It's rhythm stick day again! The parents think it's hilarious when I make the preschoolers repeat my only rhythm stick rule, "Don't hit your friends." It is funny, but definitely gets the point across. Yay for perpetuating nonviolence!
After our simple two-song hello, we did the "Heckity Peckity" chant and counted the syllables in our names. I use a little bumblebee finger puppet when we do this, like she uses in the second video below. Before we start, I tell the kids my friend Bumble Bee really wants to meet each of them, but he's really shy, and he will only ask their names if we all say this rhyme together. Then, after we all say the first two lines, he buzzes up to children and asks them what their name is.
My with my friend Bumble Bee
Heckity peckity bumblebee, Won't you say your name for me? Bzzzzz (Bee buzzes up to a child and asks their name. Let's say it's Harold.) Everyone say Harold. (Group says name) Can we whisper it? (whisper the name) Can we do it on our legs? (Repeat name and pat thighs with each syllable) Can we clap it? (Repeat name and clap with each syllable) Now let's turn off our voice (Do a clicking motion with hand on throat and make clicking sound) And let's just clap it (Group claps the syllables without speaking) How many claps was that? (Group answers) Harold's name is two claps! Who is next?
Our movement song today was "Can't Sit Still" by Greg and Steve. I like this one because it's directed movement with built in naming of body parts. Plus, they throw in a surprise game of Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes during the bridge. There is no downside.
vid
Then we passed out the rhythm sticks ("Don't Hit Your Friends.")
Classroom management tip: I try to make the passing out of instruments as orderly as possible. Before handing out the sticks, I let the kids know that only those sitting down calmly will be given a pair. Except for the ones who don't yet understand full sentences, this works great.
After everyone had a pair of sticks we practiced hitting them together quickly, slowly, loudly, and quietly. We also hit them high above our heads, low by our feet, and hitting them on the ground. Then, I turned on "Tapping on My Sticks" and we followed the tapping directions in the song.
As orderly as the passing out of instruments has become, returning them is always a circus. I've stopped fighting it. They're so excited to be making noise and playing with toys at the same time, I just let them storm me all at once and drop their instruments back into the container as a mob.
We still had about five minutes left in the session, so I had time to play the extra movement song I'd included on my playlist just in case: "Milkshake!" This is one of my faves, and always a good get-the-wiggles-out song.
Finally, we sang our goodbye song and had bubbles.
I tend to repeat songs from week to week in storytime, especially when I do the same age group for weeks or months in a row. It does help brain development and lets them expect patterns and schedules, but it can get repetitive for a regular reader of my blog. That being said, I feel like there is use in repetition as well; these posts are based off my lesson plans, and might be helpful to you if you are a homeschooling or stay-at-home parent, if you run a daycare or preschool class, or if you are new to library storytime and need some ideas.
So without further ado, here is our semi-fall theme Baby Lapsit for today.
First, as always, we said hello, warmed up our motor skills, and did some stretching.
The first story we read was Fall is Here! by Frankie Jones. This book doesn't really have a plot, but it's full of cute vignettes of a puppy experiencing the joys of autumn.
Our lap bounce portion began, as always, with "Bumpy 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)
The unofficial theme of our lap bounce music today was food. First we did "Pop Goes the Weasel" (mulberries), where grownups are encouraged to lift their baby up high at the ending POP.
Next we pretended to be popcorn with Raffi, which I always like to play twice through because it's so short. Plus, the sizzle-sizzle-sizzle anticipation before the big dramatic POP always gets babies laughing.
Finally, we finished up with "Milkshake," one of my all-time favorite storytime crowd pleasers. Here is the version of the song I use, followed by an a capella version by Jbrary.
Sticking with the fall theme, our second board book of the day was This Little Turkey by Aly Fronis. A variation on "This Little Piggy," I like this one for its jaunty rhythms and jauntier art.
Our last gesture/movement song was, once again, "One, Two Hands" by Laurie Berkner. Body part identification is one of the most important early learning skills, and I love this song to start kids learning the names of their facial features, hands, legs, and feet.
After our usual introduction and hello, Leslie Patricelli struck our storytime again with Tickle! This board book is short and sweet, about a baby who insists he isn't ticklish. Except on his armpits... and his feet... and basically everywhere. I like doing interactive books like this with the Baby Lapsit parents because it shows them how they can interact with their baby while reading at home.
Our lap bounce portion began, as always, with "Bumpy 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)
Today's musical lap bounces were the same as last time, because repetition helps babies learn. "Walkin' Ol' Joe," "Milkshake," and "Popcorn" twice.
