Concepts: Opposites Baby Lap Time, 5/9/13

Concepts: Opposites Baby Lap Time, 5/9/13  

We overbooked a little bit and ended up with a huge group this morning, but despite the chaos, it was one of the best sessions ever! 
 
Book: Big Little by Leslie Patricelli
I rarely read two books by the same author in a single session, but no one does opposite board books better than Leslie Patricelli! We had a great time with this book - the parents got a lot of laughs and the babies seemed mesmerized. 

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big 
For this one, I encouraged the parents to make the motions where baby could see them instead of trying to have their little infant arms make all the motions  themselves. That seemed to work well.

Song: Go In and Out the Window 
I have always known this song as a complicated song involving large groups and specific instructions. But when I found a version of it online the other day, I was inspired to adapt it for babies. For the first verse ("go in and out the window") we rocked forward and backward with babies (and in my case, a sock monkey) in our laps. For the second, we lifted our babies/monkey up into the air and slowly brought them back down. It was hugely successful, and it's my new favorite baby activity!

Song: Bumpin’ Up and Down in My Little Red Wagon 
I love it when songs accidentally fit the theme. I often use this as a bounce, and the up and down motion made it perfect for this story time! 

Song: Tony Chestnut

Book: Quiet Loud by Leslie Patricelli
As I always do when I read this book, I asked  the adults to make a "shhh" sound following each quiet page. What they also did, unprompted, was make all the loud noises, too! It was great!

Flannel Board: Let’s Make a Noise

Song: Row Row Row Your Boat
Song: ABCs
My new routine when I don't use the ukulele is to tap my knees the first time through, and clap my hands the second time through. 

Rhyme:  One Two

Song: All the Little Babies 

Song with Puppets: Did You Ever See...?


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.

Concepts: Shapes Toddler Lap Time, 5/9/13

 Concepts: Shapes Toddler Lap Time, 5/9/13

Book: Perfect Square by Michael Hall
This theme, overall, was not great for toddlers, and I won't be using any of the same material for the second session tomorrow, but this book, of everything, was the best received. I'm not sure the kids understood it fully, but they were drawn to the illustrations and sat quietly watching me as I read.

Flannel Board: Triangle Tricksters
This flannel board wasn't a huge hit this time, but I was also missing one of the yellow triangles, which made it a bit awkward to rearrange.

Book: What is Round? by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
The kids liked the illustrations in this one, but the book asked for too much audience participation on the last page, and even when I just found  the round things in the final picture myself, the whole vibe just felt awkward.

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
I showed the group the yellow star shape, then we sang this song with our usual hand motions.

Book: Shape by Shape by Suse MacDonald
This was the most toddler-friendly of the three books, and they seemed to like it. If the shapes theme hadn't otherwise been such a failure, I'd keep this one for tomorrow. 

Activities with Foam Hearts: 

• Song: H-E-A-R-T (based on Bingo)
• Rhyme: Hearts Up, Hearts Down
  I wrote this simple action rhyme, and all the kids were really into it! I'll be using it with my other foam shapes in the coming weeks.
• Song: There’s a Heart Upon My Head...

Song: Hands Up High

Song: Head and Shoulders

Song: Chickadee

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big

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.