First Try

 I told virtually for the first time this week.  It felt great to get back into the classroom and see the kiddos albeit virtual.  We met using Google Meet and we had combined the classes so I only needed to tell four times instead of the eight that I usually do.  That meant more kiddos (about 40 to 45), but it really didn't feel overwhelming.  I think because I only was able to see about twenty of them it made it feel like a regular class.  I could of had all of them on the screen, but they would have been too small to gage their reactions.  The teacher had control of the meeting and I joined about five minutes after the class started.  The kiddos were all on mute when I came in and the teacher introduced me and explained what was going to happen.  She told them that I was going to tell two stories and at the end of each they would unmute and give me a round of applause.  They could also leave comments after I was done and thank me for telling my stories.  I made sure that my lighting was good and they could see me.  It does no good to have great facial expressions and the kiddos can't see them.  It seems like they could all hear me okay, so that was another worry solved.  I told my stories as I normally would with plenty of expression, voice inflection and movement.  I did learn one thing when it came to movement.  If you use your hands and arms as you tell, be sure to reach out to the side or up and down and never toward the camera, unless your intention is to do that Three D thing.  I did back up from the camera so they could see my movements and I wasn't just a talking head.  I think for the first time it went well.  The teachers would like to integrate my stories into their lesson plans a little more next time so I will send them a summary of the stories I intend to do.  Some of my stories are great for explaining character development and others for plot and setting.  There are many other things that they can  add to fulfill their lesson plans.  I'll be recording some stories in the coming weeks so that they can use them when they want to.  By recording them, it will allow them to pause and talk about my stories and what I am doing without disrupting our live sessions.