Mel’s Desk

Yes, babies, it IS all about you!

OPENING SONG: Hello Song*

OPENING FINGERPLAY: Open Them Shut Them*

BOOK: Bouncy Baby by BEGIN SMART
This is one of the new Begin Smart books. I love the bright, happy pictures!

BOUNCE: Trot Trot to Boston

Trot trot to Boston
Trot trot to Lynn
Trot trot to Grammy’s house
Bounce baby gentle on your lap
But don’t fall IN!
Gently drop baby between your legs!

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!” Lots of our baby storytime providers at my library do this one every week. Here’s my version.

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!

FLANNEL SONG: A Hunting We Will Go*
Today our rhymes were little things, because babies are little! Bug/rug, ants/pants, frog/log, etc.

BOOK: Yummy Yucky by PATRICELLI
Leslie Patricelli has the magic touch when it comes to books for babies. This one, with all the objects–good and bad–that babies get into, is a super fit for our theme!

LITERACY TIP: Narrative Skills
When you’re talking to your baby, don’t just say, “Oh, that’s yucky,” or “That duck is silly.” Tell them why, too! You’re giving them lots of good describing words, and helping them learn about their world.

ACTION SONG: If You’re Happy and You Know It

FLANNEL RHYME: Five Little Babies
I used five of my baby faces for this rhyme!

by Melissa Depper

Five little babies sitting in their cribs
The first one said, “I need another bib!”
The second one said, “I wish I had my ball.”
The third one said, “I wish that I could crawl!”
The fourth one said, “Oh, when can we play?”
The fifth one said, “It’s been a busy day.”
Then Shhhhh went the mommies and out went the lights,
And five little babies said goodnight.

ACTION RHYME: This is Big Big Big*

CLOSING SONG: Sneeze Game*

*Check out the My Baby Storytime page for the words and/or citations for these weekly activities!

This is so cool! I sent Fuse #8 my predictions for which would be the final ten books in her Top 100 Children’s Novels Poll, and guess what? I was one of 2 people who got the most books in the right order! We each got 5 in the correct spots. Here’s my guess:

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
2. Charlotte’s Web
3. A Wrinkle in Time
4. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
5. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler
6. Holes
7. Anne of Green Gables
8. The Secret Garden
9. The Giver
10. Phantom Tollbooth

Here’s what the actual results were:

#1 Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
#2 A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
#3 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
#4 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
#5 From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
#6 Holes by Louis Sachar
#7 The Giver by Lois Lowry
#8 The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
#9 Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
#10 The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

It’s springtime! We all feel wiggly after a long winter!

OPENING SONG: Hello Song*

OPENING FINGERPLAY: Open Them Shut Them*

BOOK: Very Hungry Caterpillar by CARLE

SONG: Little Arabella Miller
I learned this off a Wee Sing CD. Sing it to Twinkle, Twinkle. I use this Folkmanis caterpillar/butterfly as a prop!

Little Arabella Miller
had a fuzzy caterpillar
First she put it on her mother
Then upon her little brother
They said, “Arabella Miller,
Take away your caterpillar!”

Little Arabella Miller
Took her fuzzy caterpillar
Put it on a branch so high
Soon to be a butterfly
They said, “Arabella Miller,
Now we love your caterpillar!”

ACTION SONG: Caterpillar, Caterpillar
Sing to: Are You Sleeping?

Caterpillar caterpillar
Wiggle fingers of one hand
In the tree, in the tree
Spread arms like branches
First you wiggle this way
Wiggle hand left
Then you wiggle that way
Wiggle hands right
Look at me, look at me
Point to self

BOOK: Jump! by FISCHER
FUN new book with super rhymes.

LITERACY TIP: Narrative Skills
Simple books like this with repeated patterns are great ways for very young children to test their predicting skills. Before you turn the page, ask your child, “What’s going to happen next?”

BOUNCE: I’m A Little Beetle
I wrote this little rhyme a few years ago. Bounce babies in laps, then lift them up when you say, “Fly!” You can use it with toddlers and preschoolers, too–just have them JUMP when you say “Fly!”

I’m a little beetle
And I wiggle all day
If you get too close to me,
I’ll FLY away!

I’m a little bumblebee…
I’m a little ladybug…

FLANNEL SONG: A Hunting We Will Go*
Today we used bug/rug, bee/tree, ants/pants, and spider/glider!

FLANNEL SONG: Ladybugs’ Picnic
This is the classic Sesame Street song! Find it here.

ACTION SONG: Itsy Bitsy Spider
Bonus literacy tip! Lots of nursery rhymes are really little stories. Learning these rhymes helps children understand how stories work: they have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

ACTION RHYME: This is Big Big Big*

CLOSING SONG: Sneeze Game*

*Check out the My Baby Storytime page for the words and/or citations for these weekly activities!