Wonderful Ones: Clap, Pat, Stretch, Repeat!

Babies love to move their bodies by dancing, hopping, bopping and being silly.  These activities also help your baby learn motor skills, learn communication skills, and helps build self-confidence as he or she learns to do new motions.  Clap along or pat your hands on your knees to rhymes and songs you sing together, stretch your arms out wide or small to indicate sizes,  and use your facial expressions to share moods and thoughts.   Bending, stretching, and bouncing to rhythms also allows babies to not only hear, but feel the motion of syllables and sounds which allows for learning new words and speech.

Clap Your Hands Rhyme
Clap, clap, clap your hands,
Clap your hands with me.
Clap them fast,
Clap them slow,
Clap your hands with me.

Pat, pat, pat your knees,
Pat your knees with me.
Pat them fast,
Pat them slow,
Pat your hands with me.

Stretch, stretch, stretch your arms,
Stretch your arms with me.
Stretch them fast,
Stretch them slow,
Stretch your arms with me. 

Bright Sun Song
Bright sun shining down,
Shining on the ground.
What a lovely face you have,
Yellow, big, and round!


Me, Me, Me Rhyme
Me, me, me
Look at me
And you will see
Ten fingers, ten toes
Two arms, two legs
Two eyes, two ears
One head, one nose
All on me.

Me, me, me
Look at me
And you will see
Ten fingers, ten toes
Two arms, two legs
Two eyes, two ears
One head, one nose
All on me.

We read these fun books at this week's Wonderful Ones class:

This Little Baby Goes Out by Lynn Breeze
A toddler has an exciting adventure in the park with his mother. 
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Baby Loves Visiting by Michael Lawrence
Baby and mother go out to do errands and see friends and then go back home again. 
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Wonderful Ones: Tippy Tippy Toes

This week at Wonderful Ones, we bring together several interactive rhymes that will help your little one learn eye-hand coordination, flexibility and even critical thinking skills.  Games such as these also help baby learn to associate sounds and words with objects. By stamping your feet, stretching your arms, tip toeing, and moving up and down like a merry-go-round, you are also helping your baby learn to associate movements with the action word. 

I Can! Rhyme
I can!  I can!  I can!  (clap hands)
Stamp my feet.
I can!  I can!  I can! (clap hands)
Stamp my feet.

I can!  I can!  I can!  (clap hands)
Stretch up high.
I can!  I can!  I can! (clap hands)
Stretch up high.
 
I can!  I can!  I can!  (clap hands)
Touch my nose.
I can!  I can!  I can! (clap hands)
Touch my nose.


Tippy Toe Rhyme
Tippy tippy tiptoe, off we go. (tiptoe fingers up arm)
Tippy tippy tiptoe, to and fro.  (tiptoe fingers over head)
Tippy tippy tiptoe, through the house.  (tiptoe fingers down other arm)
Tippy tippy tiptoe, quiet as a mouse.

Tippy tippy tiptoe, off we go. (tiptoe fingers up arm)
Tippy tippy tiptoe, to and fro.  (tiptoe fingers over head)
Tippy tippy tiptoe, through the house.  (tiptoe fingers down other arm)
Tippy tippy tiptoe, quiet as a mouse.

Merry-Go-Round Song
(Rock baby on lap)
Merry-go-round, merry-go-round,
We go riding all around.
First we’re up, then we’re down,
We go riding all around.
Hold on tight and don’t fall down.

Merry-go-round, merry-go-round,
We go riding all around.
First we’re up, then we’re down,
We go riding all around.
Hold on tight and don’t fall down.

We read these books at Wonderful Ones this week: 

Peekaboo Morning by Rachel Isadora
A toddler plays peek-a-boo throughout the day.
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One Beautiful Baby by Martin Oborne
Counts all of the characteristics of a beautiful baby from one smile to ten sticky fingers.
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Ready to Listen at the Library

Look for the Ready to Listen section in the Early Learning Center.

Have you seen our special section in the Early Learning Center called "Ready to Listen"?  We've created this special area to designate books that are easy to read and share, with only one or two simple lines per page.  These books are also important because they help early learners get ready to listen to a book being read and teach the concepts of telling a story.

