Today, I'm in the mood to blog about my middle crew, the kids who are 17-35 months-old. I've written about them before, but they're so adorable that I wanted to discuss them again. And since every week is different from the last, why not, really? Give me one good reason.
Here's Friday's playlist (red = ipod, blue = sing):
1. A New Way to Say Hello by Big Jeff
2. Milkshake Song by Ann-Marie Akin (shakers)
3. I Like it Like That by Chris Kenner (shakers)
4. Grey Squirrel by Mary Lee (puppets)
5. B-I-N-G-O by Lynn Kleiner (circle dance)
6. Rocketship Run by Laurie Berkner (rockets)
7. Zoom Zoom Zoom (rockets)
8. Drummers Drumming by Dr. Seuss (drums)
9. The Sticks on the Drums (drums)
10. These are the Colors Over You (parachute)
11. Slow and Fast by Hap Palmer (parachute)
12. Alphabet Song by Josh Levine (parachute + letters)
13. Merry Go Round x2 by Wee Sing (parachute)
14. Blow a Kiss by Laurie Berkner
I've been on a parachute kick lately so I wanted to write about this part of my program in a little more detail. My parachute time in Musical Kids keeps getting longer and longer; I can't get enough and it seems like the kids can't either! Friday's class was especially parachute-intensive because we got a new parachute! We started with These are the Colors Over You, thanks (as usual) to Jbrary. It's a nice, calm, good first song with the parachute. You can watch it below:
I had the group just wave the parachute together for this song and when I finished singing it, I heard a lot of parents say things like "That was a nice song." Then I let the kids go under the parachute for Hap Palmer's Slow and Fast, which they are always absolutely crazy for. So many giggles! So much staticky hair!
Next, I had the kids come out from under the 'chute and we all bounced foam letters (these from Oriental Trading) on the parachute for the Alphabet Song by Josh Levine. This was the best version of the ABC's I could find--rhythmic enough for bouncing, not too slow, not too fast, just exactly perfect for what I wanted it for. The foam letters, however, kind of sat in a clump. A few straggly letters did bounce and the clumpiness didn't really detract from the flow of the program, but it would have been cooler if they'd popped up and down as well as balloons or mini beach balls do. Regardless, it was nice to try something new.
Last, I had the kids get in the middle of the parachute, as closely to the middle as possible for Merry Go Round from the Wee Sing and Play CD. There are usually 1 or 2 kids who are either afraid of it or who would just prefer to stand outside the parachute with the grown ups, but the majority of the group like this part the best of all! When the kids are all in all seated in the middle, the grown ups walk in a circle so the kids get a ride. During this time, one mom said "the picture of them right here should be the library's Christmas card!" So I took the picture. I didn't exactly ask them to pose, but it is a cute shot anyway. Here's that picture, as well as a picture of the letters bouncing around in a clump.
What a good bunch. Everyone really enjoyed the extensive parachute time and were excited about the new parachute (although obviously not as excited as me).
What worked least: The floppy letters were a bit of a let-down but it was still fun to try something new. But I think that thicker, almost floor-mat-type letters (like these) would have would be perfect.
What worked best: I hate to totally cop out here, especially because the parachute was so much fun, but last time I wrote about the 17-35 months group of Musical Kids, I said that Rocketship Run was worked best and that is definitely still the case. In fact I can't not do Rocketship Run. It's a requirement. These kids are obsessed with it.
A year or so ago I made rockets-on-sticks to give out to the kids for this song, as well as signs that I hold up. Here's a picture of them:
The kids are so funny when we do this song. When I hold up a given sign, they all run up and touch their rocket to the sign, like they're really going to the sun/moon/etc. I've never told them to do this, and yet every week it happens. They totally invented it and it's continued on from week-to-week. It's just so cute and funny that they do this. Additionally, this song always gets the loudest end-of-song cheer from both the children and the adults. So basically, it's always a hit! If you don't already do Rocketship Run in your storytimes, give it a try!
All in all, I had a great 10:15 group last Friday. I love Musical Kids!
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