a fun project but I can't wait to use it at storytimes! If you're interested in making your own, and want to use "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle as your schedule, here is my template I created: 

Information regarding service children with special needs can be found here:

1. Programming for Children with Special Needs: Association for Library Service to Children

2. SNAILS (Special Needs and Inclusive Library Services): Resources Pages

3. Oklahoma Autism Network - Their 2012 Autism Conference included several handouts regarding Sensory Storytimes:

a. Tulsa City-County Library: Sensory Storytime How-To Guide

b. Tulsa City-County Library: Sensory Storytime Resources

4. "101 Games and Activities for Children with Autism, Aspergers and Sensory Processing Disorders" by Tara Delaney