QUALITY STORYTENTS

A resource for family, early childhood and community literacy workers

Preparation: Set-Up

Tent set-up will look different depending on the location or the weather. On a typical sunny day, ground sheets and blankets are put down first, extending beyond the borders of the tent. Books are set out on the blankets. Tent frames are erected to one side, covered with canopies, and then set in place.

When you arrive at your Storytent location, you may be alone, or greeted by numerous children of various ages. If children are present, the relationship building begins right away.

When we arrived at one location for the first time, there were about six children playing on the grass. One child ran up and said “Hey! What are you guys doing?!”

We said, “Setting up a Storytent.”

He asked, “Can we help?”

We had not considered this until that moment, but the answer was obvious. We said, “Sure!”