Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes Baby Lap Time, 2/28/13

 Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes Baby Lap Time, 2/28/13

Rhyme: Cheek Chin


Book: Baby, I Love You by Karma Wilson
The adults always like this one, and I was glad I thought to use it today since we had lots of very tiny babies who were still too small to really participate in very much. Though I offered all three books to the room to possibly check out, this is the only one that went. 

Song: Head and Shoulders

Rhyme: Where Oh Where Are Baby’s Fingers? 

Book: What's On My Head? by Margaret Miller
I sang about each object in the book, to the tune of Mary Wore Her Red Dress. The adults got a lot of laughs out of  the pictures of the baby with a puppy dog on his head.

Song:  All the Little Babies
We had a few bigger babies who like to bounce, so we did once bouncing song. I liked the way some of the moms with tiny babies used this as an opportunity to gently rock them.

Song: Tony Chestnut

Book: Whose Knees Are These?  by Jabari Asim

Song: Where is Big Toe?
I really need to find a more newborn-friendly alternative to this song! It was fine for the 6-8 month olds, but not so much for the little 2 month olds.

Song: Row Your Boat

Songs: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Song with Stick Puppets: Mary Had a Little Lamb
We sang about different colored lambs, which were red as a rose, green as  the grass, blue as  the sea, and black as the night. I think I want to start doing more with stick puppets for this group again.


Song: If You’re Happy and You Know It
 
I use the same hello and goodbye songs at almost every session. Click here for the tunes and words. For descriptions of each of my story times, click here.

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes Toddler Lap Time, 2/28/13

 Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes Toddler Lap Time, 2/28/13

Book: All of Me! A Book of Thanks by Molly Bang
The kids were so attentive to this book, but not very outwardly responsive. It's longer than what I'd usually read to this group, and I had the sense (real or imagined, I'm not sure) that the parents were wondering when it was going to be over. I showed  the kids my hands, feet, head, etc. to try and make the book more interactive, but it really turned out to be more of  a passive experience for the kids. I think Molly Bang is an author who speaks to kids on a level not fully understood by adults.
 
Song: My Eyes Are Made for Seeing  
The kids were more willing to participate in this song, especially the ones closer to two years old.

Book: Whose Knees Are These? by Jabari Asim, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
I think I have to give up on this book and Whose Toes Are Those? Kids just don't like them. I've tried them several different times, and as much as I like  the artwork, the kids lose interest after half a page.
 
Song: Where is Big Toe?
 
Book: I Can Do It, Too! by Karen Baicker, illustrated by Ken Wilson-Max
I like this book a lot more than I expected to, and I think it would have done better earlier in the session. I am going to hang onto it for tomorrow's session and put it earlier in the line-up.

Rhyme: Wiggle Fingers
 
Song: Hands Up High
 
Song: Head and Shoulders
 
Song: I'm a Little Teapot


Songs with Shaker Eggs 

• Song: Shake My Sillies Out
• Song: Sing a Happy Song
• Song: Can You Shake Your Egg With Me?

I sing  a clean-up  song after we play with the shaker eggs - "If you have a shaker egg, shaker egg, shaker egg, if you have a shaker egg, bring it up to me." This is hands-down the kids' favorite part of story time, and today they were like a stampede, all trying to be  the first one to make it into the basket with their eggs.


Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider
 
Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big

Song: If You’re Happy and You Know It

I use the same hello and goodbye songs at almost every session. Click here for the tunes and words. For descriptions of each of my story times, click here.

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes Pajama Story Time, 2/27/13

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes Pajama Story Time, 2/27/13

Only one of the regulars -  a little girl - showed up to this story time, but we were joined by another family - a preschooler girl and a toddler boy - after the third book. They were a quiet bunch, and they seemed to like the songs better than the stories, but it's hard to know for sure, since they didn't really interact very much.

Book: I am a Backhoe by Anna Grossnickle Hines

Book: We've All Got Bellybuttons by David Martin
This book got some nice giggles, but the little girl didn't feel like doing the movements. Her dad did them with me anyway, though! He is always a great participant.

Song: Moon Moon Moon  
This is the little girl's favorite song, and she sang all the words with me the second time through. (This is why I always repeat things - not only do the kids learn it better, but the kids who already know it need time to get warmed up.)

Book: Growing Like Me by Anne Rockwell
When I was weeding our 500s I found  this poor neglected book. I decided to keep it and start using it at story time

Song: Head and Shoulders

Song: Sing a Happy Song

Book: The Greatest Gymnast of All by Stuart J. Murphy
This is a book about opposites - over and under, in and out, up and down.

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Song: Five in the Bed

Song: The Wheels on the Bus

Song: Goodnight

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It


I use the same hello and goodbye songs at almost every session. Click here for the tunes and words. For descriptions of each of my story times, click here.