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I only received 3 responses to my question, but they were very helpful. Here they are: Perhaps it would help to put the chairs in a circle around you. I agree...the carpet squares don't work. They also don't stay still. I have tried reading to students seated at tables, and that doesn't work either. You can't get close enough to anybody. I have a big open area for my library, and it is distracting in a different way...people walking by all the time. What I have done is to get a 5x8 rug.... mine is an oriental rug I got on sale at Lowe's (a magic carpet!) but there are many kinds of rugs available in the catalogs. You might want the next size up for a 1st grade class. The rug defines the story area. My kindergarten classes can sit in 3 rows of 6 or 7 on it. I have them face me, backs to traffic, "close but not touching," as we say. When I began, the previous librarian had five 5ft-round tables with 4 kids per. I thought the tables took up too much room, and was able to do with 3 tables of 6 students. This year we are a bit more crowded and may have to go to 7 per table. But if they are only there 20 min, and part of the time are up choosing books, it's not so bad, and well worth it to have the extra floor space. I've seen a great looking rug that has colorful squares (or shapes) in a catalog such as Lakeshore. Each child could sit on a different colored square. The one I have in mind is pie shaped, but it also comes in a rectangle. For the pie-shaped one, you could invert the rug and have the greatest number of students seated in front of you. Wendy Carroll Library Media Specialist Ridgefield Park, NJ Grant School (K-6) T-Th Lincoln School (K-6) M-W-F wendyscarr@aol.com My original posting: I need some help with my kindergarten and first grade storytime area. In one school I'm in, I have stairs that the students sit on for storytime and this works out very well. However, at the other school, the library is in a very small room in the basement with five tables that the students sit at. Last year, a local store donated carpet squares to me for the students to sit on during storytime. It was somewhat problematic: 1. The kids wanted certain colors 2. It was time consuming pushing the tables aside, giving each student a carpet square, then having them returned, then pushing the tables back in place again. However, having them stay at the tables just doesn't have a cozy feel to it, and the kids seem to get antsy and I have to stand and walk around to show the pictures and share the story because if I sit in a chair I'm at the same height as them. I would appreciate if anyone would have any suggestions about how I can make this work better. I see both classes once a week for 30 minutes. The story is about 10 minutes and 20 minutes of checkout and an activity. Thank you in advance for any advise you can offer me. Wendy Carroll Library Media Specialist Ridgefield Park, NJ Grant School (K-6) T-Th Lincoln School (K-6) M-W-F wendyscarr@aol.com -------------------------------------------------------------------- All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation. LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/el-announce/ LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html --------------------------------------------------------------------