Musical Kids (for ages 17-29 months) 5/25/18

Greetings from my second official maternity leave! I am enjoying a summer off, sleeping in and relaxing poolside. Just kidding! Turns out it's super hard to have a newborn and a toddler at the same time! I'm exhausted! Anyway, I started this blog post a couple of days before I went into labor and then--surprise!--my daughter came early and I never got to finish it. Until today!

Friday, May 25 I did my last Musical Kids class before baby and I had my favorite visitor join me: Sadie! As it turns out, it has been over two years since I featured my "middle group" in a Musical Kids blog post! And now that I have a "middle group"-aged kid myself, it seems like the perfect opportunity to discuss them! They are such a fun, sweet group that seem to range so much in their 12-month span of ages. In fact, I've always found this group the hardest one to plan for because of their varied levels of abilities and understanding. Even with my own kid falling in this range, it's still a hard group to accommodate fully-- at least the way I'd ideally like to.

That said (and I hate to sound biased but I totally am), it's currently my favorite group because... well, honestly, my favorite group is just whichever one Sadie is in.

Anyway, here's my playlist for the week (red = ipod, blue = sing):

1. A New Way to Say Hello by Big Jeff
2. We're Going To Kentucky by Bob McGrath (shakers)
3. Spaghetti Legs by Jim Gill (shakers)
4. This is the Way We Wash Our Arms (scarves) *
5. The Lion Sleeps Tonight by Suzi Shelton (scarves) **
6. If You're Happy and You Know It
7. Rocketship Run by Laurie Berkner (rockets) ***
8. Whole Lotta Lovin' from Fats Domino (drums)
9. Can't Buy Me Love by The Beatles (tambourines)
10. The Grand Old Dukes of York (parachute) #
11. Ring Around the Rosie (parachute) ##
12. Slow and Fast by Hap Palmer (parachute + balls) ###
13. Blow a Kiss by Laurie Berkner (parachute + balls + bubbles)

* This is the Way We Wash Our Arms: To the tune of So Early in the Morning, for this song, we pretend our scarves are washcloths and "wash" different parts of our bodies. So the first verse goes:

This is the way we wash our arms, wash our arms, wash our arms
This is the way we wash our arms so early in the morning

Then we come up with other body parts to sing about, usually doing about 5 in total. Simple and fun, plus great for getting kids in this age group to reinforce the names of body parts.

** The Lion Sleeps Tonight by Suzi Shelton: This is a fun one! I use the scarves and have everyone pretend that they are lions and their scarves are are blankets or pillows. When the song starts, everyone is "sleeping." Then, when Suzi Shelton says, "Wake up lions!" we all dance around and wave our scarves. It's fun and I also just love this version of this song.

*** Rocketship Run by Laurie Berner: I write about Rocketship Run every time I blog about my middle or oldest Musical Kids group because it's an absolute essential with these kids. I can't do the class without it. When I do this song, I hand out rockets-on-sticks (which I made, probably, four years ago at this point) for them to zoom around with, and then also, I hold up signs for all the places that we "travel" to. Here is a picture of my gear:

When I hold up a given sign, the kiddos 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. It's so funny! They totally invented it and it's continued on from week-to-week and from class-to-class. For years! In fact, I saw my own daughter run up and touch the sign with her rocket for the very first time during this class and it made me crack up in the middle of the class. It was SO cute and funny. Additionally, this song always gets the loudest end-of-song cheer from both the children and the adults. A++ for Rocketship Run! Here are a few pictures of the kids last week as they "traveled" to the stars. There's mine right in the mix of it!

# The Grand Old Duke of York: If you're not familiar with it, the lyrics to The Grand Old Duke of York can be found here. The song references "up" and "down" and "top" and "bottom" a couple of times, making it a super easy and intuitive parachute song-- just follow along with the lyrics!

