The Zombie Stack Exchanges That Just Won't Die
Into what age groups is it most effective to divide storytimes?
What age groups do you find work best together in terms of attention span, book selection, early literacy development, motor skills and social skills?
What age group divisions do you find work best for families?
What other compelling factors come into play?
Clarification: by "storytime," I mean a short program for young children (and often their families) wherein the presenter shares some combination of books, stories, songs or music, rhymes, fingerplays, or movement activities. The intent is generally to share the fun of books and reading and to foster early literacy skills.
Debrarian
In the UK, young age groups can be commonly defined by their Key Stage.
Key Stages are typically used to define year groups for schools and appropriate textbooks/revision books. Small libraries or 'reading corners' are often separated throughout primary schools by Key Stage.
The most appropriate stages for young children are:
In the libraries in my area, they tend to group ages depending on what sort of program they are running.
Singing programs are often billed for birth through 5 or 6.
Tummy Times are typically for under 1 year (http://www.healthychildcare.org/pdf/SIDStummytime.pdf)
Story times typically are newborn to 18 months/2 years, though some are geared specifically for, say, toddlers (2-4) or pre-schoolers (3-5).
Programs for slightly older & more active children (toddler/pre-school) are often more interactive than story times, involving songs, games, finger plays, felt boards for story telling. A good example of this program is Mother Goose on the Loose (http://mothergooseontheloose.com/), which is billed for birth through 3, though I've seen libraries that open it up to birth through 5.
Our library system divides age-appropriate storytimes into babies (0-12 months), "Tiny Tots" (12-24 months), toddlers (24-36 months), and preschool (ages 3-6). We also have family storytimes (ages 0-6 or whoever shows up), including evening "Pajama Time" storytimes.
We are flexible about families bringing siblings of other ages along, and it generally works out fine.
Some of us modify the age ranges to reflect crawlers vs. walkers (more or less). Some of us take babies up to 18 months in the "baby" storytime, and lump kids aged 18-36 months all into "toddlers." I tend to steer crawlers (along with the sit-and-marvel babies) to the "baby" storytime, but once they are up and stomping around a lot and trying to hold onto books, invite them to try the "toddler" storytime.
We are not sticklers for these divisions but try to guide families to the storytime that seems to best suit their kid(s). For example, a high-energy, short-attention-span 3-year-old usually fits better into the "toddler" storytime than into the "preschool" one, where stories are more involved and longer.
For us, "storytimes" may include books, stories, songs, rhymes, fingerplays, activities, music and sometimes crafts appropriate for the ages attending. The intent is to share the fun of books and reading and to foster early literacy skills.
(On our web site, storytimes are described thusly: "Introduce young children to books and reading at our fun storytimes. Each week, librarians and specially trained staff adapt stories, songs, and movement activities to match the ages and attention spans of the children attending. Parents learn how to foster early literacy skills to prepare their children for learning to read. Librarians answer questions about books and library services, and teach parents how to interest their children in books.")
For storytimes in languages besides English we don't have the resources to divide by age, so those are all "family" (ages 0-6) storytimes. That tends to work out fine as families typically bring siblings of many ages anyway. We also offer family storytimes for children with sensory integration issues, and we are about to pilot a storytime grounded in the black American cultural experience.