Parents 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: “Old Mother Hubbard”
Get ready song: “Open, Shut Them”
First book: More, More, More Said the Baby by Vera B. Williams. Three different babies are held and loved by a parent or grandparent.
Fingerplay: “Mama Don’t Allow”
Stretching song: “Twenty Tiny Fingers”
Second book: Bah! Said the Baby by Jennifer Plecas. Everyone in the family tries to figure out what the baby means when he says “Bah!” in this funny story.
Movement song: “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”
Fingerplay: “Wheels on the Bus”
Third book: Bunny Roo, I Love You by Teagan White. Mama explains the many ways parents care for their little ones.
Fingerplay: “Five Little Monkeys”
Extra book if needed: Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers. A variety of parents are shown with their babies, demonstrating the many things babies do.
Board book for parents: We Sang You Home by Richard VanCamp. A rhyming text describes how parents welcome their children into the world.
Closing song: “The More We Get Together”