Libraries Rock! Baby Storytime

I loved putting together this Baby Storytime series all about how "Libraries Rock!"  So we had five weeks of all things singing, dancing, and making music!

Read Aloud Books

Jazz Baby

by Lisa Wheeler; illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

Babies on the Bus

by Karen Katz

Dancing Feet!

by Lindsey Craig; illustrated by Marc Brown

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?

by Bill Martin Jr.; illustrated by Eric Carle

Sung to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

If You're Happy and You Know It!

by Jane Cabrera

Clap, stomp, kiss, jump

Shared Reading

Board books about music, singing, dancing

Let's Make Music

National Geographic Kids

Barnyard Boogie!

by Tim McCanna; illustrated by Allison Black

Amazing Me! Dance!

by Carol Thompson

Itsy Bitsy Spider

by Anne Kubler

Songs/Rhymes/Bounces

*Clap Your Hands
Clap, clap, clap your hands
Clap your hands together
Clap, clap, clap your hands
Clap your hands together.

Roll, roll, roll your arms
Roll you arms and stretch them
Roll, roll, roll your arms
Roll you arms and stretch them

Kick, kick, kick your feet
Kick your feet and stretch them
Kick, kick, kick your feet
Kick your feet and stretch them

Repeat clap

Good Morning!
tune: Happy Birthday

Good morning to _________
Good morning to _________
Good morning dear _________
It's nice to see you!

Little Bear
Little Bear in the tree
Sitting oh, so still
Won't he come out?
Yes, he will!

He looks to the left,
He looks to the right
He looks straight ahead
Then he POPS out of sight!

When Ducks Get Up in the Morning
When ducks get up in the morning they always say "good day"
When ducks get up in the morning they always say "good day"
"Quack, quack, quack!" That's how they say good day
"Quack, quack, quack!" That's how they say good day

Use a variety of puppets and their animal sounds

Dump Truck
Bumpity, bumpity goes the dump truck
Bumpity, bumpity goes the dump truck
Bumpity, bumpity goes the dump truck
Dumping out it's load.

Me
I have 10 little finger and 10 little toes

Two little arms and one little nose

One little mouth and two little ears

Two little eyes for smiles and tears

One little head and two little feet

One little chin;  that's ME, complete! 

*This is the Way the Lady Rides
This is the way the ladies ride: (baby on your lap facing out)
Prim, prim, prim, prim (bounce slowly, gently)
This is the way the ladies ride: Prim, prim, prim!

This is the way the gentlemen ride:
Gallop-a-trot, gallop-a-trot (bounce a little faster)
This is the way the gentlemen ride: Gallop-a-gallop-a-trot!

This is the way the farmers ride:
Hobbledy-hoy, hobbledy-hoy (tip baby off to one side then the other side of your lap)
This is the way the farmers ride: Hobbledy-hobbledy-hoy!

This is the way the hunters ride: (fast bouncing)
Gallop-a-gallop-a-gallop-a-gallop
This is the way the hunters ride: Gallop-a-gallop-a-gallop!

*Little Flea
Creeping, creeping, little flea (tickle up the body)
Up my leg and past my knee
To my tummy, on he goes
Past my chin and to my nose (touch lightly on the nose)
Now he’s creeping down my chin (tickle down the body)
To my tummy once again
Down my leg and past my knee
To my toe that little flea…
Gotcha! (grab both feet and nuzzle them)

Three Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Pat-a-Cake

*The Elevator Song
Parents stand up and hold baby facing them

Oh, the city is great and the city is grand
There are lots of tall buildings
On a little piece of land
We live way up on the fifty-seventh floor
And this is what we do
When we go out the door

Take the elevator up, take the elevator down (3 times)
Then we spin around

Repeat chorus

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Flannel Board
I cut out lots of felt stars and while we sang I continually added stars to the flannel board

Toast
I am toast in the toaster (bounce)
I'm getting very hot
Tick Tock, Tick Tock (side to side)
Up I
POP!

