Baby Lap Time, 1/25/12 & 1/26/12

Opening Song: Say Hello
I love this hello song. I am actually learning names far better than I ever did with nametags!

Rhyme: Cheek Chin

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big

Song: Polar Bear
This tune - My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean - was not really familiar to people in the way  I expected, but they picked up on the"warm, warm" part and sang along. I might not repeat this song again this session - my polar bear's not very exciting to look at, and the song is kind of wordy - but it went over fairly well.

Book: You and Me, Baby by Lynn Reiser

Song: Bumpin' Up And Down On My Little Blue Sled

Rhymes and Songs With Shaker Eggs: After last week's realization that people don't know nursery rhymes, I decided to limit myself to just two this time around, so everyone could really focus on  learning them. I also threw in these two shaking songs to kind of balance things out. This mix worked much better than doing three or four nursery rhymes straight through. I'm also glad I didn't resort to recorded music - I really think the entire tone of the program changes when it's just our own voices, books, and traditional props.

• Polly Put the Kettle On
• To Market, To Market
• Shake My Sillies Out (first verse, a cappella, twice)
• Shake, Shake, Shake Your Eggs (an adaptation of Roll Your Hands)

Song: One Red Mitten
For this one, I just hold up one mitten, sing the verse, then hold up the second one to show I have two. On the spur of the moment, I decided it would be cute to clap the mittens together as a kind of transition between colors, and it worked very well. Many of the babies clapped themselves, and the adults also quickly caught on and did the same. (Mittens are my Flannel Friday theme for tomorrow. Stay tuned...)

Flannel Board: Five Little Snowmen 
My poor snowmen are cute, but a whole lot smaller than I remembered. They were not good to use in a big circle! I really need to work on making some more oversized, boldly outlined flannel board pieces just for babies. I have some hens that will work well for Spring, but more would be a good idea.

Song: Tony Chestnut

Song: Head and Shoulders (a cappella)

Rhyme: Where Are Baby's Fingers?

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

• ...clap your hands.
• ...beep your nose.
• ....tickle your tummy.
• ....shout hooray!

Song: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Goodbye Song: Open, Shut Them Goodbye Song