Singing 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: “Sing a Song of Sixpence”
Get ready song: “Open, Shut Them”
First book: We Love to Sing Along! by Caroline Church. Four songs are included in this charming board book: “You Are My Sunshine,” “The More We Get Together,” “Rain, Rain, Go Away!” and “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”
Fingerplay: “Hush, Little Baby”
Stretching song: “Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree”
Second book: Pete the Cat: Old MacDonald Had a Farm by James Dean. The groovy cat sings this popular nursery song.
Movement song: “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”
Fingerplay: “Five Little Ducks”
Third book: Good Morning, Grumple by Victoria Allenby. Grumple is slow at waking up, so his mother helps by singing to him softly.
Song: “Itsy Bitsy Spider”
Extra book if needed: Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Yu-hsuan Huang. Sliding elements add interest to this board book, featuring lyrics to the popular song.
Board book for parents: Moo, Baa, La La La by Sandra Boynton. The joy of singing adds to the fun of this story about animal sounds.
Closing song: “The More We Get Together”