Sensory Storytimes: Inclusive Strategies for Reaching All Children (02/28/18) 

A Professional development workshop for Children’s Services library staff, presented by Sherry Norfolk, co-author of Storytelling Strategies for Reaching and Teaching Children with Special Needs

Offering a storytime for children with special needs is one way public libraries can develop literacy skills in children with disabilities and support their caregivers and families.This hands-on workshop will address:

• Why sensory storytimes are important,
• What a sensory storytime is, and
• How to offer sensory storytimes effectively.

Participants will

• Explore and understand the concepts of the Universal Design for Learning and how these can be applied to library storytimes,
• Experience a wide variety of sensory storytime strategies and activities,
• Work in small groups to develop and share ideas for sensory adaptations of stories,
• Investigate effective approaches to program logistics, marketing, and dealing with disruptive behaviors, and
• Leave with at least one sensory story to share immediately.

 Trainer: Sherry Norfolk

Sherry Norfolk is an award-winning storyteller, author and teaching artist, performing and leading residencies and professional development workshops nationally and in Southeast Asia. A former Children’s Librarian and Coordinator of Children’s Outreach Services with Miami-Dade(FL) Public Library, and former Youth Services Coordinator for the DeKalb County (GA) Public Library, she is a sought-after professional development trainer.

Sherry works extensively in self-contained special needs classrooms as well as inclusive classrooms, and has presented workshops and webinars for VSA-Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on the use of storytelling with diverse learners as well as leading workshops on storytelling strategies for inclusive classrooms for the Kennedy Center’s CETA program. In addition to Storytelling Strategies for Reaching and Teaching Children with Special Needs, she has co-authored four books on using storytelling in the classroom and is an Adjunct Professor at Lesley University. Sherry is a recognized leader in integrating learning through storytelling.

As a performing artist, she is a dynamic storyteller, telling well-crafted and age-appropriate folktales from around the world. As a teaching artist, she uses storytelling as a strategy for teaching preK-12th grade curriculum.

Cost: NEFLIN classes are free of charge for Florida library staff.  Registration is required for all classes and NEFLIN members get priority.

Registration for this workshop is FULL. To get on the waitlist, please email 1) your name, 2) your library name and 3) the name and date of this class to register@neflin.org. You will be contacted if a seat becomes available.