Baby Lapsit August 2018

My Baby Lapsit formula is:

Intro and hello
Board Book #1
Lap Bounce Journey ("Bumpy Road/Smooth Road" and two recorded songs)
Board Book #2
Movement song or another lap bounce song (optional, depends on time)
Peek-a-Boo
Goodbye
Bubbles and Community Playtime

August 14th
Board Book #1
One, Two, Baa, Moo by Jonathan Litton

Lap Bounce Journey
“Bumpy Road/Smooth Road”
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)

“This is the Way the Ladies Ride”

“Pop Goes the Weasel”

Board Book #2
Peekaboo Morning by Rachel Isadora

Movement Song
"Follow the Leader"

August 21st
Board Book #1
Play Date for Panda by Michael Dahl

Lap Bounce Journey
“Bumpy Road/Smooth Road”
“Noble Duke of York”

“Humpty Dumpty”

Board Book #2
Are You My Cuddle Bunny? By Sandra Magsamen

Movement Song
"One, Two Hands”

August 28th
Board Book #1
Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin Jr

Lap Bounce Journey
“Bumpy Road/Smooth Road”
“Happy and You Know It”

“Milkshake”

Board Book #2
Alice in Wonderland (A Color Primer) by Jennifer Adams

Movement Song
“One, Two Hands”

Sign Language Storytime: Animals

My Sign Language Storytime format is:
Intro and hello
Felt story
Movement song or video
Book
Movement song
Goodbye

This storytime is special for a couple of reasons. First, it's the only one that I give a handout with pictures of the signs on it, so that the kids and grownups can refer to it during storytime and then practice at home. Second, I'm experimenting with adding an AV component to storytime by showing videos to follow along with instead of just listening to songs.


Handout:

Intro and hello:
Hello: "Hello Friends"
Before turning on the music, I teach the kids (and grownups) the American Sign Language sign for "friends." Then we boogie, wave, and sing hello to all our friends!

Warming Up Motor Skills: "Open, Shut Them"

On this song we do the movements described in the lyrics: open our hands, close our hands, clap three times, put our hands in our lap, creep our fingers up to our chin, and don't let them in our mouths.

Stretch: "Tall/Small"

This is a short, easy stretch the kids get a kick out of. While we're stretching, I like to encourage them to reach for the ceiling, touch their toes, then make themselves into a tiny ball.

Felt Story
"I Went to the Rescue Shelter"
This story was made by my coworker Sarah of Miss Sarah's Storytime.

I went to the rescue shelter and made a special wish.
The pet that I wanted was a very special...
(Have kids guess what animal rhymes with "wish." When they guess right, put fish on the board)

I went to the rescue shelter while out for a jog.
I wanted a pet with a wagging talk. I found a little...
(Have kids guess what animal rhymes with "jog." When they guess right, put dog on the board)

I went to the rescue shelter, I went there just like that.
Because I heard a little purr. It was a little...
(Have kids guess what animal rhymes with "that." When they guess right, put cat on the board)

I went to the rescue shelter. It had become a habit.
The pet I wanted now was a soft and fluffy...
(Have kids guess what animal rhymes with "habit." When they guess right, put rabbit on the board)

I went to the rescue shelter. I'm sure this sounds absurd,
But the pet that I wanted was a colorful flying...
(Have kids guess what animal rhymes with "absurd." When they guess right, put bird on the board)

I went to the rescue shelter and it was no mistake.
The pet I really wanted now was a green and hissing...
(Have kids guess what animal rhymes with "mistake." When they guess right, put snake on the board)

Video
"ASL Animals Song" by My Smart Hands
During the video, I encouraged everyone to practice along. Using videos in storytime is still something I'm trying out, but it's going well so far.

Book
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carl
It's a classic, and a great book for practicing animal and color signs.

Movement Song
"Five Little Monkeys"

Numbers 1-5

Monkey

Jumping

Fall off

Hurt head

Mom

Call

No more/All done

Goodbye
"Until We Meet Again" from Out of the Box

When we sing this song, I help them recall the sign for friends from the hello song, and teach them a couple others as we sing: meet, time, and say.

Friends

Meet

Goodbye

This is the only storytime that I don't close with bubbles, because directly following is another program called Stay and Play where I set out 4-5 bins of toys for a 30 minute free play. Adding bubbles to that seems to be too much stimulation.

Toddlertime 8-8-18: Monkeys

My Toddlertime format is:

• Intro and hello
• Book
• Toddlers are basically babies who can run away from you, so I tend to look for books with no more than two lines of text per page. When they're that age, kids are still figuring out how books work, how you hold and treat them, and looking at the pictures. They will listen to the story and participate if the book has an interactive element, so anything that will keep them engaged verbally or physically is Toddlertime gold.
• Movement song
• This is the time for a longer movement song. Ideally one that corresponds to your theme, but that's not a requirement. Some themes just aren't compatible with music, and that's okay.
• Felt story (or Book #2)
• My favorite felt stories are the ones where the kids have to help you chant, identify colors, count with you, or sing a song.
• Movement song(s)
• Depending on how much time we have, I'll use one 2-3 minute song or two that are under a minute long.
• Goodbye
• 10-15 minute toy time
• Toddler attention spans are short! In this storytime, I only plan 15-20 minutes of content because that's about as long as you can hold their attention. After that, we do a short community playtime with educational toys to give kids the opportunity to learn to play in a group, and parents the opportunity to meet and interact with one another.

Book
Monkey and Me by Emily Gravet
This book repeats a chant on almost every page: "Monkey and me, Monkey and me, Monkey and me, we went to see." I taught the chant before starting the book, and then encouraged the kids and caregivers to chant with me while practicing the ASL sign for "monkey." It was a great way to keep everyone engaged in the story and avoid wiggles.

Movement Song
"Five Little Monkeys"
I like to do this song in sign language. It includes several every-day signs, like the numbers up to five, "mom," "call," "hurt," and "no more" which doubles as the very useful sign "all done."

Monkey

Jumping

Fall off

Hurt head

Mom

Call

No more/All done

Book #2
Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
This is a classic that I grew up with, and is timeless in my opinion. It's short and fun, and the kids get to help you guess where the animals are hiding. And of course, there are monkeys.

Movement Song
"Peek-a-Boo"
I went simple with this song today. It's very short, and somehow magically quiets a crowd of restless toddlers with very little effort.