Baby Lap Time, 2/22/12 and 2/23/12

Today marks the end of Baby Lap Time for the Winter. Here's what we did during our final session.

Opening Song: Say Hello

Rhyme: Cheek Chin

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big

Bounce: All the Little Babies

Book: A Good Day by Kevin Henkes (2007)

This is more of a story than I might usually read to babies, but they loved the animal illustrations. 

Song with Puppet:  How Much is that Doggie in the Window?

Rhymes and Songs with Shaker Eggs: 

• Jack and Jill
• Humpty Dumpty
• Shake My Sillies Out
• London Bridge

Song: Tony Chestnut

Song: Head and Shoulders

Book: Blue Sea by Robert Kalan, illustrated by Donald Crews (1979)
Despite the illustrations and minimal text, this book doesn't work with babies.

Song: Row Your Boat

Bounce: Mother and Father and Uncle John 

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

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

Song: Where is Big Toe? 

Song: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
I skipped this song today, because I have a sore throat, but we sang it yesterday - mostly because one of the moms told me her son had started doing the motions at home.

Goodbye Song: Open, Shut Them Goodbye Song

8 Novels About Kids On Their Own

	Losing Joe's Place by Gordon Korman Jason moves into his brother Joe's apartment in Toronto for the summer, along with two friends. The freedom is great at first, but as the summer goes on, it becomes harder and harder to avoid losing the apartment.
	The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner Orphans Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny set up home in a boxcar, trying to avoid being sent to live with Grandfather Alden, whom they have never met.
	Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome John, Susan, Titty, and Roger Walker spend their summer on Wild Cat Island, their home away from home in the Lake District of North West England, hiding from natives and battling with pirates Nancy and Peggy Blackett.
	Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan When their grandmother dies, Amy and Dan Cahill discover they are part of a huge and powerful network of Cahills. Now they must compete with other members of the family to track down 39 clues that will lead them to the power and fortune their grandmother left behind.
	The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright The four Melendy children pool their allowances so that each sibling might have on Saturday on his or her own in New York City.
	Homecoming by Cynthia Rylant After their mother abandons them in a grocery store parking lot, Dicey, James, Maybeth, and Sammy Tillerman travel alone on the road to their aunt's house.
	From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg Claudia Kincaid and her little brother Jamie run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they become wrapped in a mystery surrounding a beautiful statue.
	Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis Convinced that concert flyers kept by his mother, advertising performances by Herman E. Calloway and the Dusky Devastators of the Depression!!!!!! are clues that will lead him to his true father, Bud sets out for Grand Rapids, looking for home and family.

Gettin' Crafty Post #16: Printable Friendship Wristbands

I have had a very busy Winter season, so on the days that I do crafts - Monday and Thursday - I have been keeping things very simple. I was so glad to  find this fun printable from kidscanhavefun.com. I knew friendship bracelets were popular with girls in the middle grades but did not expect the number of nine- and ten-year-old girls who got into this craft!

I. Supplies

• Friendship Wristbands printable
• Crayons or Markers
• Glue or Tape (to fasten the bracelets)

II. Prep

There was no prep beyond printing out the templates, but if I did this craft again, I think I might like to make my own templates to suit a particular occasion, such as National Library Week, or National Poetry Month, or to allow the kids more room to write their own messages. I also think they'd work well as an activity for a summer program I'm planning for beginning readers, which is focused on the alphabet. 

III. Process

I didn't get to see too many of the final products, but the participants were mostly girls, and they did a lot of giggling and chatting while they colored. Some smaller kids did the project, too, but it was the biggest hit with the 8-10 year old set.