Baby Story Time – May 15, 2015

Yesterday was our last spring story time session – we’re on a bit of a break now until July. We had a full house again, and interestingly we had a few new faces in the crowd. I’m also pleased at how many dads we have attending story time – it’s great to know that we’ve created a space in which all different kinds of caregivers feel welcome.

Welcome Song: Hello, Friends!

Touching Rhymes/Tickles

  • Well hello everyone, can you touch your nose?
  • Grr grr went the little brown bear one day
  • Slowly, slowly
  • Head and shoulders
  • Slice slice the bread looks nice

Book 1: All of Baby Nose to Toes / Victoria Adler

baby

Songs/Bounces

  • Giddyup horsey
  • Gregory Griggs
  • Pudding on the plate
  • A hippopotamus got on a city bus

Book Two:Noisy Farm

farm

Movement Songs

  • London bridge is falling down
  • Up, up, up in the sky like this
  • Zoom zoom
  • The elevator song

Soothing Songs

  • Come under my umbrella
  • Orca whale

Goodbye song: Goodbye, Friends

I shorted “Nose to Toes” a bit – there’s a lot of text on each page, which is lovely, but I have a large group of squirmy babies, so I often have to make some adjustments to my picture books to make them fit my audience a bit better.

“Noisy Farm” is an awesome baby book – simple text, bold illustrations, flaps to lift, and animals noises to make, what could be better in a baby book? 🙂 I also have a very obliging group of caregivers who don’t bat at eye at being asked to oink like a piggy!

I also had a few new faces in the audience who had never attended any story times before, so I tried to pick short, very repetitive songs whenever possible, and we sang everything at least twice, to help the newbies get the hang of things.

I can’t believe we’re wrapping up until July – some of my little guys will have grown so much by then, they’ll be graduating into family story time!

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Baby Story Time – May 1, 2015

This week we introduced the hostile baby rocking song, and it was a hit, lots of laughter from the caregivers!

Welcome Song: Hello, Friends!

Touching Rhymes/Tickles

  • The moon is round
  • Two little eyes
  • Head and shoulders
  • Roly poly

Book 1: Peek-a-bloom / Marie Torres Cimarusti

peek a bloom

Songs/Bounces

  • The hostile baby rocking song
  • Gregory Griggs
  • Tick tock tick tock
  • A hippopotamus got on a city bus

Book Two: Tuck me in / Dean Hacohen

tuck me in

Movement Songs

  • Dancing with bears
  • My bonny lies over the ocean
  • Zoom zoom
  • The elevator song

Soothing Songs

  • Come under my umbrella

Goodbye song: Goodbye, Friends

Baby Story Time – March 27, 2015

I was delighted to see a couple of the mums I met at the drop-in program yesterday at our story time this morning. We even had a few enthusiastic dads attend today, which was lovely.

Welcome Song: Hello, Friends!

Touching Rhymes/Tickles

  • The moon is round
  • Two little eyes
  • Everybody knows I love my toes
  • Roly poly

Book 1: Cat the Cat, Who is That? / Mo Willems

cat

Songs/Bounces

  • Oh I wish I were a little bar of soap!
  • Trot trot to Boston
  • Pudding on the plate
  • I’m toast in the toaster
  • A hippopotamus got on a city bus

Book Two: Jump! / Scott M. Fischer

jump

Movement Songs

  • Love somebody yes I do
  • Go in and out the window
  • Zoom zoom
  • The elevator song

Soothing Songs

  • You are my little panda bear
  • You are my sunshine

Goodbye song: Goodbye, Friends!

I decided that we should finish off with a song to honour the change in the weather today and celebrate the return of the sun!

Jump! is one of my favourite baby time books – I ask all the caregivers to lift baby every time we say jump!, and the babies just adore it.

I was also delighted when a patron came up to me after the program wanting to borrow more Mo Willems books – I love it when a patron connects with something I’ve shared and wants more!

Baby Story Time – March 20, 2015

A funny little baby time today – at 11:10, five minutes before we were due to start, there were only two babies and their mothers waiting in the program room! I was getting a little nervous – we typically have a pretty good group, but a combination of terrible weather and older siblings home from school had kept our programs a little smaller all week. I needn’t have worried – the babies and their caregivers kept trickling in over the next 30 minutes (one family came in without about 5 minutes left in the program!), and although we certainly weren’t at capacity, we still had a comfortable group. That’s the thing about babies – they don’t always understand schedules! I like to make sure that my patrons know that they are always welcome to come and go as they need to during baby time – I’d rather they benefit from 15 minutes of baby time and get a chance to meet other parents after the program, then not come at all!

Welcome Song: Hello, Friends!

Touching Rhymes/Tickles

  • Eyes, nose, cheeky cheeky chin
  • Baby put your pants on
  • Slice, slice, the bread looks nice

Book 1: Do cows meow? / Salina Yoon

index.aspx

Songs/Bounces

  • Oh I wish I were a little bar of soap!
  • I’m toast in the toaster
  • A hippopotamus got on a city bus
  • Gregory Griggs

Book Two: The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse / Eric Carle

blue

Movement Songs

  • What shall we do with lazy Katie?
  • Dancing with bears
  • Zoom zoom
  • The elevator song

Soothing Songs

  • Orca whale
  • Rain is falling down

Goodbye song: Goodbye, Friends!

Do Cows Meow is a really fun book because it has flaps – those gaping animal mouths really caught the attention of more than a few babies! It was also a perfect day for Rain is falling down….it was pouring, just pouring, and I was actually surprised that so many families braved it out through the deluge!

Family Story Time – December 5, 2014

After missing last week because of a workshop, I was back at story time today, and ready to go. Thanks to my branch manager acting as a bouncer, we were able to keep our group at about 85 people today, but we had to turn 15 or so people away! Thankfully, we’re looking at adding additional story times in the new year, so we’ve made a little survey asking people what days and times work best for them. We have to keep in mind our opening hours and staffing levels, but hopefully we can find a new time that works for everyone, so we don’t have to turn little ones away!

Welcome Song: Hello, Friends

Book 1: What’s Your Sound, Hound the Hound?

hound

Hand Rhymes

  • I wake up my hands
  • When cows wake up in the morning
  • Wiggle your fingers
  • Open-shut them
  • Roly poly

Book 2: The Seals on the Bus / Lenny Holt

seals

Action Songs

  • Bend and stretch
  • Zoom zoom
  • Here we go a driving
  • Orca whale
  • The elevator song

Goodbye Song: Goodbye, Friends!