## Ring Around the Rosie: This is a great kids-on-top-of-the-parachute song. We seat them all in the middle, then the adults walk around in a circle, holding the parachute handles as we sing the first verse. For the second verse ("Cows are in the meadow eating butter cups, ashes, ashes, we all jump up!"), the adults shake the parachute quickly around the kids then snap it up around them when we sing the words "jump up!" I usually do the whole thing twice since it's short.

### Slow and Fast by Hap Palmer: Usually for this song we bounce the balls around in the parachute slowly and quickly. It's fun because the song changes tempo and we have to keep up. However on this particular Friday, I let the kids sit on top of it instead and they just kind of played with the balls while the adults shook the parachute around them. This group of kids were just kind of all about sitting on the parachute, so I went with it.

What worked least: Me. Really. This class was the first time ever that I sat down for a large part of Musical Kids. I felt kind of guilty at the time but, looking back now, I was just days away from going into labor so I can give myself a pass.

What worked best: No surprise here-- Rocketship Run is always the highlight of this program. And I LOVED seeing Sadie in the mix with all the other kids. It was so cute!

Even though I am almost 7 weeks into maternity leave, I won't be back at work again until October. So happy summer, everybody! I'll be back in the fall!

Musical Kids (for ages 6-16 months) 2/2/18

Ladies and gentleman, I cannot resist. Both my daughter and my neighbor's daughter visited me for Musical Kids last week and I've got to blog about it! I know I've written about the 6-16 month-olds repeatedly and no other Musical Kids groups for a very long time, but they're such a sweet and fun group, with such sweet and good-natured parents, I just can't resist sharing. Especially when my own sweet Sadie makes an appearance for the day!

Anyway, here's my playlist (red = ipod, blue = sing):

1. A New Way to Say Hello by Big Jeff
2. We're Going To The Market by Kathy Reid-Naiman (shakers)
3. Let's All Shake 'Cause Sadie Is Here (shakers)*
4. Gimme Some Lovin' by the Spencer Davis Group from the Sing soundtrack (tambourines)
5. Popcorn Kernels (scarves) **
6. Elevator Song by MaryLee(scarves) ***
7. Moon Moon Moon by Laurie Berkner(scarves) ***
8. B-I-N-G-O by Lynn Kleiner (circle dance) ****
9. Aiken Drum from the Five Little Monkeys CD (drums)
10. Heartbeat Drumbeat by Joanie Bartles (drums) #
11. Colors Over You (parachute) ##
12. Let's Go Riding in an Elevator (parachute) ###
13. I'm a Little Groundhog (parachute + balls + groundhog puppets) ####
14. Slow and Fast by Hap Palmer (parachute + balls + groundhog puppets)
15. Blow a Kiss by Laurie Berkner (parachute + balls + letters + bubbles)

* Let's All Shake 'Cause Sadie Is Here is the made-up-name I gave to the Jbrary song seen below (originally titled Let's All Clap). I just swapped "clap" for "shake" to make it a shakers song and it's been working really well for introductions (done the first week of each session) since January. Until 2018, I have always used Mary Had a Little Lamb for introductions, subbing out Mary for each kid in the class, but after a 4-year-old told me "hates that song," I traded it for Let's All Shake 'Cause Sadie Is Here and I haven't looked back! (To be honest, I got a little tired of it too.) It's much faster and more efficient than Mary Had a Little Lamb, so it's here to stay!

** Popcorn Kernels: About two years ago I was in a scarf-rut and, to combat it, heavily researched new scarf songs for a few days. Then, of course, I wound up introducing a whole batch of new songs all at once. As time passed, the two that stuck around most prominently for the long haul were called The Scarf is On My Head and Popcorn Kernels. The handout for both of these songs can be downloaded here. The Scarf is On My Head goes to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell and is possibly the reigning favorite scarf song, but Popcorn Kernels, to the tune of Frère Jacques, is a close second favorite! It goes like this:

Popcorn kernels, popcorn kernels (wave the scarf around above your head)

In the pot, in the pot (crumple the scarf into balls in your hands)

Shake them, shake them, shake them (shake your tightly wrapped scarf around in your hands)

