Read & Play Baby Storytime : Bathtime

This storytime is aimed at 0-24 months. At the beginning of each storytime I usually introduce some of our puppets. This gets children out of their shell a little. It also helps to calm any fears they may have about coming to storytime! I make sure every child gets the chance to pet the puppets if they'd like :) 

Here is the Folkmanis puppet I introduced at this storytime:

Baby Duck

Elephant - Did not really use. Although I read a book featuring an elephant, I had a feeling the tusks might look a little scary to some of the young toddlers. They DID however, LOVE the duck!! 

1. Opening Song: Open Shut Them

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them

Give a little clap, clap, clap

Open, shut them, open, shut them

Lay them in your lap, lap, lap

Creepy crawly, creepy crawly,

Right up to your chin, chin, chin

Open up your little mouth

But do not let them in, in in

2. Book:  Small Elephants Bathtime by Tatyana Feeney

This book is SO cute and involves a baby elephant who doesn't want to take a bath because he hates getting in the water! The book then describes how the only way the baby can get into the tub is when he sees his giant daddy looking hysterical in the tub (he's just too small for the tub). Then, he suddenly wants to join in. I love to read books that include Dad as one of the main characters! :) The book is a little long for babies but good for young toddlers so I read this one first because it was slightly longer than most board books, but still quite short for a picture book). 

3. Baby Bounce: “Tiny Little Babies”
Tune: Shortenin’ Bread
"Tiny little babies love bouncin’ bouncin’
Tiny little babies love bouncin’, yeah
Tiny little babies love bouncin’, bouncin’
Tiny little babies love bouncin’ so
Bounce to the left, bounce to the right
Now hug that baby nice and tight!"

I had the caregivers sing this bounce twice and it was a big hit! So adorable. 

3) Shake Your Shakers

4) Book: Llama Llama Nighty-Night


5) Song on CD: Row Row Row Your Boat

4. Song on CD: Coconut Soap by Frank Leto

5. Book in Unison: Where is Baby’s Belly Button

This book is so cute! There is a "peek-a-boo" lift the flap factor to this book that children get a big kick out of it. One of the moms even said she and her child had this book memorized. I am a huge fan of Karen Kat'z books! Bonus points for inclusivity within the illustrations of babies :) 

6. Shaker Song - Sung to the tune of “London Bridge”

"Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake,

Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake,

Shake your shakers!

Other Verses:

Shake your shakers high, high, high,

Shake your shakers  low, low, low,

Shake your shakers  fast, fast, fast,

Shake your shakers  slow, slow, slow"

I actually sing this song every week! It really is awesome to see the young toddlers getting acclimated to it. After the kids have gone to enough storytime sessions, it almost becomes second nature to them! :) 

7. Book: Llama Llama Nighty Night by Anna Dewdney

First, let me say it was a real huge loss to the children's literature world when Anna Dewdney passed away on September 3, 2016. Her Llama Llama books have found their place in the hearts of so many children worldwide. I will probably never stop sharing her books at Storytime. This board book version is adorable and goes through typical bedtime routines with cute illustrations. Another great factor is that it reads well and is the perfect length for baby storytime!

8. Final Song on CD: Row Row Row Your Boat by Wiggleworms

Here's a cute toddler dancing along to the song:

Another good book for bath time storytime:  Splash by Roberta Grobel Intrater 

After storytime, I bring out the toys and let children play for about 20-25 minutes. Hope you enjoyed this bath time themed storytime for babies and toddlers, 0-24 months!

Sarah's Guide to Lapsit

This blog entry was updated on 5/21/2018 to include information about using bubbles in baby storytime!


This storytime is aimed at 0-24 months. At the beginning of each storytime I usually introduce some of our puppets. This gets children out of their shell a little. It also helps to calm any fears they may have about coming to storytime! I make sure every child gets the chance to pet the puppets if they'd like :) 

If I notice we have any new patrons at storytime, I formally introduce myself and also go around the room and do introductions. An introduction may be as simple as going around the room and having the parent/caregiver say the name and age of their child. If the group is small, I may also ask them to share a recent developmental milestone in their child's life. I also make any announcements that I have, like if the storytime session is coming to an end or I may mention any new programs for babies (like 1000 Books Before Kindergarten).

1. Opening Song - repeat the same song every week. Here are two options that I like to use.

Open Shut Them

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them

Give a little clap, clap, clap

Open, shut them, open, shut them

Lay them in your lap, lap, lap

Creepy crawly, creepy crawly,

Right up to your chin, chin, chin

Open up your little mouth

But do not let them in, in in

Welcome Welcome Sung to “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star”
Welcome, welcome everyone,
Now you’re here let’s have some fun.
First we’ll clap our hands just so, (clap baby’s hands)
Then we’ll bend and touch our toes. (touch baby’s toes)
Welcome, welcome everyone,
Now you’re here let’s have some fun.