As I've mentioned before, I love taking the opportunity of storytime to emphasize the awesome diversity we see in our library patrons every day. Our second story today was Clive and his Babies by Jessica Spanyol, an adorable board book about a little boy whose favorite toys are his baby dolls. The book presents it in a very normal way, and shows Clive playing several different games with is babies, both alone and with friends.
Clive is also part of a series that includes Clive and His Art, Clive and His Hats, and Clive and His Bags.
Our last movement song was "One, Two Hands" by Laurie Berkner again, because my goal is for it to get stuck in all the grownups' heads. This is possibly a little bit diabolical, but also effective for their babies to start learning the names of body parts and numbers up to ten.
Then, we said goodbye until next week with "Peek-a-Boo," "Skidamarink," bubbles, and community play time.
Today, after saying hello to everyone, I read Love You More Than Anything by Anna Harber Freeman. I love this book because it's sweet, it rhymes, and it's a great one to read one on one with your baby.
Our lap bounce portion began, as always, with "Bumpy 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)
Lap bounce songs were "Walkin' Ol' Joe," "Milkshake," and "Popcorn."
I have to talk about "Milkshake" for a minute, because it's a fantastic song for all ages of kids. For babies, it's a lap sit. For toddlers and preschoolers, it's a great movement/get the wiggles out song. There really is no wrong time to sing the milkshake song. Here is her version, and also the wonderful Jbrary's a capella version.
Finally, we pretended to be popcorn with Raffi, twice through because this song is very short.
Because the public library is all about inclusion, I like to emphasize diversity in storytime as much as possible. Our second board book today was The Family Book by Todd Parr.
I talk up Todd Parr whenever I read one of his books to a group. The art in his books are simple and brightly colored, which hold young children's attention. More importantly, the message in every single book is one of diversity and acceptance. In The Family Book, there is a different type of family on each page. It normalizes adoption and mixed race families ("some families are the same color, some families are different colors"), working families, single parent families, same-sex parents, families where the grandparents are the primary caregivers, and a bunch of other nontraditional family units in a way even the youngest kiddos can understand. We have a diverse group in Baby Lapsit, most notably several grandmothers who bring their grandbabies, and I wanted to highlight different types of families with them today to remind all our storytimers that the public library is a place for everyone.
Our last movement song before saying goodbye was "One, Two Hands" by Laurie Berkner. I love this song because it teaches body parts and helps kids practice counting to 10. I like to tell the parents that my goal is this catchy tune getting stuck in their head, so they go home and keep practicing these skills with their babies.
I am so excited to roll out this brand new program! The official description on our website is, "Children ages 3-5 will learn the basics of rhythm and beat, how to work with instruments, and what makes music happen in this upbeat program." Pretty catchy, right? I wrote it. Anyway...
My vision for this program is to help preschoolers grasp the basics of what it means to clap on the beat, how to keep basic rhythm, and understand what is happening in music as they listen. It sounds incredibly complicated for a three-year-old, but I'm pretty sure my dance teachers did this with us and I'm much more musically inclined as an adult because of it.
So we began this morning with what will become my usual Rhythm & Flow introduction. We only do one hello song and "Open, Shut Them" to warm up our fingers, because "Hello Hello" has built in stretches.
I want this storytime to include even more interaction between me and the group of kids than a regular storytime would, so I am getting to know the kids individually using a bumblebee finger puppet and this fun chant:
Heckity peckity bumblebee,
Won't you say your name for me?
Bzzzzz (Bee buzzes up to a child and asks their name. Let's say it's Harold.)
Everyone say Harold. (Group says name)
Can we whisper it? (whisper the name)
Can we do it on our legs? (Repeat name and pat thighs with each syllable)
Can we clap it? (Repeat name and clap with each syllable)
Now let's turn off our voice (Do a clicking motion with hand on throat and make clicking sound)
And let's just clap it (Group claps the syllables without speaking)
How many claps was that? (Group answers)
Harold's name is two claps! Who is next?
I like this one because they are starting to associate counting syllables with words they say every day, like their names. It's also a fun way to get to know your storytime regulars. Here are some videos of people doing Heckity Peckity. Including Jbrary, who are awesome.
Next, we did a movement song with music because we had a lot of wiggles to shake out. I picked "Can't Sit Still" by Greg and Steve today, because it is vaguely directed movement but still allows plenty of opportunity to get the sillies out and be ready to move on to another activity.