Shake them, shake them, shake them

'Til they pop, 'til they pop (toss the scarf up in the air and watch it fall slowly to the floor)

*** Elevator Song by MaryLee (from the CD Baby-O) and Moon Moon Moon by Laurie Berkner: These are two of my favorite sitting down/lap songs for this age group and, as it turns out, they also make wonderful scarf songs! I like to do some basic lap and hand motions for each-- gentle bouncing and lifting in Elevator Song and most of the stuff Laurie Berkner herself does in the Moon Moon Moon video. I usually hold the scarf for both, waving it around bit, and let the parents and babies sort of interpret all of it in a way that works best for them. Different levels of scarffing/bouncing/watching me do hand motions work differently for each kid, so this works in different ways for everyone. It's nice. Here are two videos for reference:

**** B-I-N-G-O makes an awesome and easy circle dance for the parents and babies to do together. I'm going to try REALLY hard to explain it:

For this song, heard on YouTube here, the parents hold their babies and walk around in a circle. For the verse of the song, everyone just kind of dances their kids as they face out. Then, the song slowly goes through the letters, B, I, N, G, and O. For B, I, N, and G everyone takes a step in--one step per letter. So by the end of G, everyone's in a tight circle with all the babies looking at each other up close. Then, for the letter O, we all scoot quickly back out of the circle to our original spots.

# Heartbeat Drumbeat: I got the idea to do Heartbeat Drumbeat from a library program I took Sadie to at my local library. The (real) song, however, is a little long for kids, and if I am remembering right, the library programmer who used it wound up just cutting the song off when it got too long. I just can't do that. I am too particular. Enter... YOUTUBE 💜💛💚. I've encountered this dilemma a few times over the years (mostly when I do holiday programs, actually) and, when I do, I turn to YouTube. I found the PERFECT version of Heartbeat Drumbeat here. A little finagling and it's made its way into my playlist. It even has audience applause at the end, which is a fun bonus!

## Colors Over You is to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and goes like this:

Red and green and yellow and blue

These are the colors over you

Red like an apple

Green like a tree

Yellow like the sun

And blue like the sea

Red and green and yellow and blue

These are the colors over you

### Let's Go Riding in an Elevator can be found in the video below and works just as well (if not better!) with the parachute and the kiddos underneath it:

#### A groundhog's day special song! I'm A Little Groundhog goes to the tune of I'm a Little Teapot and was easy enough for me to memorize! We bounced mini groundhog puppets around in the parachute as we sang:

I'm a little groundhog short and stout

February second I will come out.

If I see my shadow hear me shout: 

"Six weeks more winter without doubt!"

What worked least: I'm a Little Groundhog wasn't the highlight of the program, as the song was quick, nobody knew it, and the babies totally don't care about groundhogs day, but when Musical Kids falls on an actual holiday (even groundhog's day), I feel like I have to acknowledge it in some way. Plus, we had such cute little finger puppets from Folkmanis (no longer available but similar to this beaver) that we never get to use and bouncing them around on the parachute a bit was fun!

What worked best: Everything worked with this group. I love my baby classes! But, as usual, I'd call the highlight of the program the parachute in general. It's just so much fun and so much great stimulation for the babies!

Musical Kids (for ages 6-16 months) 11/10/17

Hello! Today I'm in the mood to blog about my favorite recurring program-- Musical Kids! I do Musical Kids so much that I could fill my entire blog with weekly posts about it but, for the sake of some variety, obviously, I don't. In fact, I'd taken a little (8 month!) break from writing about it! But two weeks ago, I had SUCH a wonderful baby class that I just have to blog about them! And no, it's not just because my own sweet Sadie was there to join the fun...although that might be part of it. Maybe.