One Bright Scarf
One bright scarf waiting for the wind to blow
Wiggle it high
Wiggle it low
Shake it fast
Shake it slow
Hide it behind your back
Where'd it go?

*On Baby-O CD

Libraries Rock! Making Music

Oh, this was such a fun [and noisy] storytime!!

Books

Punk Farm

by Jarrett J. Krosoczka 

My Family Plays Music

by Judy Cox; illustrated by Elbrite Brown

I passed out all the instruments that the girl plays in the book and when we got to that part of the book the child played that instrument.  I had extras of some of the instruments so each child would have something to play!

I skipped lines 3 & 4 of each stanza on a page to make the book shorter.  For example:

This is my mom.

She plays fiddle in a country-and western band.

When I play with her, I play the tambourine.

Songs

Head Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Bluegrass Band

Clap It! (with musical instruments)

Play and Learn

Play with musical instruments

Make a shaker (paper plate, streamers, beans)

A Few Tips from the Field

1.  Did you know you can reword picture book text to make it more interactive in storytime?  (I didn’t for the longest time…I was a ‘read every word exactly’ kind of girl)

One of my favorite books to read in the winter months at storytime is “Don’t Wake Up the Bear”.  I have tweaked the wording just a bit so the children can participate in the story.  The text reads, “You may come in”, whispered the hare, “But don’t wake up the bear.”  Before I read the book I teach the children “BUT…Shhhh! Don’t wake up the bear.”  By emphasizing the word “but” then saying and doing the motion for “shhhh!” it gives the children time to be ready to whisper the phrase “Don’t wake up the bear.”

2.  Whisper-Shout

I stumbled upon this last week when I visited a preschool in the afternoon and a few of the kids were still napping.  We were singing “If You’re Happy and You Know It” and I really didn’t want wake the sleeping kids so I asked the kids if they knew how to “whisper-shout”.  When we got to the third verse we all whisper-shouted “Hooray!”  The children really enjoyed this “new way” of using their voice.  I tried it with another group of kids and they really liked it too…and bonus…it teaches executive function

3.  A Good Book

You know you found a good book when you visit a preschool after 3 months and they remember the book you read last time and hope you brought the same one to read again!  Be sure to note that book so you can use it again in other storytimes!

4.  Songs, Rhymes, Flannel Boards Don’t Have to Fit the Theme

Here’s another one that took me awhile to embrace.  I was always on the search for that “perfect” song or flannel board that would enhance my storytime theme.  Well, I have learned that the tried and true songs are almost always best…because, well, they are tried and true—and they are for a reason!  They are easy to sing, we know the words and the tune—and most parents do to, the children know or are learning these familiar songs.  Children learn by repetition and find comfort in the familiar.  I’m not saying new songs, rhymes and flannels shouldn’t be used—just don’t forget about the oldie, but goodies along the way!

Books that Sing Storytime

Since I had such a good time doing books that sing with my baby storytime I decided to try it with my all ages storytime.  It was a great hit and so much fun!!

Books

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

by Eric Litwin 

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?

by Bill Martin Jr.; illustrated by Eric Carle

Just like in Baby Storytime we sang this book to the tune of "Baa, Baa Black Sheep".  We went nice and slow and the children were able to sing right along!

Songs/Rhymes

Today we used the Song Cube to choose our songs!  It's a 14x14x14 cardboard box (from Wal-mart) covered in white paper with a song title on each side (if I ever remember to take a picture!).  We rolled the dice three times throughout storytime and sang:

Old MacDonald Had a Farm

5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

The Wheels on the Bus

Play and Learn

Brown Bear Activities from 1+1+1=1

• Heads and Tails
• Clothes Pin Numbers

Button Activities

• Give Pete the Cat four groovy (sticker) buttons and then color 
• String buttons on a pipe cleaner
• Practice using buttons with a Felt Button Chain I made

There were supplies left over from our Busy Bag workshop for the Brown Bear Clothes Pin Number activity so I had all the supplies for the moms to make one to take home!

