Baby Lap Time, 7/15

This was another amazing baby story time. The format I've been using lately, and the fact that I have been incorporating more rhymes has made a huge difference to the quality of this program, and to the way people react to it. Also, as I mentioned in my post about today's Tales for Twos and Threes program, I had early literacy training this week, which gave me some really good tips about the skills we're actually supporting by  doing story times for very small kids. I'll mention them in my blurbs about the books below.



Opening Song: Clap Along With Me

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big (twice)

Rhyme: Two Little Blackbirds

Book: Hop! by Phyllis Root, illustrated by Holly Meade (2005)
One of the things Saroj Ghoting demonstrated during the training I took this week was ways to add to books to make them more interactive. Her example was with One Duck Stuck (also coincidentally by Phyllis Root), where a duck appears on each page, but never quacks. She added a hand motion and a "quack quack" to the end of every page. So today I adapted that strategy for this book - I asked every grown-up and big kid in the audience to hold up two fingers and say "Hop! Hop!" at the end of every page. It worked so well. Everyone participated, and for  the most part, all eyes were on me. 

Rhyme: Hop Your Bunny 

Song: I'm a Little Teapot

Song: Head and Shoulders

Book: Dress Up Peekaboo! by Charlie Gardner, Dave King, and Rachael Parfitt (2007)
This is going to sound strange, but I have a problem with my left hand, so lift-the-flap books can be hard for me to manage when I have to hold the book upright to face an audience. This one, with its huge flaps that merely elongate the existing page, is perfect  for me and wound up being perfect for this age group, too. I had the grown-ups join me on the refrain of Peekaboo! (again, focusing on the interaction mentioned above, which helps with print motivation) and we made the sounds of the animals that were mentioned. This book also introduces great vocabulary, such as sheriff, tutu, and cape.

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider (a cappella)

Song: You Are My Sunshine (a cappella; with sunshine puppet; sung twice)
This sun puppet is becoming quite popular. A little girl came up to give it a hug after the session!

Rhyme with Puppets: I Went to Visit the Farm One Day
This was maybe the most fun I've had doing any rhyme ever.

Song: The Wheels on the Bus
So much for my vow to wean people off of this song. I needed it today.

Song: ABCD Medley

Song: Chickadee 

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This