My First Baby Storytime!

I had to plan my first baby storytime at the last minute because I was pretty busy in the days proceeding. So I borrowed an outline from a librarian who is seasoned in baby-storytiming and modified it for me and my audience.
It turned out pretty well! The parents (although there were only two) were really responsive and enjoyed doing all the different movements and songs. It was pretty fun. And I'm excited about my next one! 

Welcome Patter: 
Welcome to baby storytime. Today we’re going to sing songs, do some tickles, bounces and fingerplays, read some nursery rhymes, and share books together. The activities we do today are ways that you can stimulate brain development especially, language development in your baby.
Your baby might not want to participate right now and that’s okay. If your baby doesn’t seem to be paying attention, their brain is still being stimulated by what they see and hear around them. If your baby isn’t happy here please take them out until they calm down and come back when you think he or she is ready.

Okay, let’s begin.  

Welcome song: Good Morning to You (To the tune of Happy Birthday)

Good Morning to You!
Good Morning to You!
Good Morning Dear Baby (or insert name)!
Good Morning to You! 

Fingerplay: Itsy Bitsy Spider

The itsy bitsy spider

Went up the water spout.

Down came the rain and

Washed the spider out.

Out came the sun and 

Dried up all the rain.

And the itsy bitsy spider 

Crawled up the spout, again.    

Body ID book: Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox

Wiggle fingers and toes along with the book and kisses at the end.

Tickle: Baby's Fingers and Toes This version has another verse to it, but its easy to pick up. 

These are baby’s fingers.
These are baby’s toes.
This is baby’s belly button,
Round and round it goes!
These are baby’s ears.
This is baby’s nose.
This is baby’s belly button,
Round and round it goes!

Parent patter: By pointing out your baby’s body parts, you are teaching them that they are made up of many parts and all of these parts have names.

Fingerplay: This Little Piggy Wiggle This can also be a tickle, too.
This little piggy went to the market.
This little piggy stayed home. 
This little piggy had roast beef.
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy cried Wee! Wee! Wee!
All the way home!  

Parent patter: Playing peekaboo teaches your baby that sometimes you might go away, but you’ll always come back to them. They also learn that even though they can’t see something, its still there.

Peekaboo book: Baby Faces Peekaboo by Dawn Siret

Pass out color scarves and have parents play peek-a-boo with their hands or the scarves while reading the book. Then give them a minute or two to play after the book.

Read to your baby time: Play a song in the background and pass out a basket of board books giving the parents a few minutes to share a book with their baby. 

Bounce: Tiny Little Baby (To the tune of Shortenin' Bread)  
Tiny, little baby loves bouncing bouncing.
Tiny, little baby loves bouncing so!

Tiny, little baby loves bouncing bouncing.
Tiny, little baby loves bouncing so!
Bounce to the left,
Bounce to the right,
Now hug that baby nice and tight!

Parent patter: Making animal sounds helps children identify animals, associate sounds with things, and learning the sounds from you helps them learn to talk. Let them see your mouth as you talk to them and say these animal sounds. 

I didn't actually use this one because I think two doses of patter is enough for each storytime.

Animals sounds book: I Went Walking by Sue Williams
Have the parents repeat the phrase “What did you see?” and the corresponding animal sound.

Animal sound song: Animals In the Morning (I don't remember where I got this from, but this is a similar song from Nancy Stewart)
When the cow gets up in the morning 
You'll always hear her say:
Moo! Moo!
She'll always say Moo!   
When the cat gets up in the morning
You'll always hear him say:
Meow! Meow!
He'll always say Meow! 
You can substitute any noise making animal in here, I think. I used this with puppets, but you can print out images of different animals and dance them around for the babies to enjoy.  

Classic nursery rhyme: Humpty Dumpty (I used this as a bounce)
 Humpty dumpty sat on a wall. (Bounce then hold the baby up) 
Humpty dumpty had a great fall. (Bounce then sit the baby down) 
All the king's horses and all the king's men,
Couldn't put Humpty together again. (Bounce then wiggle)

Walking bounces:
I got this idea and this rhyme from this video.  
I'm going to add another rhyme, I just haven't decided which, yet. I don't do too much up and down movement because I know some people have back problems. Keep that in mind when you're planning to do bounces. So we walk in a circle, bouncing and singing. 

Zoom Zoom Zoom

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! (Walk in a circle, bouncing to the beat) 
We're going to the moon.
Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!
We're going to the moon.
 If you'd like to take a trip,
Climb aboard my rocket ship.
Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!
We're going to the moon.
Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!
We're going to the moon.
In 5...4...3...2...1...Blast off! (Bend down and then lift the baby up for blast off) 

Closing patter: Thank you for coming to baby storytime. Please hang out for the next 20 minutes and meet other parents and babies and play. We hope you can come back next time and please stop by our information table to grab flyers, get on our email list and pick up a survey. I’d love to know what you think.