Where I would usually put a second movement song in a regular storytime, we did a clapping chant instead. I love this one that I got from Jbrary, "Little Clapping Mouse."
Before the program, I wrote out the whole rhyme on a rolling white board so grownups and any reading children could follow along. I added two asterisks to the end of each line to indicate where the claps go, like this:
Behind the tree * *
And under the house * *
There lives a teeny * *
Tiny mouse * *
She loves to sing * *
She loves to tap * *
But most of all * *
She loves to clap * *
She claps all night * *
She claps all day * *
She claps to frighten * *
The cat away! * * * * * * * *
Having the words written out in a place storytimers can see them makes it easier for them to follow along right away, instead of me needing to teach the rhyme aloud. We did it two times through as a group. The kids got the hang of when to clap by the second time.
Another vision I had for this program was the use of a musical instrument every time. Today we used egg shakers, which are noisemakers similar to maracas, but great for teeny tinies because they fit perfectly in their hands.
As I passed them out, I gave the kids time to shake them on their own and start to explore everything they could do with them. Then we sang an a capella version of "Happy and You Know It" using the shakers. Each verse below is the full, usual verse of the song with the clapping, stomping, and hooray-ing substituted with the following words:
If you're happy and you know it, give a shake (*shake shake*)
If you're happy and you know it, give a clap (tap shakers together *clap clap*)
If you're happy and you know it, give a tap (tap shakers on legs *tap tap*)
If you're happy and you know it, do all three (*shake shake, clap clap, tap tap*)
Then we did two recorded songs with the egg shakers: "I Know a Chicken" and "Milkshake." "I Know a Chicken" is great because it mentions egg shakers specifically, and gives direction on how to use the shakers. Laurie Berkner strikes again!
After we gave all the shakers back, I launched right into our goodbye song. We used the same one that I do for Preschool Storytime and Toddler Time, for the simple reason that I love it. I also like to see the kids copying me when I demonstrate the sign language.
All in all, my first completely original storytime went really well. There were 75 people in the room which was a little overwhelming, but they all had a good time and so did I!
Hello again! Today's Baby Lapsit did not have a theme. Instead, I relied on some tried and true storytime favorites because we're knee-deep in Summer Reading and planning time has been scarce!
After the usual introduction, I segued right into the lap bounce portion instead of reading a story first.
Our lap bounce portion began, as always, with "Bumpy 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)
I used "Walkin' Ol' Joe" and "The Noble Duke of York" next, which are both great lap bounces but very different from each other in terms of tempo. "Joe" changes up several times to show the different speeds the horse walks, while "Duke" stays at a steady marching beat the whole time. I've found that both babies and grownups stay more engaged if you keep your activities varied.
Our story today was I Am Tall by Flying Frog, a fun, short story about animals of varying sizes. The great thing about this one is it's a lift-the-flap. It's great for teaching small children about opposites. And, they get a big surprise at the end when you actually have to turn the book sideways and lift the flap to expose the tall giraffe!
The last song we did before saying goodbye was "Milkshake," a storytime classic that works great as a lap bounce or simple song with gestures. I saw grownups doing both, and it made me happy that they make this program their own and do what feels best to them and their baby! I do it with the music, but I've also included a great video from the amazing blog Jbrary where they do it a capella.
Today's storytime had some good moments, but the second half was overall not very successful because of too many wiggles and too mellow of music and stories. But, it was a learning experience, and maybe I'll try a feelings storytime again at some point.
First, we saidhellowith our usual introduction. Our first story was Stuck With the Blooz by Caron Levis. This book is a great one for learning how to get rid of a bad mood, but would be better for one-on-one reading than storytime with a group because of the length.
Next we sang my favorite version of "Happy and You Know It," and "Milkshake" to get some wiggles out.
Our second story was I Am Yoga by Susan Verde, which I was especially excited about because of my recent discovery of the music artist Emily Arrow. She takes children's books and writes songs about the stories they tell. We read the book first, and then I attempted to lead the kids in some simple yoga moves while listening to the song. It was a great idea poorly executed because they weren't that receptive, but I might try it again at some point with an older group.
I was successfully able to get the kids to listen to one more short book, Wild Feelings by David Milgrim. It's a very easy book to listen to without a real storyline, just comparisons between feelings and animal traits. If you're ever at a loss in a group of four-year-olds, just ask them what sound a lion makes and enjoy the ROAR!
Our last song beforegoodbye was "It's Time to Stand Up."
Here is a list of the books I displayed for feelings storytime:
