Opening Song: Clap Along With Me
Simple books like this are perfect for babies. Animals, animal sounds, onomatopoeia, and bright, easy to see illustrations. I know they're intended for beginning readers, but I love them for my babies and toddlers. In this one, I especially enjoy the cheerful and positive tone Cat the Cat uses to encourage her flying friends. There is something really satisfying about saying, "Go, bee the bee!"
Song: Did You Ever See? (to the tune of Did You Ever See a Lassie? / The More We Get Together)
I originally found this idea on Mel's Desk, and then adapted it to suit my flying animal puppets. I have a bat, a bee, a ladybug, an owl, and a butterfly.
Did you ever see a [bat], a [bat], a [bat]?
Did you ever see a [bat] fly this way and that?
Fly this way and that way and this way and that way.
Did you ever see a [bat] fly this way and that?
I love introducing new songs that use familiar tunes because the parents and nannies learn them so quickly, and are much less reluctant to sing along. This was a great sing-along, and the babies loved watching the puppets move back and forth in the air.
Flannel Board Rhyme: Five Little Birds
The link is to my Flannel Friday post, complete with photos!
This book is similar in many ways to the Cat the Cat series. The cat's name is Meeow, the sheep is named Baa, the cow is named Moo, etc. etc. Each animal chooses a pot and a utensil - what are they for? To join a marching band! Very simple story, neat vocabulary words like colander, and painted illustrations that look like a child may have done them (in a good way.)
Song: I'm a Little Teapot
Song: Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Song: Oleanna by The Laurie Berkner Band (from Victor Vito)
This song has a simple refrain, and a ton of nursery rhymes. I thought it would be easy to incorporate a flannel board into this, so I got some nursery rhyme sets from DLTK and covered them with contact paper and everything, only to have fumble about with them like I'd never seen a flannel board before! So I'm still debating how best to handle this next time. I think practicing the timing might be all it takes. I hope so, because it's such a lovely song.
But here are the rhymes included in the song, with links to the flannel board cut-outs:
- Hickory Dickory Dock (I already had this one from last time.)
- Jack and Jill
- Hey Diddle Diddle
- Diddle Diddle Dumpling (no flannel board for this one!)
- Humpty Dumpty
Song: The Itsy Bitsy Spider (a cappella sing-along)
Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (a cappella sing-along)
Book: Round Balls, Round Balls (board book) by Begin Smart Books (2010)
I love the way the babies' eyes just follow a book like this. The round shapes and bold colors just pull them right in. There's not much substance from an adult standpoint, but lots of good stuff for introducing little ones to words and sounds. It's also got a fuzzy front cover, which is fun if you're reading this one on one.
Rhyme: Elephants in the Bathtub
I originally saw this rhyme at SurLaLune Storytime, then adapted it for the flannel board using clip art. I used this elephant and this bathtub.
One elephant in the bathtub going for a swim.
Knock, Knock, (Clap twice)
Splash, Splash, (Slap knees twice)
Come on in! (Motion with both hands to come in)
Knock, Knock, (Clap twice)
Splash, Splash, (Slap knees twice)
Come on in! (Motion with both hands to come in)
Two elephants...
Three elephants...
Four elephants...
Five elephants elephants in the bathtub
Going for a swim.
Knock, Knock,
Splash, Splash,
They all fell in!
Going for a swim.
Knock, Knock,
Splash, Splash,
They all fell in!
I ended every single rhyme and song I did today - at both story times - with the sentence, "And that's the end." I need to work on that.
Song: Monkeys on the Bed
I really don't recommend this for a baby story time. It's just not very baby-friendly, and it's loud and there's a joke at the end (Mommy jumps on the bed!) that only preschoolers really appreciate, but I had an adult tell me that the little boy she was with - he was around 10 months old or so - was making monkey sounds in anticipation of hearing it. So... I played it. And I've got to say, he had the time of his life, so it was worth it.
Song: Where is Thumbkin?
Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This
No comments:
Post a Comment