2. Book:  Try a unison read if it fits your theme.  If your library has a healthy budget, you can buy several copies of a specific book - enough so that each child and caregiver can read one together. For example, I would give everyone a copy of a board book of either Tubby by Leslie Patricelli, Pat the Bunny, or Moo, Baa, Laa by Sandra Boynton.  You read the copy and everyone follows along! This is a great opportunity for babies to get familiar with the different aspects of reading a book, like turning a page. 

3. Shaker Song - Sung to the tune of “London Bridge" Pass out shakers to the child and adult. If a parent feels their baby is too young to use a shaker, encourage the caregiver to take one to model the proper action. I actually sing this song every week! It really is awesome to see the young toddlers getting acclimated to it. After the kids have gone to enough storytime sessions, it almost becomes second nature to them! :) 

"Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake,

Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake,

Shake your shakers!

Other Verses:

Shake your shakers high, high, high,

Shake your shakers  low, low, low,

Shake your shakers  fast, fast, fast,

Shake your shakers  slow, slow, slow"

 

Warning: Some shakers may be considered choking hazards because of the beads inside the shaker. It is important to regularly check shakers or other musical instruments to make sure they are not on the brink of breaking open. No level of safety precaution replaces the value of supervision, common sense, and caution on the part of librarians, parents and caregivers.  

4. Book: Any book of your choice

5. Song on CD: I usually choose a song by Wiggleworms or Kathy Reid-Naiman. I also love Raffi's version of "Little Red Wagon." Occasionally I will throw in a more upbeat shaker song like “I Know a Chicken” by Laurie Berkner if the kids in attendance are on the older side. However, you don’t want to play a song that is too upbeat and rowdy for the infants.

  

6. Book: Any book of your choice

7. Baby Bounce – review the other resources listed at the end of this post. Jbrary especially has great baby bounces. They are also on Youtube.

8. Another Song (And Perhaps Bubbles!) - The way you end your storytime depends on the energy levels of your group and your own comfort level. Sometimes the babies are just TOO squirmy and you may want to just end storytime a little earlier and go straight into playtime. In the past, I've also sometimes sung a Goodbye Bubbles song while turning on a bubble machine. I know some librarians make bubbles a regular routine for their program and blow bubbles while a bubbles song plays on CD in the background. It depends on your own comfort level and how you feel about it! I've had some bad luck with Bubble Machines (always needing batteries and just breaking really easily). My coworkers use a Gymboree bubble wand with a tray.


Benefits of Bubbles: Bubbles are an excellent addition to baby program! Bubbles excite a curiosity in babies that makes them eager to investigate their world with their senses. In addition:
- Watching bubbles for a period of time helps babies recognize patterns.
- Babies may try to reach for and touch the bubbles, helping to develop motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
- Watching bubbles help babies develop visual tracking skills. 

Watch Jbrary present the Goodbye Bubbles song in this helpful video!

9. Playtime! After storytime, I bring out a few toys and let children play for about 20 minutes (you can always go longer but sometimes I have to shorten it if I am on desk at the end of the hour or if there is another program right afterwards). Toys that are really popular with children are the Little Tikes pianos and animal pop up toys. Also the spikey bouncey sensory balls and rubber animals are extremely fun for babies and toddlers. The baby musical instruments and rainmakers are also popular. We recently also got a little Melissa & Doug Playful Puppy that kids enjoy “walking” by pulling the string. I also go around with my puppets and let kids interact with the puppets. (Can you tell how much I love puppets?)

There is no Magic Lapsit Storytime Routine

Also, please know that you don’t have to follow this exact sequence as long as you include at least 1 baby bounce, a song or two on CD, and a couple of books. Do what you feel comfortable with. There is no magic format for a successful Lapsit Storytime. Some librarians do more baby bounces, less books, or more songs. I do however, think it's important to always include early literacy tips as part of your storytime - even if you think the parents might already know the fact or tip you're going to share. It reinforces what they know and helps them feel that they are doing the right thing for their child. I sometimes share early literacy tips while we’re playing with the toys so it feels less instructional or I’ll share them at the end of my last book. 

Sample Early literacy tip:
Babies may just want to mouth the book! That’s okay. When you let your child explore books in the ways that interest her, the reading experience will be more meaningful.

