Branch: Ballard
Storyteller: Ms. Claire
Age/Type: Baby
This post is a little late in coming, but I went to the Ballard Branch last week and observed a Baby Story Time. It was fantastic! And a nice change of pace.
When I enter the meeting room at the Ballard Library, parents are sitting on the floor with blankets and adorable babies. Ms. Claire has a large sheet of butcher paper that has the order of today's story time and the words to some of the songs.
Ms. Claire lets everyone know that this program operates on baby time. This means that you can be late, be wiggly, or leave early if that is how your little one needs it to be. She also encourages parents to sing along even if they don't like their singing voices.
Time to say hello! Say hello to your toes, to your knees, to your elbows, etc. Parents wiggle their babies to say hello to each body part. To demonstrate what to do, Ms. Claire uses a Barbar stuffed animal as her 'baby'.
Next they chant 'Old Mother Goose' and fly the babies around.
Book: "Click, Clack, Peep"
Ms. Claire tells us that body rhymes help develop right and left brain connections.
After a few more nursery rhymes and songs, Ms. Claire pulls out a drum.
They all sing:
"We are marching to the drum, marching to the drum, hi-ho the dario... and the drum says stop!" A few more verses include running, bouncing, and sitting instead of marching.
Board book time! Parents are encouraged to pick up a nearby board book and read to them as Ms. Claire passes out scarves.
Next, they act out a series of activities with the scarves. They pretend to take baths, to pop popcorn, and go to the moon.
The goodbye song is "Shoo Fly."
What a welcoming environment for new parents! Bravo.
Best,
Amanda
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