Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Baby Story Time - Welcome Fall!

Ok, so I jumped on the "Fall" bandwagon this week, not knowing how it would go over with the babies.  I was pleasantly surprised by how much they enjoyed it!

Wake-Up Rhyme: "Way Up High in the Apple Tree" (from Linda Ernst's Baby Rhyming Time)
Way up high in the apple tree,
     (raise baby's arms over head)
Two little apples did I see.
     (hold up two fingers)
So I shook that tree as hard as I could,
     (jiggle baby in your lap)
And DOWN came the apples!
     (lower baby between legs)
YUM! They were good!
     (rub baby's tummy)

1st Book: Mouse's First Fall by Lauren Thompson
 
I love all of Thompson's Mouse books! A little long for babies, but we made it through.  I love the last page where Mouse and Minka wear acorn crowns!

Action Song: "Five Green Apples"
(from Peter Allard's Sing It! Say It! Stamp It! Sway It! Volume 1)
*I sang this myself and shortened it from five to three green apples.

Farmer Brown had three green apples
Hanging on a tree.
Farmer Brown had three green apples
Hanging on a tree.
Then he plucked one apple
And he ate it hungrily!
Leaving two green apples a-hanging on a tree.
(Keep counting down until there are no apples left!)

I made this simple apple flannel board set a few years ago to go with this song:

I also taught the parents the ASL sign for apple:
(Picture found here)

Next, I passed out these little die-cut leaves, glued to popsicle sticks, which were a huge hit!  We waved them around while we did our next two activities.

Action Rhyme: "Fall" (I'm not sure where I found this originally, but you can find it here, along with some other great "fall" themed rhymes and songs.)  We did this rhyme twice!
Autumn winds begin to blow.
     (blow gently on baby's cheek)
Colored leaves fall fast and slow.
     (wiggle fingers downward)
Twirling, whirling all around.
     (roll hands)
Until, at last, they touch the ground.
     (lower baby between legs - they found this part hysterical!)

Action Song: "Leaves are Falling Down" (adapted from Linda Ernst's Baby Rhyming Time - her song is called "Raining is Falling Down")
Leaves are falling down,
Leaves are falling down,
Slowly, slowly,
Leaves are falling down.

2) Quickly, quickly
3) Quietly, quietly

2nd Book: Apples, Apples! by Salina Yoon

This lift-the-flap book has really nice illustrations, but is a little wordy.  I didn't read the text under each flap, but we still really enjoyed the book.

Rhythm Time: Shakers!
We shook our shakers to these next two activities:

Action Song: "Gray Squirrel" (from The Learning Station's cd Where is Thumbkin?)
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel,
Swish your bushy tail.
(2x)

Wrinkle up your funny nose,
Hold an acorn in your toes,
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel,
Swish your bushy tail.

There is a really long musical break in the middle of this song, but I used it to go around to each child with my little squirrel friend from Folkmanis! He was a hit!

Action Rhyme: "Clap Your Hands" (adapted from Linda Ernst's Baby Rhyming Time)
Clap your hands, 1, 2, 3.
Clap your hands just like me!

(Shake your shaker, roll your hands, stomp your feet, etc.)

3rd Book: Welcome Fall by Jill Ackerman

Little Scholastic has one of these books for each season, and they're really cute.  The text is short and sweet, and each page has some kind of texture to feel or flap to lift.

Next, it was time for our goodbye songs and "thank you" rhyme.  (See my Baby Story Time page for these.)  During playtime, I got the squirrel back out for any babies who wanted to see him again!

How it went:
This story time went much better than I expected!  I had a slightly smaller group today (only 15 babies) and they were just so attentive and relaxed.  I think they really liked the little leaves on a stick (which they were welcome to take home, chew on, etc.) as well as the squirrel puppet.  We had a fun day today!  Happy Fall!

2 comments:

  1. For the action rhyme "Fall" are the babies in the parent's laps?

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    Replies
    1. Yep! We try to keep them in their parents' laps as much as possible - this rhyme wouldn't really work otherwise, unless you adapted the movements.

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