QUALITY STORYTENTS
A resource for family, early childhood and community literacy workers
On rainy days, the tents are set up first.
If there is a wind blowing, they can be
set at an angle, with their “backs” to the
rain. Then, the blankets and ground
sheet can lie well inside the borders of
the tent. (In the figure on the right, the
groundsheet has been used to create a
wall and offer further shelter from the rain.)
Wet days, with blankets sheltered beneath the tent, mean less room for everyone. These days do not call for many peripherals like skipping ropes or sidewalk chalk. On such days, it is worthwhile bringing fewer books. Since books too will get wet, it is helpful to divide the full collection into morning and afternoon books, thereby ensuring a dry selection of titles for the whole day.
Blankets will get wet on foggy or rainy days, or even mornings with a heavy dew or frost. If more than one storytent session is to be delivered in a day, extra blankets will probably be needed. In any case, blankets will need to be dried at the end of the day. Groundsheets can also become too wet to reuse, and will require drying. On very wet days, canopies can become saturated, and may need to be replaced for a second storytent session.