Dirty/Yucky Storytime - Baby Rhyme Time

Baby Rhyme Time basics

Opening song: Hi Ho the Dairy-O

When the children arrive, we write down their name and after everyone has arrived, we sing the names into the song, like this

Emily is here and Amy is here, hi ho the dairy-o and Avery is here. 

We continue singing the song until everyone has been greeted.  We ask the parents to lift their child up or have them wave as we sing their name, to familiarize ourselves with the child and to help them understand that their name is important.

Bobo's Backpack song

We have a cute monkey puppet who wears a small backpack.  He always has something hiding in his backpack, which introduces the theme of the storytime.  His song goes like this:

There is something in my backpack

Something hiding in my backpack

What's that something in my backpack?

Open your eyes for a big surprise

Book: Dog's Colorful Day by Emma Dodd

This story is a bit long for babies, but we used it as a choral reader.  Each child and parent get a copy of the book to read aloud together during storytime. 

Song: Mudcakes

(to the tune of Frere Jacques)

       Make a mud cake, make a mud cake

       In the mud, in the mud

       Digging, scooping, patting, digging, scooping, patting

       Just feels fun, just feel fun

     

Parents can demonstrate making mudcakes with their own hands or manipulate their babies hands to make mudcakes.  I made the mistake of starting this off too fast, so when we got to the "digging, scooping, patting" part, it was hard to keep with the rhythm.

Flannelboard: Five Garbage Trucks

Book: I Ain't Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont

This is a fun one because it has a lot of colors and talks about painting different body parts!

Recorded Music: I Love Trash from Songs From the Street (Sesame Street)

Each child got a maraca to shake while we sang and danced to this song. 

Song: Grand Old Duke of York

The grand old duke of York

He had ten thousand men

He marched them up to the top of the hill

And he marched them down again

And when they were up they were up

And when they were down they were down

And when they were only halfway up

They were neither up nor down

He marched them to the left

He marched them to the right

He even marched them upside down

Now wasn't that a sight?

The parents hold the kids during this song and swing them up and down and left and right, according to the song's lyrics.  The kids just go crazy with them; they love it so much.

Goodbye Song: Clap Your Hands

Clap, clap, clap your hands

Clap your hands together

Clap, clap, clap your hands

Clap your hands together

Give, give, give a hug

Give a hug to baby

Give, give, give a hug

Give a hug to mommy or daddy

Wave, wave, wave goodbye

Wave goodbye to me

Wave, wave, wave goodbye

Wave goodbye to me

Bedtime Storytime - Toddler Move & Groove

Every semester, we do a bedtime themed week, where the kiddos can wear their jammies to storytime.  We also wear our pajamas as the storytellers.  Unfortunately, I forgot this fact until 2 days before, so I had the pleasure of wearing my friend's cat-print adult onesie.  The kids were so confused.  And some parents as well.  :)  Anyway, here's what we did:

Opening song: Hi Ho the Dairy-O

When the children arrive, we write down their name and after everyone has arrived, we sing the names into the song, like this

Emily is here and Amy is here, hi ho the dairy-o and Avery is here. 

We continue singing the song until everyone has been greeted.  We ask the parents to lift their child up or have them wave as we sing their name, to familiarize ourselves with the child and to help them understand that their name is important.

Charlie's Doghouse song

We have a cute black and white dog puppet who has a cardboard "doghouse" that he hangs out in at the beginning and end of storytime.  He always has something hiding in his doghouse, which introduces the theme of the storytime.  His song goes like this:

There is something in my doghouse

Something hiding in my doghouse

What's that something in my doghouse?

Open your eyes for a big surprise

Book: How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen

These books are always a hit because they are AMAZING FOR TODDLERS.  I had them roar with me and stomp our feet on the floor.

Song: This is the Way We Get Ready for Bed

This is the way we wash our face, wash our face, wash our face.

This is the way we wash our face, when we get ready for bed.

This is the way we wash our toes, wash our toes, wash our toes

This is the way we wash our toes, when we get ready for bed.

This is the way we wash our knees, wash our knees, wash our knees

This is the way we wash our knees, when we get ready for bed.

This is the way we wash our tummy, wash our tummy, wash our tummy

This is the way we wash our tummy, when we get ready for bed.

This is the way we snuggle our blanket, snuggle our blanket, snuggle our blanket.

This is the way we snuggle our blanket, when we get ready for bed.

For this song, we passed out a scarf to each child, to use as their "washcloth" and their "blanket."  

Choral Reader: Dinosaur's Binkit

Each child got one of these and we read it aloud together.  

Recorded Music: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Each child got a maraca to shake while we sang and danced to this song. 

Song: Grand Old Duke of York

The grand old duke of York

He had ten thousand men

He marched them up to the top of the hill

And he marched them down again

And when they were up they were up

And when they were down they were down

And when they were only halfway up

They were neither up nor down

He marched them to the left

He marched them to the right

He even marched them upside down

Now wasn't that a sight?

The parents hold the kids during this song and swing them up and down and left and right, according to the song's lyrics.  The kids just go crazy with them; they love it so much.

Goodbye Song: Clap Your Hands

Clap, clap, clap your hands

Clap your hands together

Clap, clap, clap your hands

Clap your hands together

Give, give, give a hug

Give a hug to baby

Give, give, give a hug

Give a hug to mommy or daddy

Wave, wave, wave goodbye

Wave goodbye to me

Wave, wave, wave goodbye

Wave goodbye to me

How it went: One dad said, "Amber, you nailed it today! That was spot on!"  So, I think it went well.

Baby Rhyme Time

Presented: 2 times a week

Attendance: 15-30 babies

Time: 20-25 minutes

Age group: birth to 18 months

During Baby Rhyme Time, we focus on the babies interacting with the stories that we are reading, as well as interacting with their caregivers.  Early literacy skills that we try to emphasize are having fun with books, saying rhymes and singing songs.

General outline:

• Welcome song
• Introduce theme by singing "What's that something in my backpack?" song
• Book read by storytime presenter
• Rhyme or bouncy, cuddly song
• Choral reader - each baby and caregiver get a board book that we read aloud together
• Flannel board rhyme or another bouncy song
• Recorded music song with a maraca for each child to use
• Grand Old Duke of York
• Goodbye song

We have A LOT of babies in our small community, so Baby Rhyme Time is an ever-growing program that we find very valuable.  It gives them socializing time with other babies, a chance to feel comfortable in the library, and starts them on early literacy skills.  

Toddler Move & Groove

Presented: 2 times a week

Attendance: 20-40 toddlers

Time: 25-30 minutes

Age group: 18 months to 3 years

During Toddler Move & Groove, we focus on shorter stories requiring less comprehension, active rhymes and songs, and teaching a basic understanding of books and reading.  Children are not required to sit in their caregiver's lap or even sit down at all, as we are focusing on a love of books and a beginning interaction with them.

General outline:

• Welcome song
• Introduce theme by singing Charlie the dog's "What's that something in my doghouse?" song
• Book read by storytime presenter
• Flannelboard rhyme or story
• Choral reader-each toddler and caregiver get a board book that we all read aloud together
• Wiggly rhyme or song
• Recorded music with maracas for each child
• Grand Old Duke of York
• Goodbye song

I love this program because it goes against a lot of old library programming ideas, in that children must sit still all the time to listen to stories.  One great early literacy skill is having fun with books, which is a huge emphasis of this program.