Why is it important to listen?  As children hear the story, they also hear new words and the sounds, speech and syllables those words make.  Learning new words helps children increase their vocabulary, language and communication skills. 

In today's post, we've pulled a selection of books from the Ready to Listen section to give you a sample of what you can find here.  All are available to check out at the library!


Can You Cuddle Like a Koala? by John Butler
Rhyming text describes how various animals move. 
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Mice Squeak, We Speak by Tomie dePaola
Illustrations and simple text describe the ways various animals communicate, such as "Owls hoot," "Pigs squeal," and "Bees buzz." 
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The Way the Storm Stops by Michelle Meadows
A mother soothes her child to sleep during a thunderstorm. 
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Baby Day by Susan Heyboer O'Keefe
In rhyming text, babies are described participating in activities, from laughing and crying to playing Pat-a-cake and Peek-a-boo. 
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The One and Only Me by Marilyn Singer
A child gains a sense of individuality but also enjoys being part of a family. 
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Red Light, Green Light by Anastasia Suen
A young boy creates an imaginary world filled with zooming cars, flashing traffic lights, and racing fire engines. 
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Wonderful Ones: Wonderful Wintertime

Babies are usually bundled up in the winter, but take those hats, mittens, and coats off for fun stories, singing and fingerplays. The beginnings of communication are often through hand motions and movements. Through these songs like 'The Itsy Bitsy Snowflake',  'Winter Sun' and 'Snow is Falling Down', making hand motions and movements while you sing the songs helps babies learn eye-hand coordination, flexibility and even critical thinking skills.  Language represents the foundational basis for literacy learning in the early stages of development and helps babies get ready to read for when they do start school.

Itsy-Bitsy Snowflake Rhyme
The itsy-bitsy snowflake
Fell down from the sky.
It landed on my nose
And it bounced upon my eye.
It slid down to my chin
And it landed on my tongue.
Then it melted all away.
Now my snowflake song is done.

Winter Sun Rhyme
Winter sun, don’t you run,
Stay with me and have some fun.
Shine on my face, shine on me,
Shine on my arms, shine on my knee. 
Shine on my legs, shine on my hair,
Shine on my toes, shine everywhere!

Winter sun, don’t you run,
Stay with me and have some fun.
Shine on my face, shine on me,
Shine on my arms, shine on my knee. 
Shine on my legs, shine on my hair,
Shine on my toes, shine everywhere!

Snow is Falling Down Rhyme
Snow is falling down, shhhh.
Falling to the ground, shhhh.
Slowly, very slowly,
Snow is falling down, shhhh.

Snow is falling down, shhhh.
Falling to the ground, shhhh.
Slowly, very slowly,
Snow is falling down, shhhh.


We read these snowy books at Wonderful Ones this week:

Spot’s Snowy Day by Eric Hill
Spot has lots of fun in the snow with his family and friends. 
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What Can You Do in the Snow? By Anna Grossnickle Hines
Snow provides the opportunity to catch a snowflake, stamp a trail, or swoosh an angel.
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Animal Kisses by Barney Saltzberg
Introduces words which name textures associated with various animal kisses, such as scratchy cat kisses, velvety cow kisses, and rubbery fish kisses.
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Wonderful Ones: Babies in Motion

This week at Wonderful Ones, it's Babies in Motion!  Have some fun with these interactive rhymes that will help your little one learn eye-hand coordination, flexibility and even critical thinking skills.  The beginnings of communication are often through hand motions and movements.  Language represents the foundational basis for literacy learning in the early stages of development.  Children involved in construction activity such as these games, tend to generate more language than just playing with toys alone.  So bend and stretch and go up, up, up with your baby!
 
I Have a Little Body Rhyme
I have a little body
That belongs to me.
I have two ears to hear with
And two eyes to see.
I have a nose for smelling
I have a mouth to eat.
I have two hands to wave
At everyone I meet!


Up, Up, Up Rhyme
Up, Up, Up (Use arms)
Here we go up, up, up!
Here we go forward and backward, forward and backward
And here we go round and round and round.

