Baby Lapsit 2-2-18: Transportation 2.0

 I did something that I haven't done in a while; a theme in Baby Lapsit!

Themes in the baby storytime don't always go over great, because the kids are too young to understand what a theme is and the parents just want enriching activities for their babies. However, if you can manage to find worthwhile, enriching activities on a solid theme, good for you! I feel like I was able to hit that balance today, with my second shot at a transportation-theme Baby Lapsit.

After saying hello, I introduced the theme of transportation (you can also call it "Things That Go" Storytime), and we learned the signs for "bicycle" and "fire truck." While there are a lot of vehicle signs to choose from, I didn't want to overwhelm the grownups with a million signs. I chose these two because I knew they would come up later in stories and songs, giving us an opportunity to practice them.

Bicycle

Fire

Truck

Our first story was Everything Goes by Brian Biggs. This board book works great for babies, because it counts to ten and introduces many different types of vehicles. It also allowed for us to practice the signs for "bicycle," "fire truck," "food truck," and the numbers 1-10.

Next it was time for our lap bounce journey and it began, as always, with "Bumpy Road." I have a few regulars who have come to Baby Lapsit continuously since their babies were only a couple months old, and they know this chant by heart now. Grownups are instructed to seat their baby facing forward on their laps and bounce along with me as I demonstrate with a roughly baby-sized teddy bear. Here is the chant:

Bumpy road, bumpy road. (Bounce baby on lap)
Smooth road, smooth road. (Move baby smoothly back and forth)
Bumpy road, bumpy road. (Bounce baby on lap)
Smooth road, smooth road. (Move baby smoothly back and forth)
Rough road, rough road! (Bounce baby higher than before)
Bumpy road, bumpy road. (Bounce baby on lap)
Rough road, rough road! (Bounce baby higher than before)
Hole! (Hold baby under armpits and let them fall between your legs)

Our musical lap bounces today were "Little Red Wagon" and "Hurry, Hurry, Drive That Firetruck." 

Our second book was Fire Engine No. 9 by Mike Austin. I love this book because it has very few words, but not no words at all. It's helpful for explaining the steps to putting out a fire, and a great companion to the fire truck song. 

Instead of adding another movement song before saying goodbye, we transitioned straight into "Peek-a-Boo" and "Skidamarink," before bubbles and toy time.