I chose to venture back home to a place I thought I would be comfortable reading to a group of children.  The YMCA afterschool program at Jones Dairy Elementary was happy to have a story teller come and read to the second and third graders.  I used to work for the current director two summers ago at the Wake Forest YMCA summer camp and he said the kids would love a change of pace.
The YMCA does Adevotions@ everyday.  Devotions are when a counselor tells a brief story or anecdote and follows the story with a discussion with the kids about a moral or lesson contained within the story.  I figured I would make my storytime like a devotion.  I read The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein, one of my favorites.  This is the story of a boy and a generous and loving tree who serves as his support and friend throughout the boy=s life.  It starts when the boy is young and the tree tells him he can play on his branches and eat his apples.  It ends when the man is old, and all the tree has left to give (that he has not already given the man), is its stump to sit upon and rest.  I see lessons of selflessness and giving all you can give in this life as prominent in the story.  I hoped the kids would see a little of that too.
There were about fifteen kids there.  The biggest challenge was probably getting the kids settled down after they had been outside playing for an hour!  Fortunately, Jason and a couple other counselors got them settled and gave me a warm and generous welcome.  The kids were at least interested now.  I started by telling them my name and where I was from, and the book I was going to read to them.  Surprisingly, only two of the kids had read The Giving Tree.  I guess this was to my benefit, though.  I also told them that me reading was going to be like a devotion, so to try and think about what the story was about.  After this, I proceeded with the story.
Besides the occasional laughs, not due in part to the story, and rustling around, the reading went pretty good.  The kids liked seeing the pictures and how the man and the tree were changing with each page.  Towards the end of the story, a little boy yelled out: ALook! The tree is dead!@  This made some of the kids laugh, but most of them didn=t seem to notice.  Most of them sat there, Indian-style, watching me and the book intently.  This good luck was probably due to the fact that this was going to be a devotion.  Devotion is always a time kids love, mainly the younger ones, because it gives them a chance to hear a story and talk with the counselors.  I think the younger kids like to know that someone values their opinion, which is what we ask for.
When I was done reading the kids clapped, I guess because I was a guest (I know I never got applause when I was a counselor for telling a story at devotion time!).  After the story, it was time to lead a devotion about the story.  I started by first asking the kids what they liked about the story.  Most of them really liked the tree- they said Ahe was nice.@  Some of the kids did not like the little boy, they said he wasn=t very nice to the tree; he cut his apples and branches off and finally, chopped his trunk off.  They did say they liked the little boy in the beginning, when he just played on the tree.  With these answers, I also asked why they thought the tree was so nice.  One little girl said that the tree was nice because he kept on giving the little boy gifts.  Another little girl said the tree was good because he was nice to the boy for his whole life, no matter what the boy did to him.  After this, I went on with the typical devotion time commentary, kind of summing up what the kids said and how they can relate that to their life. (Often times you get a couple blank stares with this, but it is to be expected).  When I was finished I got a warm exit and a big AThank You Lea@ from the kids.  It was great to be back there.
 Some things I wish I would have done were also some things I noticed in my observation report.  Two of the things I liked best about the storyteller I watched were his attire and speech beforehand about Ano rules during storytime.@  I wish I would have worn something exciting for the kids, like a crazy hat or outfit- they really loved that in the storytime at Barnes and Noble and in summer camp.  It also helps to get their attention focused on the reading.  I remember when I heard storytellers when I was little and the more mysterious they looked, the better.  It set the stage of the imagination and the feeling that anything can happen, as in books.  I guess I just felt a little silly about the idea before the reading, but I wish I would have done it.
I also would have liked to give the speech of Ano rules,@ but I don=t think the counselors would have liked what would have ensued while and after I was there!  When you say Ano rules@ and there are no parents, I am not sure how that would have gone over. :) For storytime at Barnes and Noble, a somewhat controlled environment, this is a great idea.  At afterschool camp, with only three counselors, and a lot of running around space, I am not sure how great an idea this is.
Overall, the reading went well.  It was somewhat intimidating, which almost seems silly, but it is a performance.  I would actually like to try it again, maybe somewhere like Barnes and Noble, to see how it goes there.