Another Baby Storytime – Rhythm Sticks

It’s about time I include another baby storytime on this blog.  So here it is…

Welcome:  Hello everyone!  I’m so happy to see you all today.  (model the sign for “happy“)  We’ll do every rhyme twice and clap for ourselves and each other a lot!

Sign Language:  Word of the day is “bath“.  You can do this sign before, during, and after bath time.

Rhymes:  The following few rhymes I do every week at baby storytime because repetition is good!

1.
Everybody wave hello, wave hello, wave hello.
Everybody wave hello, let’s have some fun.
Everybody wave hello, wave hello, wave hello.
Everybody wave hello, now our song is done. (model sign for “done“.  This is a useful sign for babies because you can use it at the end of meals, playtime, bath time,…)

2.
Old Mother Goose when she wanted to wander    (tap thighs to rhythm)
Would fly through the air on her very fine gander  (lift child into the air)

3.
Two little dickey birds sitting on a cloud  (hold both pointer fingers up in front of you)
One named “Soft”                                 (wiggle right pointer while you whisper)
The other named “Loud.”                      (wiggle left pointer while you “shout”)
Fly away Soft!                                       (move right pointer behind back and whisper)
Fly away Loud!                                      (move left pointer behind back and “shout”)
Come back Soft!                                   (bring right point to front and whisper)
Come back Loud!                                  (bring left point to front and “shout”)

“That last rhyme was about a bird.  Can you say ‘bird‘ in sign language?”

Book:  What Does Baby Say? by Begin Smart

This book is great because you can do a number of corresponding signs as you read.  I model the sign language words for:  more, drink, cat, mommy, eat.

Rhymes:  The following rhymes change from week-to-week.

4.
Here we go up, up, up.                        (lift child up)
Here we go down, down, down.          (bring child back to lap)
Here we go backwards and forward.  (hold child close and lean back)
Here we go round and round.              (hold child close and move in a circle)

5.
Pizza, pickle, pumpernickel,     (trace a circle on child’s tummy)
My little honey’s going to get a tickle!  (tickle child)
One for your nose,         (point to corresponding body parts)
One for your toes,
And one for your belly
Where the hot dog goes!

6.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes
Eyes and ears and mouth and nose
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes

Felt Board:  Humpty Dumpty

I placed the felt pieces on the board as I recited the rhyme.  We did this felt board twice.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the kings horses and all the kings men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again

I found the pattern for this felt board at KizClub

Rhymes:

7.
Tick tock, tick tock, I’m a little cuckoo clock    (hold child close and rock side to side)
Tick tock, tick tock, Now I’m striking one o’clock
Cuckoo!            (lift child into the air)

Tick tock, tick tock, I’m a little cuckoo clock
Tick tock, tick tock, Now I’m striking two o’clock
Cuckoo!   Cuckoo!      (lift child into the air twice)

Tick tock, tick tock, I’m a little cuckoo clock
Tick tock, tick tock, Now I’m striking three o’clock
Cuckoo!   Cuckoo!   Cuckoo!    (lift child into the air three times)

(the tick tock rhyme is a favorite with my current group)

8.
This is my right hand,
I’ll raise it up high.            (right hand up)
This is my left hand,
I’ll touch the sky.              (left hand up)
Right hand,                      (show right palm)
Left hand                         (show left palm)
Roll them around            (roll hands)
Right hand,                     (show palm)
Left hand                        (show palm)
Pound, pound, pound!   (pound fists together)

This is my right foot,     (hold up child’s right foot)
I tap it on the ground.    (tap the ground)
This is my left foot,       (hold up child’s left foot)
I kick it all around.         (kick it around)
Right foot,                     (hold right foot)
Left foot,                        (hold left foot)
Give ‘em both a kick.    (kick feet)
Left foot,                        (hold left foot)
Right foot,                      (hold right foot)
Click, click, click!           (click heels together)

9.
We’re flying to the moon.      (bounce child on yoru lap)
We’re flying to the moon.
Oh, what an adventure! We’re flying to the moon.
10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – BLAST OFF!  (lift child into the air)

Activity:  Rhythm Sticks

Next I pass out two rhythm sticks to each child/caregiver.  If the kids are older they can hold the sticks themselves.  The caregiver can hold the sticks hand over hand for the really little babies.

I told the parents that I expect the children to explore making sounds with the sticks, that’s the whole point after all!  As long as no one is hurting themselves or others with the sticks we’re all good!

Here are the rhymes we did with the sticks:

10.
This is the way we tap our sticks, tap our sticks,
tap our sticks.
This is the way we tap our sticks so early in the
morning!

This is the way we rub our sticks, rub our sticks,
rub our sticks.
This is the way we rub our sticks so early in the
morning!

This is the way we tap the floor, tap the floor,
tap the floor.
This is the way we tap the floor so early in the
morning!

11.
Tap your sticks in the air with a 1-2-3
Tap your sticks on the floor with a 1-2-3
Tap your sticks in the air with a 1-2-3
Tap your sticks on the floor with a 1-2-3

Tap your sticks to the left with a 1-2-3
Tap your sticks to the right with a 1-2-3
Tap your sticks to the left with a 1-2-3
Tap your sticks to the right with a 1-2-3

(I got this rhyme from Hap Palmer’s Rhythms on Parade CD.  Check out this YouTube clip)

12.
There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was
his name-o!
B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O
and Bingo was his name-o!

(we tapped our sticks for the B-I-N-G-O part)

Early Literacy Tip:  When you sing or play music with your child, the rhythm allows them to hear syllables and break words into “chunks”.  This skill will help them later when learning to read.

I was really worried that using the rhythm sticks was going to be a huge disaster but it wasn’t!  The little ones had a blast.  A mom came in the next week and said her daughter was using crayons as rhythm sticks at home!  So cute.

Playtime:  I got out a bunch of toys and put on music and we all played.  “Play”

Goodbye Song:

13.
Our hands say thank you with A clap, clap, clap
Our feet say thank you with a
Tap, tap, tap.
Clap, clap, clap!
Tap, tap, tap!
We roll our hands around, and say,
“Good-bye.”