Up, Up, Up (Use arms)
Here we go up, up, up!
Here we go forward and backward, forward and backward
And here we go round and round and round.

Bend and Stretch Rhyme
Bend and stretch way up high
Stand on tiptoe, touch the sky.
Bend and stretch way down low,
Reach way down and touch your toes.


Check out these books we read at class today that will get your baby moving!

Baby Baby Baby! by Marilyn Janovitz
A baby participates in various activities with each member of the family.
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Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault
The owner of a human body celebrates it by pointing out various parts and mentioning their functions, from "hands for catching and throwing" to the "skin that bundles me in."
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Story Mix for Three to Six: Time to Say Goodnight

During our time in Story Mix, we have been exploring different times of the day.  This week, we will make bedtime fun for children with stories and rhymes! Through talking and reading, children learn different sounds and words.  Reading enables children to understand that printed words stand for spoken words, as well as, learn how a book works.  Conversation between you and your child is one of the best ways to help him or her learn new information and words.  Skills such as phonological awareness and letter knowledge are enhanced through reading and talking.  When integrated with activities such as the rhymes and stories below, sharing reading and talking plays an important role in vocabulary development and early reading success.

Little Baby Fingerplay Game
This little baby is ready for bed
Down on the pillow she lays her head
Cover her up so she won’t peep
And rock her rock her till she’s fast asleep   
       
My Kitten is Hiding Rhyme
My kitten is hiding under my chair
I looked and I looked for her everywhere
Under the table and under the bed
I looked in the corner
But when I said, “Come kitty, come kitty, here’s milk for you.”
My kitten came running, crying, “Mew, mew, mew.”
       
Two Little Hands Rhyme
Two little hands go clap, clap, clap
Two little arms lie in my lap
Two little feet go bump, bump, bump
Two little legs give one big jump
Two little eyes are shut so tight
One little voice whispers, “Good Night!”

Tick-Tock, Drip-Drop! by Nicola Moon
When Rabbit has trouble falling asleep because of various noises, Mole tries to help.
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Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Are You Going to Sleep? by Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson
A young cat is distracted by many things while getting ready for bed at night.
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Bear Child’s Book Of Hours by Anne Rockwell
For each hour of the day Bear Child participates in a new activity, and as he does the reader sees the time on the clock.
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Story Mix for Three to Six: School is Cool!

September is upon us at the Gail Borden Public Library!  The temperature outside is cooling down and children are going back to school.  Perhaps your child attending this week's Story Mix just started preschool or kindergarten this year!  In the second week of the fall program, we are going to read the book, The Little School Bus by Carol Roth, a story about an assortment of animals who ride the bus to and from school.  We will also read the book, We Love School by Marilyn Janovitz, which uses simple rhymes and illustrations to describe to a young kitten what it's like going to school.    

Reading together incorporates all those great new ideas your child is learning in preschool or kindergarten by using rhyming, repetition, story structure and critical thinking.  Stories and songs in rhyme encourage new vocabulary, listening and oral language skills.

Sharing songs and stories together also encourages talking and conversation between you and your child.  For example, talk about what he or she learned in school that day asking questions about favorite songs and playtime activities. You can even have your child re-tell the story or song to you, using his or her own creative flair to help make learning fun!

Another idea would be to have your child draw a picture of their favorite schooltime snack or toy.  Helping your child write captions for the picture connects the spoken words to the ideas, and creates a visual representation of your child's imagination to share.

Below is a "school" themed song and rhyme we performed at the Story Mix program this week:

The Wheels on the Bus Song
The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round
The wheels on the bus go round and round all through the town.

Repeat the song using different parts of and people on the bus: 
The children on the bus go up and down, up and down, up and down...
The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep beep...
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish...


Ready for School Rhyme
This little girl is going to bed
Down on the pillow she lays her head
She covers herself with the blankets so tight
And this is the way she sleeps all night
Morning comes and she opens her eyes
Throws back the covers and up she flies
Soon she is up and dressed for the day
Ready for school and ready for play

Check catalog availability of The Little School Bus by Carol Roth

Check catalog availability of We Love School by Marilyn Janovitz