Baby Storytime: Mother Goose

Hooray for fall storytimes! For my first storytime of the season I chose Mother Goose rhymes.

OPENING SONG: Hello Song*

OPENING FINGERPLAY: Open Them Shut Them*

BOOK: 1, 2, Buckle My Shoe by HINES

SONG: Mary Had a Little Lamb

FLANNEL SONG: A Hunting We Will Go*
lamb/jam, hen/pen, whale/pail, fox/box

BOOK: The Little Dog Laughed by COUSINS
Read: Sing a Song of Sixpence

ACTIVITY: Two Little Blackbirds

Two little blackbirds, sitting on a wall
hold up pointer fingers
One named Peter, one named Paul
wiggle one finger, then the other
Fly away Peter! Fly away Paul!
tuck one hand behind back, then the other
Come back Peter! Come back Paul!
bring one hand back to front, then the other

BOUNCE: Humpty Dumpty

BOUNCE: The Royal Duke of York
Bounce babies on lap. When you say “up,” lift them up, when you say “down,” sit them back down in your lap.

Oh, the Royal Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men,
He marched them up the mountaintop
and marched them down again.
Oh, when you’re up, you’re up,
And when you’re down, you’re down,
And when you’re only halfway up,
You’re neither up nor down!

LITERACY TIP: Phonological Awareness
Singing nursery rhymes is a great way to help get your babies ready to read later on! Kids who know as few as 8 nursery rhymes by heart tend to have an easier time learning to read, because playing with rhymes helps them understand how words come apart and go together.**

FLANNEL RHYME: Star Light Star Bright
Put large flannel star on board.

**This fact is in Mem Fox’s Reading Magic, though the study isn’t cited.