Recorded music, for my groups, has always been the signal for the adults to stop paying attention and start just hanging out. Somehow, by eliminating the sound that drowns out their talking, I got them to stop talking at all. I will continue to promote the recordings from which I take my songs, and I'm sure I'll still throw in the occasional recorded song, but I'd really like that to become the exception rather than the rule. And since my library is not ordering anymore music, it seems like a good time to focus more on the music we can provide on our own. It's a lot easier to provide the words and tune for families to take home with them than to track down the one or two copies of a CD we have left. This also makes a good segue into when I will eventually bring my ukulele to story time - hopefully this summer.
So... here is my very first a cappella Baby/Toddler Story Time:
Opening Song: Hello, how are you?
I wanted to read some new books this week - and by new, it turns out, I meant old. This 1998 title is a simple story of a single tree, whose inhabitants and visitors say hello, and then goodbye when it starts to rain. I got everyone involved by having them buzz like bees and chirp like birds, and by the end of the story, each group was so into it, they were saying hello and goodbye unprompted.
Rhyme: Wiggle Fingers
Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big
This was a great animal sounds book. The animals are divided into categories according to habitat, and all of them have some sound associated with them. I don't really have a monkey noise that I use, but the adults did their own for me, and when it came to whistling like a marmot, we just tried to whistle. The ending was kind of abrupt and strange, but it didn't matter. This book got tons of participation and tons of applause.
Song: Shake My Sillies Out
Song: I'm a Little Teapot
Flannel Board Song: Old MacDonald Had a Farm
It killed my voice to sing this much three sessions in a row, but this book demands to be sung! It got a little old around the number five - there's only so many times an old man should play knick knack, honestly! - but the kids seemed to like the novelty of singing instead of reading a book.
Song: If You're Happy and You Know It
- ...clap your hands
- ...pat your knees
- ...stomp your feet
- ...beep your nose
- ...tickle your tummy
- ...shout hooray!
Song: The Wheels on the Bus
- ...doors...open and shut
- ...wipers...swish swish swish
- ...driver...move on back
- ...horn...beep beep beep
- ...babies...waa waa waa
- ...grown-ups...shh shh shh
I said last week that the calypso beat was essential for this song, but this group did very well without the recording. I think it's all in how well I sell them on it. It also helped that most of the caregivers were regulars and could sing all the words from memory.
Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This
Your library is not ordering any more music? For your storytime/professional collection? General collection? Please elaborate. My library got Freegal last year (I'm still not a fan) but we also buy cds. and more cds. and security cases. and replacements. and...you get the idea
ReplyDeleteOur budget for music was cut this year. We do have Freegal, but they won't be ordering more CDs for children or for adults. (Or for story time, as far as I know. Mainly because we can't use anything in story time that doesn't also have a circulating copy available.)
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