Teeny Weeny Storytime

Teeny Weeny Storytime

Storytime at the Lower branch kicks off on Mondays with my Teeny Weeny Storytime, for babies aged 0-2.  Every week, I follow a specific format to ensure the children can anticipate and learn.  I have a purple storytime carpet, where I lay out various board books and encourage parents to read with their children for 5 minutes.  My favorites are very simple board books with a single picture and word on each page.  I highly recommend Spot's First Words by Eric Hill, Woof Woof by SAMi, or the DK series of Baby Touch and Feel board books.

After we're done reading, I sing our cleanup song, "Clean up, clean up, everybody clean up!  Time to put our books away!"  By the third week, those able to walk are collecting all the books and putting them in my hands.  As soon as the carpet is clear, we sing our Hello song, in the tune of Frere Jacques:  "Where is baby, where is baby?  Here I am!  Here I am!  I'm so glad to see you, I'm so glad to see you!  Peek-a-boo!  Peek-a-boo!"  

Dancing time!  Every child gets an egg shaker and we shake and dance to Old MacDonald Had a Farm, usually using the Wiggles version from  Sing a Song of Wiggles.  If your library does not have this CD, you should consider buying it.  It's perfect for use at Storytimes, children love the high-energy renditions!  I use music from our children's CD collection and encourage parents to check out our storytime music afterwards. After the song and shaking, time for the clean up song again, this time singing "Time to put our eggs away!"

After the dancing and shaking, I ask parents to sit their children on their laps and we do fingerplays.  Itsy Bitsy Spider, Round and Round the Garden, and Pat-a-Cake are my favorites to use, and I try to use at least one each week to give the kids a chance to learn it.  I do every rhyme twice.  I'm currently researching more simple fingerplays that I'll begin using and I'm happy for any suggestions! 

Dancing time again!  I give out dance scarves to our babies and put on a song.  I'm a Little Teapot is a favorite, we have 5 different versions to pick from at the library.  After the song, the scarves are see-through and great for playing Peek-A-Boo!  After 5 minutes of fun, it's time for the clean up song:  "Time to put our scarves away!"

I like reciting Nursery Rhymes next.  Children sit on their parents or grandparents' laps and I recite simple Mother Goose rhymes, with pictures and felts and my storytime mitt.  I, so far, have pictures or felts of Mother Goose, Hey Diddle Diddle, Little Bo Peep, Wee Willy Winkie, Humpty Dumpty, Little Miss Muffet and This Little Piggie.  I do two every week, usually repeating one we did the week before.

For our last activity, I either bring out our BIG BLUE SPIKY BALL or bean bags.  The kids tend to prefer the blue spiky ball, which is about six inches in diameter with a soft, spiky texture to make it a bit more interesting to touch and hold.   I take turns rolling it to each child, asking them to roll it back to me or to the other children waiting their turn. It's a good way to teach sharing and coordination.  When I don't bring the ball, I bring bean bags and say the Body Part rhyme to teach them coordination and parts of the body:  "Bean bag on my shoulder, bean bag on my knees/ Bean bag on my tummy, wiggle if you please.  Bean bag on my head, bean bag on my noes/ Bean bag on my fingers, bean bag on my toes."  Do the rhyme twice, then follow with the clean up song:  "Time to put the bean bags away!"

I tell the kids and adults that storytime is over.  I give any announcements about baby and toddler events at the library and then we sing our goodbye song:  If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands.  Every child gets an animal cookie if they have teeth, or a Zwiebeck. The entire program is only 25-30 minutes long, perfect for a baby's attention span.

I've been doing Teeny Weeny Storytimes since January 2013.  I've noticed how the regulars have grown so much in their socialization skills, coordination, sharing skills and confidence!