Piggyback Songs

An internal blog post

A piggyback song is a song that uses a well-known tune with alternative words.  A few reasons I love to use piggyback songs are:

1. I don’t have to read music or find a recording of the song; I already know the tune!
2. Parents and caregivers know the tune and can help sing along
3. Children usually know the tune too!
4. If I forget the tune I just have to “sing” the original song in my head.
5. Because it is not a recording you can slow down the song
6. You can make up your own words to go with any theme!
7. You can even sing books!  Just last week at baby storytime we sang “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” to the tune of Baa, Baa Black Sheep.  The parents were great at joining in with the singing!

Common tunes to use for piggyback songs:

• Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
• Bingo
• Mary had a little lamb
• Here we go ‘round the Mulberry Bush
• The Farmer in the Dell
• Old MacDonald had a farm
• Three Blind Mice
• Frere Jacque
• If You’re Happy and You Know It
• Jingle Bells
• Wheels on the Bus
• London Bridges
• Muffin Man
• One Little, Two Little, Three Little…
• Row, Row, Row Your Boat
• Happy Birthday
• Did you ever see a lassie?
• Yankee Doddle

Here are a few of my favorite piggyback songs

Farm Animals--to the tune of Wheels on the Bus

The cow on the farm goes Moo, moo, moo…

All day long!

Are you sleeping?—to the tune of Frere Jacque

Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?

Little bear, Little bear?

[snore]

Wake up little bear!

Wake up little bear!

Grrr, Grrr, Grrr!

Grrr, Grrr, Grrr!

Other animals: bunny (hop), bird (flap), crocodile (chomp) etc.

I created my own Welcome to Storytime song using the tune Twinkle Twinkle Little Star/ABC Song

Welcome all to storytime

We will sing and we will rhyme

Read a book and then we’ll play

Time for storytime, hip, hip, hooray!

Now we’ll sing our ABCS

We’ll do them all just wait and see!

ABCDEFG

HIJKLMNOP

QRSTUVWXYZ

Now I’ve sung my ABCs

Let’s start storytime yes siree!

Our baby storytime morning song (I learned from Mrs. B) is to the Happy Birthday tune!

Good Morning to You

Good morning to _______________

Good morning to _______________

Good morning dear _____________

It’s nice to see you!

A few fun resources I found online about Piggyback Songs include:

Sing a New Song

The George Center for Music Therapy 

Jean Warren's Preschool Express

Books to Sing

September staff blog post

It took me a while to feel comfortable singing at storytime.  I know I don’t the best voice—but I’ve finally “gotten over it” and just sing with the kids and have fun!

On occasion I like to “sing a book”.  This adds variety to storytime and highlights books to the adults that they can then sing to their child.  Singing a book also engages children to participate with you.  Often these books/songs will already be familiar to the child.  Singing, like talking, can be expressed with the written word.  Singing books add this additional dimension to print awareness and print motivation. 

I’ve made a list of “sing-able” books that our library system owns that you may want to try at storytime.  

Bear Went Over the Mountain

            Trapani, Iza

            Wells, Rosemary

Down by the Bay

            Raffi

Down by the Station

            Hillenbrand, Will

            Vetter, Jennifer Riggs

Five Little Ducks

            Bates, Ivan

            Raffi

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

            Christelow, Eileen

Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree

            Christelow, Eileen

Here we go round the Mulberry Bush

            Cabrera, Jane

            Hillenbrand, Will

            Fatus, Sopie [BOOK WITH CD]

Hokey Pokey

            Long, Ethan (Croaky Pokey)

Home on the Range

            Ajhar, Brian

How much is that doggie in the window?

