Baby Lapsit 4-6-18

Today was my first storytime after a three week leave! You might have noticed there are hardly any programs listed for March 2018. This is because I was gone most of the month for recovery from a much-needed surgery. I am now back and ready to get my storytime groove on!
After our usual introduction and hello songs, our first board book today was Llama Llama Easter Egg by Anna Dewdney. It is technically the week after Easter, but I never pass up a chance for 1) a cute Spring story or 2) Anna Dewdney.

And since it's been a while, here is Ludacris rapping Dewdney's original, Llama Llama Red Pajama.(For the record, I don't include this in storytime, but I love it so much in my other life as a childless adult who enjoys hip hop music.)

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)

The musical lap bounces were on the "pop" theme: "Pop Goes the Weasel" and "Popcorn" by Raffi. I like to do "Popcorn" twice through, because it's only about 30 seconds long. By the second time the grownups usually get the hang of when to bounce, when to sizzle, and when to POP!

Our second story was Peekaboo, Pierre by Florence Wetterwald. This little board book is great for grownup/child interactions. You can practice naming directions like up and down while looking for Pierre. It's also a great opportunity to practice counting to three, and playing peek-a-boo. It segued wonderfully into our Peek-a-Boo song later on in storytime.

Before saying goodbye, our final movement songs were my standby classics, "One, Two Hands" and "Peek-a-Boo."

Click here to listen to the version of "Peek-a-Boo" I use.

Today's Baby Lapsit was only about 15 minutes long. Usually I aim more for the 25 minute mark before our 15-minute Community Playtime at the end. Today, since it was my first time back after a long absence, I kept it simple and we ended the entire session after almost exactly half an hour.

Preschool Storytime 6-15-17: Sleep

We began today's Preschool Storytime by saying hello to all of our friends the same way we always do, because repetition helps form neural pathways in developing brains.

The theme today was naptime and sleep, so we learned the American Sign Language sign for "sleep."

Our first story was Sleepyheads by Sandra J. Howatt. I learned last week to get mellower books out of the way earlier in storytime, so we started out with this short and quiet list of sleepy animals. 

 

Then to wake up again, we danced to "Clap Your Hands" and "The Ants Go Marching."

Click here for the version of "Clap Your Hands" that I use.

I don't think I will be doing "Ants" too often. It's a fun song and the constant marching is great for solidifying rhythm patterns and getting the wiggles out, but it's more than three minutes long. As a storytime rule, I try to stick to songs that are no longer than two minutes, to make sure the kids stay engaged and their attention doesn't start to wander. 

Next we read The Napping House by Audrey Wood, and I am lucky to have a big book copy at my library. The kiddos were really entertained by the fact that I had a giant version of a regular book! Plus, it helps everyone to see all the pictures when you're reading to a big crowd. 

And then we got up and sang "The Goldfish Song," because it has sleeping fish in it to stick with the theme of the day, and also because there has never been a better storytime song in the history of the world.

Our last story of the day was Llama, Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney. I love reading rhyming books with the preschool crowd because you can ask them to finish your sentences. 

Also, here is Ludacris rapping this book, a must see for any fan of hip hop music or picture books. (Disclaimer, I did not show this video in storytime.)

Sticking with the theme of sleep, we learned to sign "Hush Little Baby" and sang it twice through before saying goodbye for the day.

Click here to listen to the version of "Hush Little Baby" I use. And here are the signs:

After bubbles, we had a special treat: a Llama, Llama Red Pajama craft! I had a storytime volunteer cut out about 50 one-piece red pajamas out of construction paper before storytime, then passed out one to each child. We set out crayons and stickers, and let the kids decorate their pajamas however they wanted. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any pictures, but here is one I stole from Pinterest (where I got the idea in the first place).

I love including a craft, or at least a coloring sheet, at the end of Preschool Storytime for a few reasons. First, gripping crayons and scissors helps the development of fine and gross motor skills. Second, a limited number of supplies in a large group of kids forces them to share. Third, sitting down and doing a guided activity gets them ready for kindergarten.

Here is my display list of sleep books:

• Creak! Said the Bed—Root
• Ten Sleepy Sheep—Root
• No Nap! Yes Nap!—Palatini
• How Does Sleep Come?—Blackmore
• The Sleep Sheep—McQuinn
• Where to Sleep—Radzinski
• Naptime—Mouy
• Sleep Tight, Anna Banana—Roques
• Sleepyheads—Howatt
• Slepy Places—Hindley
• No Go Sleep!—Feiffer
• Very Little Sleeping Beauty—Heapy
• Little Bunny’s Sleepless Night—Roth
• Click, Clack, Peep—Cronin
• Feet, Go to Sleep—Bottner
• Back to Bed, Ed—Braun
• The Princess and the Giant—Hart
• Time Now to Dream—Knapman
• Good Night Tiger—Knapman