Moon 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.
Welcome song: “Hello Everybody, Yes Indeed”
Mother Goose rhyme: “Hey Diddle Diddle”
Get ready song: “Open, Shut Them”
First book: Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes. A kitten sees the moon’s reflection in the water and thinks it is a bowl of milk.
Fingerplay: “Bend and Stretch”
Second book: A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin. Little Star nibbles on the big mooncake and replicates the cycles of the moon.
Movement song: “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”
Third book: The Full Moon at the Napping House by Audrey Wood. In this cumulative tale a cricket helps other animals calm down and go to sleep.
Song: “We’re Flying to the Moon”
Extra book if needed: I Just Want to Say Good Night by Rachel Isadora. A little girl in Africa says good night to various animals as a way to stall bedtime.
Board book for parents: Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. Let parent and baby share this classic tale of a rabbit saying goodnight to things in the bedroom.
Closing song: “Hello and Goodbye” .
Penny Peck, San Jose State University iSchool