This week's program started with our opening song "The More We Get Together" followed by this quick rhyme "Wiggle, Wiggle" we actually sing it twice because the tune is catchy and the little ones liked it.
Our first book was
Pots and Pans by Patricia Hubbell. We had a couple of late comers right as we started the book, which resulted in interruptions and cry-outs. I had been very excited about this book because the story carries a tune when read aloud but with all the interruptions the rhythm was broken. Overall I think this book could work well with babies and could be paired with a nice flannel.
We followed with a finger play from Mel's Desk- This Is Big and a the noise flannel I used with Totally Tots. The older babies on the group were excited to participate and share animal and trucks noises.
The next book was
The Baby Goes Beep by Rebecca O'Connell. I had anticipated the babies to be really interested in the bold and bright illustrations, plus all the noise going around this book but it seemed they were more interested on each other. The adults seemed to enjoy the book and could relate to the final page when baby is peaking over his crib at his sleeping parents.
I was very excited about our next song because it was the perfect transition to our last book. I found this song "Clap My Hands" by Milkshake on their "Happy" album. The volume and pace is ideal to sing along, plus I included the lyrics on my handout so we could all sing together. It worked so well that we decided to sing it twice :)
My last book was
Clap Hands by Helen Oxenbury. This was another book I was very excited because I had managed to secure a large size (not big book size) ideal for everyone to see the large illustrations. The text is minimal and the book is over in 8 pages. It was a great closing for all our clapping.
I decided to go ahead and hand out small shakers after checking with the parents for our "Hokey Pokey" rhyme song and it actually worked better than the day before with the Tots. The noise level was manageable and we were able to sing and shake at the same time. Success!
I had one last book handy and a few minutes so decided to read it as well, it was a repeat from the Totally Tots group
Toot Toot Beep Beep by Emma Garcia. The older babies on the group kept making the car noises and pointed to some of the cars and trucks.
After this book we just moved to our closing song "We Wave Goodbye Like This". Some families stayed in our story hour room after the program ended, which I always encourage because it give us a chance to get to socialize plus the babies were having so much fun playing and interacting with each other. I truly enjoyed this session and our families, at the end of my day yesterday I was reflecting and realized how blessed I am to have this amazing job.