Source: Zero to Three, How to Introduce Toddlers and Babies to Books

OTHER RESOURCES:

https://www.zerotothree.org/document/194

This is an incredibly helpful handout that talks about early literacy behaviors (book handling behavior, what type of books infants and toddlers like, and suggestions for ways to share books with babies and toddlers). 

https://jbrary.com/babytime-beginners-guide/

Jbrary has a VERY comprehensive guide with a ton of helpful links to help you do baby storytime. I think you will find it very useful! 

https://intentionalstorytime.wordpress.com/babytime/

This is a very useful guide to lapsit as well! What I love here are the tips on age appropriate toys for playtime following storytime as well as the suggestions for board book sets! 

http://www.bpl.bc.ca/kids/find-a-good-story/newborn-to-age-five/babies

Excellent information about leading storytime to infants. Could be used for early literacy tips. Just be sure to credit the website you are getting the tip from! 

https://www.piercecountylibrary.org/files/library/wigglesticklesall.pdf

A great list of some baby bounces from Pierce County Library!

http://islandlink.bc.libraries.coop/files/2015/02/Tickles-and-Tunes-Workshop-Resources-2015.pdf

Kathy Reid-Naiman has some great tickle tunes, shaker, and bell songs. Definitely recommend her resources and CDs!

Libraries are for Babies Too

As a Youth Services Librarian focused on early literacy, I hope that I can influence more parents to bring their babies to the library through promoting our baby programs and displays of baby books. If we can get some grant money, I am also hoping that we can put together some baby-friendly kits, similar to Boston County Public Library's Baby Booster Kits. These kits contain board books on early learning concepts like colors, shapes, community leaders, healthy eating, and more. They also include a music CD and a parent resource book. I think this is such an excellent idea.
Another kit I have been curious about is the Baby Brain Box created by the New Directions Institute, a program of Arizona's Children Association. Founded in 1998, their mission is to share important messages about brain development so that parents could take advantage of the critically important window of opportunity that occurs in infancy. 
These Brain Boxes are unique patented educational products for caregivers to use with children from birth to 5 1/2 years old. Each box contains activity guides and all the materials needed for adult-child interaction that encourages healthy brain development.
I did inquire about the price and they cost $2,000 for the Brain Boxes and they also provide training to staff. We unfortunately don't have that in our budget, but it is definitely a product to consider in the future if we were to have extra funds to go towards early literacy materials.

I started to think more about the perception that libraries aren't meant for babies and after doing some research, I found this wonderful article from publiclibrariesonline.org that discusses a lot of the challenges of bringing babies and toddlers to the library. I never thought deeply about it until now, but it makes sense why some parents might find it daunting to bring their young child to the library. Parents might find it embarrassing if their toddler begins screaming and babies can be incredibly unpredictable too. Parents might also not realize that the library even has baby programs and board books specifically aimed at infants.

So what can a library do? Well there are a lot of ways that the library can make the environment more baby/toddler friendly. Not only can we have a vast array of board books and baby-friendly kits, storytimes aimed specifically at infants, we can also make changes to the environment. There are many changes that can be made to the library's play area, like creating a clean and dedicated early learning space of the library where we invite and encourage caregivers to bring their young ones. Such a space should help to contain the noise and fluster of activities which is better for all patrons. The space should also include developmentally appropriate reading materials, open ended toys that encourage creative free play, appropriate and comfortable furniture for parents, caregivers, and children to sit on (maybe even a glider for nursing mothers), and posters/signs that remind parents that this space is for them.
As I read on this article, "The Case for Making Libraries Full of Games and Toys", games and toys are an important aspect of early learning for children. "In a study with 70 six-year olds, psychologists at the University of Colorado found that the children who engaged in more free play had a 'more highly developed self-directed executive function' than those who had spent more time in 'structured activities,' that were adult-led rather than child-initiated."

This is one of the reason why I am excited to lead my Imagination Station Storytime in October. Open ended free play is very important in the lives of young children.

With regards to programming for young children, a worthy program is 1000 Books Before Kindergarten. This is an excellent program that many libraries across the world are participating in. Learn more about it here: http://1000booksbeforekindergarten.org. Demco also has a lot of great resources and some are free too!: http://www.demco.com/goto?1000_books
I will be launching 1000 Books Before Kindergarten at Messenger Public Library where I work in just a few days so I am thinking A LOT about the ways in which libraries can promote early literacy practices to caregivers! Look for a blog in the next week where I will talk in detail about how the program works. :)
While I am very excited, I have already begun to notice a lot of parents don't think their babies should participate but are interested in signing their toddler or preschooler up. I noticed this with the Summer Reading Program too! It seems as though a lot of caregivers don't realize the importance of reading to children the minute they are born. I hope that I can encourage people to not just sign their 2 or 3 year old up, but their infant as well! Babies need books too. It is truly never too early to start reading to babies. Don't believe me? Check out this NPR article which presents a strong case for reading to infants, citing research and advice from pediatricians.
What do you do to promote library services to babies?