If you haven't been to my blog before, allow me to briefly explain Musical Kids: This is a reoccurring program done in three 30-minute sessions per week: 6-16 months at 10:00, 17-29 months at 10:45 (this used to be 17-35 months), and 30 months-5 years at 11:30 (this used to be 3-5 years). We did a bit of age group modification recently due to overcrowding in the middle group, which is not a bad problem to have! This all goes on for 3 or 4 weeks in a row, takes a week or two off (or sometimes doesn't!), then starts again for another 3 or 4 weeks in a row. I love Musical Kids and, even more than that, I love the relationships that I've formed with the patrons who attend it! I am so so lucky to get to work with such wonderful families regularly.

So on to my baby class two Fridays ago. I'll be honest, when I was planning the various weeks of activities, I'd saved some of my favorite stuff for this 4th and final session because I knew my husband and daughter were coming and I wanted them to get the best of the best. You'd do the same if were you! 

Anyway, here's my playlist (red = ipod, blue = sing):

1. A New Way to Say Hello by Big Jeff
2. Alabama, Mississippi by Jim Gill (shakers)
3. We're Going To The Market by Kathy Reid-Naiman (shakers)
4. Faith by Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande (tambourines)
5. Popcorn Kernels *
6. Smile for the Camera by Datarock (scarves)
7. Five Little Monkeys (mitt) **
8. Heartbeat Drumbeat by Joanie Bartles (drums) ***
10. Whole Lotta Lovin' by Fats Domino (drums)
11. Peek-A-Boo (parachute) #
12. Popcorn by Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights (parachute + balls) ##
13. Alphabet Song by Josh Levine (parachute + balls + letters) ##
11. Blow a Kiss by Laurie Berkner (parachute + balls + letters + bubbles) ##

* Popcorn Kernels: About two years ago I was in a scarf-rut and, to combat it, heavily researched new scarf songs for a few days. Then, of course, I wound up introducing a whole batch of new songs all at once. As time passed, the two that stuck around most prominently for the long term were called The Scarf is On My Head and Popcorn Kernels. The handout for both of these songs can be downloaded here. The Scarf is On My Head goes to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell and is possibly the reigning favorite scarf song (We did it the week prior to this one in Musical Kids. I can't save ALL the best stuff for the last week). But Popcorn Kernels, to the tune of Frère Jacques, is a close second favorite! It goes like this:

Popcorn kernels, popcorn kernels (wave the scarf around above your head)
In the pot, in the pot (crumple the scarf into balls in your hands)
Shake them, shake them, shake them (shake your tightly wrapped scarf around in your hands)
Shake them, shake them, shake them
'Til they pop, 'til they pop (toss the scarf up in the air and watch it fall slowly to the floor)

** Five Little Monkeys: Another thing I have blogged about before but want to mention again: The monkey mitt. It's available here. I totally chose to do this song this particular week because it's one of Sadie's favorites. So sue me! Like I said, you'd do the same if were you!

*** Heartbeat Drumbeat: I got the idea to do Heartbeat Drumbeat from a library program I took Sadie to at my local library. The (real) song, however, is a little long for kids, and if I am remembering right, the library programmer who used it wound up just cutting the song off when it got too long. I just can't do that. I am too particular. Enter... YOUTUBE 💜💛💚. I've encountered this dilemma a few times over the years (mostly when I do holiday programs, actually) and, when I do, I turn to YouTube. I found the PERFECT version of Heartbeat Drumbeat here. A little finagling and it's made its way into my playlist. It even has audience applause at the end, which is a fun bonus!

# Peek-A-Boo: This baby song, to the tune of Frère Jacques (again), goes like this:

Where are you hiding?
Where are you hiding?
I can't see you
I can't see you
Are you over here?
Are you over there?
Peek-a-boo!
Peek-a-boo!

It winds up being a fun little game for parents and babies to play together and is particularly good for the babies on the younger side of the 6-16 month age range. There is such a difference in ability between a 6-month-old and a 16-month-old, I like to make sure I get in at least one thing that is especially for the littler ones.

