Cats for Babies
Storytimes for babies and toddlers offer an opportunity to model great read-aloud techniques for parents, and gives them the confidence to read to their children every day. A baby-toddler storytime can be followed by an extra 20 to 30 minutes of playtime, which encourages parents to talk to each other and for the young children to learn to play with others. It also demonstrates the importance of play to parents. For more cat books and songs, check out: www.stepbystepcc.com/animals/cats.html .
Welcome song: “Hello Everybody, Yes Indeed”
Mother Goose rhyme: “Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, Where Have You Been?”
Get ready song: “Open, Shut Them”
First book: Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin. Repetition and counting make this a perfect singalong book for babies and toddlers.
Fingerplay: “Five Little Pussycats”
Stretching song: “Cat Goes Fiddle-I-Fee”
Second book: Mama Cat Has Three Kittens by Denise Fleming. Three kittens follow their mother but one of the kittens doesn’t do what mama demonstrates in this story with repetition.
Fingerplay: “Three Little Kittens”
Movement song: “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”
Third book: How to Be a Cat by Nikki McClure. With just one word per page, the audience can act out the verbs that describe this cat.
Song: “Three Black Cats”
Extra book if needed: Cat Nap by Toni Yuly. Big cat is ready to nap but kitten wants to stay awake and play hide and seek.
Board book for parents: Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes. In this board edition of the Caldecott Medal-winning picture book, a kitten believes the moon is a bowl of milk.
Closing song: “The More We Get Together”