I'm hashing out the details of the possible weekly English story hour, and would like some input from any parents here who might like to bring their children.

They keep referring to it as a "reading club" and I think they are expecting some kind of instruction. I am being pushed to an older audience because "kids that young haven't learned the alphabet" etc. So assuming I CAN roughly limit it to the 4 & under crowd, what days of the week would you be willing to attend?

My personal preference is for a weekday, since weekends are our family time, but they've gone from saying any day is ok to strongly preferring Saturday.

Perhaps they don't fully appreciate what you want to do. I don't know, but maybe kids are not read stories in the same way in China as they are in the UK and America? I was a primary school teacher back home, and reading a story was one of the greatest pleasures of the job.

I do think that's the case, and I'm pushing a bit of cultural imperialism/arrogance here I suppose :)

I'm pretty much going to do song/story/song/story/song/story/song, using the same songs with hand movements each week and probably using the same closing story each week too.

For marketing, always mention the 'learning'. Honestly, you could have the kids sleeping but as long as the parents think it is 'education' they are happy.
Do what you want to do, and explain it to the parents in terms that they want to hear.
Normal story telling with picture books, has description, explanation, and elicitation naturally; "can you see Mr Fox? Where is he? Yes, hiding behind the treeeee!."

Kids will learn vocabulary (nouns, verbs), moods, actions. So actually they are having a class, if you want to put that spin on it.
And with picture books, don't be afraid of using books that are below the childrens' age, if children are using L2. Giving them something very familiar in not so familiar language and many of them will still be comfortable.

Warning, some parents will want to dump the kids and use you as cheap child care. I worked in one place and parents dropped off kids for a 2 hour class and came back 5 hours later, believing we were responsible for the kids until they returned (that it was our job).

Decide what your policy is on this, and be prepared to be clear about it.

My 2cents.

The last bit of tigertiger's advice is particularly important. If it was me, I would just an hour or 2 and insist that the parents stay in the library, and that I was not responsible for the safety or behaviour of the children if they wander off.

Oh I know older kids will likely come if they are not in school (another reason to have it on a weekday) but I plan to keep the books simple (e.g. Goodnight Moon). And I'm scheduling a half an hour and will leave afterwards. I am requesting that the parents/caregivers remain but can't control this. I guess we'll see.

I often read a story with my youngest students at the end of a class. Usually a Dr Seuss or a pop-up book. They love the big colourful pictures of Dr Seuss and the youngest love touching the pop-up books. Always leaving the class and telling the parents what a great story it was (even if they can't understand it) Also, you can usually find a song or chant to go with Dr Seuss.

Give it a try!

I have a sort of special hate for some Dr. Seuss. :) And what would you do if you met a Jibboo? dafuq is a Jibboo? There is enough actual English that is nonsense. No need to introduce extra. Plus The Cat in the Hat scared the crap out of me as a kid, so that could have something to do with it. :)

I have suggested some Eric Carle (not my fave but simple and widely translated so the kids might already know the stories in Chinese), Maisy (nice bright pics, easy to point things out), and my childhood favorite, I Am A Bunny.

If any parents here have a day preference, please state it.

Spot the Dog. Tribute to Eric Hill, the inventor of the pop up book.

Meg and Mog
Personal favourite ; The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Very_Hungry_Caterpillar