            Trapani, Iza

If you’re happy and you know it

            Cabrera, Jane

            Emberley, Rebecca (If you’re a monster…)

            Kubler, Annie

            Ormerod, Jan

            Sayre, April Pulley (If you’re hoppy…)

            Warhola, James  (playground/jungle edition)

I’m a Little Teapot

            Annie Kubler

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring

            Daveniet, Christine + CD

            Eagle, Kin

Itsy-bitsy spider

            Chapman, Keith

            Emberley, Ed

Kubler, Annie

            Trapani, Iza

Lady with the alligator purse

            Hoberman, Mary Ann

Mary had a little lamb

            Trapani, Iza

Miss Mary Mack

            Hoberman, Mary Ann

Old MacDonald

            Baker, Ken (Old MacDonald had a dragron)

            Cabrera, Jane

Carter, Don  (Old MacDonald drives a tractor)

            Dean, James

            Quattlebaum, Mary (Jo MacDonald: hike, garden, pond)

            Schwartz, Amy

            Shulman, Lisa (Old MacDonald had a woodshop)

            Wells, Rosemary

Over in the Meadow

            Ashburn , Boni (Over at the castle)

Berkes, Marianne (Over in a river : flowing out to the sea)

Cabrera, Jane

            Keats, Ezra Jack

Shulman, Lisa  (Over in the meadow at the big ballet )

Thornhill, Jan

Ward, Jennifer (ocean, desert, Arctic)

Peanut Butter & Jelly

            Westcott, Nadine

Row, row, row your boat

            Dann, Penny

            Kubler, Annie

            Trapani, Iza

She’ll be coming ‘round the mountain

            Emmett, Jonathan

            Westcott, Nadine (Comin’ down to storytime)

Take me out to the ballgame

Norworth, Jack + CD

Simon, Carly + CD

There was an old woman

            Colandro, Lucille (bat, clover, rose, leaves, bell, shell, chick, books)

            Taback, Simms

            Westcott, Nadine

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

            Cabrera, Jane

            Dean, James

            Harker, Lesley

            Long, Sylvia

            Pinkney, Jerry

            Reasoner, Charles

            Wells, Rosemary

Wheels on the Bus

            Buzzeo, Toni (Library Doors)

            Cabrera, Jane

            Dann, Penny

            Dean, James

            Hort, Larry (Seals on the Bus)

            Kovalski, Maryann

            Moore, Mary Alice (school bus)

            Raffi

Yankee Doodle

            Hoberman, Mary Ann

            Kellogg, Steven

Gingrich, Callista Yankee Doodle Dandy / by Callista 

Do you have any books that you like to sing?

B-I-N-G-O

“There was a farmer who had a dog and Bingo was his name-o.”  As a child I hated singing that song because I could never remember which letters to say or when to clap or how many times to clap.  It was never a fun song for me, instead it caused me stress!  I have learned/developed four “tricks” that has made this song fun to sing with preschool children!

1. Think beyond just Bingo the dog!  What other words have five letters you can sing about?  I have sung about teddy, donuts, hippo, daddy, heart, green, and rainy using the tune to Bingo.  Some of the songs I found online and others I made up myself.

2.  Display the letters of the word.  This is a perfect time to discuss the importance of letter recognition with the parents and caregivers!  I like to put the letter on one side of a card—you can write it out, print it out, or use die cut letters.  Point to each letter as you sing.  I also review the letters before we sing the next verse.

3.  On the other side of the letter card glue a picture of hands clapping.  When we “take away” a letter and replace it with a clap we just turn the card over.  Now the children can visually see the letters to sing and the number of times to clap.  You can use magnets or strings to hang the letter/clap cards.

4. Sing the song “backwards”.  I saw this on a storytime blog and decided to try it—and it has worked extremely well.  Take the letters away from the back first.  Having the claps come at the end instead of the beginning helps the children sing the letters and then clap the correct number of times.  So the second verse of R-A-I-N-Y  goes like this:

There is a day when I get wet
And rainy is the weather
R-A-I-N-(clap)
R-A-I-N-(clap)
R-A-I-N-(clap)
And rainy is the weather!

Link to Teddy

Link to Heart