Thursday, March 7, 2013

What Flannel Friday Means to Me

As we prepare for Flannel Friday's 2nd birthday, we are doing something a little different this week.  This week we are all participating in "What Flannel Friday Means to Me".  As I am totally not a sappy person, here are some of the tangibles for me that have happened since I joined:
  • After being a lurker for a couple of months, I created my own blog on 2/14/12.  Since then, I have participated in 51 Flannel Friday posts.  (Personally, I am kind of impressed with that since there are only 52 weeks in a year.  I must have doubled up a couple of times.)
  • While I wasn't too sure about this whole blog thing, I have kept with it.  While I started it for Flannel Friday posts, I have expanded into early literacy, collection development, and other programs.  I have found that I have lots of ideas and opinions and this is a good format for them.  :)
  • In addition to regular posts, I have hosted 5 round-ups over the past 13 months.  If you haven't tried it, it is a lot of fun!
  • By following other posters, I have a gigantic TBD (to be done) pile, in addition to random ideas pinned in Pinterest.  This fall I realized that I was coming away from Flannel Friday with a lot of new flannels and ideas so I started pinning them to a "Completed Flannelboards" folder on Pinterest so I can cite them in the future.  There are a lot more that I still have to add.
  • Through blogging and discussions with the Flannel Friday Facebook group, I have gotten better at explaining what I do and why I do it (definitely an important thing when working with early literacy).  I have learned new techniques and ideas that have been successfully put into practice.  I am a better advocate for myself and my library.
  • While it started as a flannel group, that is not all it is.  Now, whenever I have a children's question, I ask the Flannel Friday Facebook group first.  I have learned that many of us are always online and I get near instant results.  My questions have ranged from using iPads in the library to best books to use for a reading night.
I could keep going with this all day now that I have gotten started.  If you work with children, whether in a library, a preschool, at home, etc., this is a great group to be a part of.  There are many levels of participation so you can find the best level for yourself.

This week's round-up is hosted by Sharon at Rain Makes Applesauce.

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3 comments:

  1. I am super impressed with your stats! 51 FF posts in a year! That's dedication right there!

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  2. I love the way you start this..."Lurker"! And the part about being better at advocating for yourself and your library - I know just what you mean. The positives in this group are endless - and that's a good thing!

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  3. Lisa, I love that you called out how discussions with FFers have helped you better articulate your thoughts and rationales. I would never have thought to say this myself and I'm so grateful you did! I know that I will find myself crafting a response before I write it down--to get it to say just what I mean in a clear and concise way. That is such a great skill to practice, and one that has professional implications way beyond new props and felt shapes. What a great list of tangibles!!

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