Lapsit Storytime : Birds!

This storytime is aimed at 0-24 months. At the beginning of each storytime I usually introduce some of our puppets. This gets children out of their shell a little. It also helps to calm any fears they may have about coming to storytime! I make sure every child gets the chance to pet the puppets if they'd like :) 

Here are the Folkmanis puppets I introduced at this storytime:

Snowy

Woodpecker Family (also makes noise!)

Baby Bird in Egg

1. Opening Song: Open Shut Them

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them

Give a little clap, clap, clap

Open, shut them, open, shut them

Lay them in your lap, lap, lap

Creepy crawly, creepy crawly,

Right up to your chin, chin, chin

Open up your little mouth

But do not let them in, in in

2. Book:  What a Hoot by Fran Preston-Gannon

This book is large and on the heavier side but I love that it's big because it's perfect to read to a group! Most board books are small which can make it hard to share with an audience. The illustrations are adorable and the book has short and simple texts, making it perfect for the 0-24 month olds. It describes many common opposites that young toddlers and babies are becoming familiar with (loud and soft, clean and dirty, alseep and awake, for example) and then the book, of course, has silly illustrations such as an owl who really likes to bake! 

3. Fingerplay: Two Little Lovebirds - a classic fingerplay! 

Two lit­tle love­birds sit­ting on a hill

One named Jack, one named Jill

Fly away Jack, fly away Jill

Come back Jack, come back Jill.

*kiss* muah!

Two little lovebirds sitting on a cloud

One named Soft, one named Loud

Fly away Soft

Fly away Loud

Come back Soft, come back Loud 

*kiss* muah!

4. Shaker Song - Sung to the tune of “London Bridge”

"Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake,

Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake,

Shake your shakers!

Other Verses:

Shake your shakers high, high, high,

Shake your shakers  low, low, low,

Shake your shakers  fast, fast, fast,

Shake your shakers  slow, slow, slow"

I actually sing this song every week! It really is awesome to see the young toddlers getting acclimated to it. After the kids have gone to enough storytime sessions, it almost becomes second nature to them! :) 

5. Book: Little Bird Biddle Bird by David Kirk 
Love this book! It's a wee bit long but the kids seemed to enjoy it. I love the illustrations and the sing-song flow the book has. Plus, it's just fun to say "little bird, biddle bird." It's a great read-a-loud and also shows all the early science words associated with birds that young children should be learning: feathers, nests, eggs, and worms!

6. Song: Fleas, track 24 on More Tickles & Tunes by Kathy Reid-Neiman
Creep your fingers up and down baby, touching the named parts as you go. 

On my toe there is a flea  Now it's climbing on my knee
Past my tummy, past my nose
On my head where my hair grows
On my head there is a flea 
Now it's climbing down on me 

Past my tummy, past my knee
On my toe, take that, you flea!  

7. Book: In My Nest by Sara Gillingham  & Lorena Siminovich

I absolutely LOVE these books with the little finger puppet attached by Sara Gillingham. They seriously get an infant or toddler's attention! I used to bring a bunch of these books over to the 10 month old I was babysitting and he would immediately be attracted to them. 

Early literacy tip:
At this age, it's more than fine if a child doesn't sit and actually listen to you read the book. Simply getting a child to be interested in books is the goal here. Young children can only sit for a few minutes for a story, but as they grow, they will be able to sit longer. Let your child decide how much (or how little) time you spend reading. And you don’t need to read every page. You may find that your child has a favorite page or even a favorite picture. She may want to linger there for a while, and then switch books or activities. Babies may just want to mouth the book! That’s okay. When you let your child explore books in the ways that interest her, the reading experience will be more meaningful. 

Source: Zero to Three, How to Introduce Toddlers and Babies to Books

8. Baby Bounce: I’m a Little Cuckoo Clock!

"Rock babies gently back and forth on your lap as you say the verse. Then lift them up in the air for each “Cuckoo!” Source: Mel's Desk

Tick tock, tick tock
I’m a little cuckoo clock
Tick tock, tick tock
It’s one o’clock!
CUCKOO!

Tick tock, tick tock
I’m a little cuckoo clock
Tick tock, tick tock
It’s two o’clock!
CUCKOO! CUCKOO!

9. Book: Bring on the Birds by Susan Stockdale

This is a very colorful board book about birds! The story features several different types of birds with simple text and colorful illustrations. The book is on the small side though if you're reading it to a larger group. 

After storytime, I bring out a few toys and let children play for about 15-20 minutes. 

Hope you enjoyed this bird storytime for babies and toddlers, 0-24 months!