Baby Lapsit 11-7-17

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.

Baby Lapsit 6-8-17: Monsters

As always, I started this session with my usual introduction, which you can view here (as well as the goodbye at the end).

Today's theme was monsters! Like last week, the theme was mostly chosen for my preschoolers and tailored to fit babies as well.

Our first story was Go to Bed, Monster! by Natasha Wing. It's a super cute story about a little girl who draws herself a monster friend when she's avoiding going to sleep. It's great, until she gets tired and the monster refuses to settle down!

After the story it was time for our lap bounce, so I began with my non-musical chant, "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 lap bounce songs for today were "Ten Little Monsters," a kids Halloween song where we practiced our counting, and "Walkin' Ol' Joe." This one was not in the monster theme, but it is one of my lap bounce standbys that the babies always like. When demonstrating this one, I like to show the different speeds you can bounce your baby.

The second story was Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems. Usually Mo is a slam dunk, but with slightly older kids. I recognize now that this story went way over the babies' heads and I'm better off to stick with board books for this storytime. However, spoiler alert: the preschoolers loved it.

Our movement song for the day was "Games Monsters Play" from Sesame Street. I encouraged grownups to help their babies do the movements with me as motor skill development exercise. 

Finally, it was time for "Peek-a-Boo," "Skidamarink," and bubbles, followed by community play time. Scroll up for more info about my regular Baby Lapsit conclusion.

Baby Lapsit 5-24-17: Fish and the Ocean

Today I started out with my standard introduction, which you can view here (along with the goodbye at the end).

Since the theme of the day was fish and the ocean, the first book I read was Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count by Lois Ehlert.

I like this book for babies because it teaches counting and colors. Lois Ehlert is always great for unique and colorful art in picture books.

For the lap bounce portion of Baby Lapsit, I always start with the same non-musical chant called "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 two lap bounce songs with music today were "Octopus (Slippery Fish) and "The Goldfish" by Laurie Berkner. Neither of these are ideal lap bounce songs, but I wanted to keep with the ocean theme and these were the songs I used for Preschool Storytime this week also. A learning experience that putting on a quality storytime should trump sticking to the theme every time. Even if the songs were over the babies' heads, the grownups seemed to enjoy them.

After the lap bounce portion, I read Smile, Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen. I like to read board books in Baby Lapsit, because they tend to have fewer words on a page and the babies usually pay attention for the whole time because it only takes about five minutes to get through a board book.

Then it was time for a couple more songs with gestures before we said goodbye. Sticking with the ocean theme, we sang "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."

Finally, we sang "Peek-a-Boo," and then concluded with "Skidamarink" and bubbles for all!

Here are the books I had out on display during the ocean theme storytimes:

• Fish School—Poydar
• Faucet Fish—Robinson/Anderson
• Rain Fish—Ehlert
• Fish—Walsh
• The Specific Ocean—Maclear
• Whale Shines—Robinson
• Ugly Fish—LaReau
• Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale—Pfister
• The Pout-Pout Fish—Diesen 
• The Legend of Sea Glass—Noble 
• Ocean Whisper—Rockhill
• Over the Ocean—Gomi 

My Baby Lapsit Hello and Goodbye

I like to do the same introduction and conclusion to every Baby Lapsit, so both babies and parents/caregivers can get used to the songs and sing along with me.

Artist tip: I love Laurie Berkner for everything, but especially for the babies because most of her songs have clear movements that go along with the words. She has a lot of albums and most of her songs are winners for kids under five because she speaks clearly and has a voice that makes them want to listen!

Hello: "The More We Get Together"
I like to tell parents that it's never too early to learn to clap on the beat, because learning about rhythm helps stimulate the language center of the brain. They clap on the beat today, and they're better readers tomorrow! During this song we clap on the beat, point to our fellow storytime goers on "your friends," and point to ourselves on "my 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"
For this song, I make sure to emphasize that grownups and babies should stretch at whatever level they are currently operating on. The grownup can keep the baby on their lap and help them stretch their arms up. The grownup can stand themselves and hold they baby while they stretch. The grownup can balance the baby while the baby stands on the floor, and help them stretch there. Wherever both are most physically comfortable is where I encourage them to try this gentle stretch.
Click here to listen to the version I use

This is where the rest of storytime comes in. And then...

Transition Song: "Peek-a-Boo"
For some reason, this song makes babies and younger toddlers drop whatever they're doing and pay attention. It's great. I sometimes use it with the preschoolers because you're never too old for a silly game, but I use it every single week with the babies. Their grownups love it too; I've heard back from a few moms that they sing it at home!
Click here to listen to the version I use

Goodbye: "Skidamarink"
I use this song for the babies' goodbye rather than one that actually says "goodbye" because it promotes positivity and love between baby and grownup. In storytimes with the older kids I'm giving them an opportunity to say goodbye to me and the program room, but the babies aren't operating on that emotional level yet. They're still working on forming bonds with their caregiver, and I think this song promotes that.
Click here to listen to the version I use

Also, I found this video from an adorable vintage kids show I've never heard of. They do the movements just like I do in storytime.

Bubbles!

The last thing I do at every storytime is blow bubbles. The kids go crazy over them! I play the same songs every time so they get to know that after we say goodbye, we have bubbles for the duration of two songs, and then storytime is over until next time. Our regulars know this is the way it always goes, which is a great introduction to establishing routines in other aspects of life as they grow.

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Bubbles

Yo Gabba Gabba Bubbles Song

Community Play Time

Baby Lapsit is unique in that the families are encouraged to stay for 15-20 minutes after storytime for a special playtime. I bring out a bin of toys and play some quiet background music, and it's just a fun, unstructured play session where babies can socialize with other little beings close to their age, and caregivers can also chat with each other and make connections. I've seen many friendships and even play groups or preschool co-ops get started this way!