## Popcorn, Alphabet Song, and Blow a Kiss: The end of the babies Musical Kids class is always the most fun part (albeit probably best for those who are 10-months and up). Here's where, really, I just throw a bunch of stuff on the parachute and let the babies go wild. It's so simple, yet it is always the highlight of this class. Our parachute time and parachute songs vary from week to week, but they always end with some time like this. Here's how parachute time usually happens:

a. 1-2 structured parachute songs (in this case it was Peek-A-Boo. Other favorites are The Colors Over You, Come Under My Umbrella,  If You're Happy and You Know It, The Grand Old Duke of York, or Wheels on the Bus).

b. 1-2 unstructured parachute songs where we throw the beach balls in the middle of the parachute and just let the babies go hog wild (in this case they were Popcorn and The Alphabet Song). Some weeks we may toss alphabet letters (as seen here) or something else in the parachute too, but always the beach balls.

c. The goodbye song, which is always Blow A Kiss. I've found it best to use this as additional parachute time and also, because clearly there needs to be MORE STIMULATION, I also blow bubbles at this time.

What worked least: This was such a fun week but I'm not sure if Smile for the Camera was the best scarf song possible. It was my first time using it and may (or may not) be my last. But also, sometimes ya just need a little variety after a lot of the same things from week-to-week.

What worked best: In this class particularly, with this small but really really great group of babies (and parents), the end of the program felt like the best. Everyone (including me!) got in on a fun baby photo op (see the picture at the very top of this post) and I kind of felt like maybe, some real mom friendships were genuinely formed here. Such a great group, seriously! 

Musical Kids (for ages 30-months through 5-years) 3/17/17

It's time for another good ol' Musical Kids post! Can you ever have too many of these? Possibly, but we're not there yet!

If you haven't been to my blog before, allow me to briefly explain Musical Kids: This is a reoccurring program done in three 30-minute sessions per week: 6-16 months at 10:00, 17-29 months at 10:45 (this used to be 17-35 months), and 30 months-5 years at 11:30 (this used to be 3-5 years). We did a bit of age group modification recently due to overcrowding in the middle group--not a bad problem to have! This all goes on for 3 or 4 weeks in a row, takes a week or so off (or sometimes doesn't!), then starts again for another 3 or 4 weeks in a row. I love Musical Kids and, even more that, I love the relationships that I've formed with the patrons who attend it! I am so so lucky to get to work with such wonderful kids and parents regularly.

Today I'm writing about last week's session with my oldest crew, the kids who are 30-months through 5-years-old.

Here is my playlist from that class: (red = ipod, blue = sing)

1. A New Way to Say Hello by Big Jeff
2. Wave Your Scarf  (scarves) *
3. Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Rob Newhouse (scarves)
4. Anyone Can Sing by Playdate (shakers + cat puppet)
5. Rocketship Run by Laurie Berkner (rockets) **
6. One Little Froggy Goes Hop (drums) ***
7. Yellow Submarine by The Beatles (drums)
8. My Ball Rolls Over the Ocean (parachute) #
9. Stop & Go by Greg and Steve (parachute) ##
10. Wheels on the Bus (parachute) ###
11. Blow a Kiss by Laurie Berkner

* Wave Your Scarf comes from, you guessed it, Jbrary! It's to the tune of London Bridges and goes like this:

Wave your scarf up and down, up and down, up and down
Wave your scarf up and down, wave your scar-arf.
Wave your scarf left and right, left and right, left and right
Wave your scarf left and right, wave your scar-arf.
Wave your scarf fast and slow, fast and slow, fast and slow
Wave your scarf fast and slow, wave your scar-arf.
Wave your scarf around and round, around and round, around and round
Wave your scarf around and round, wave your scar-arf.

** I write about Rocketship Run every time I blog about my middle or oldest Musical Kids group. It's an absolute essential with these kids. I can't do the class without it. When I do this song, I hand out rockets-on-sticks (which I made, probably, three years ago at this point) for them to zoom around with, and then also, I hold up signs for all the places that we "travel" to. Here is a picture of my gear:

When I hold up a given sign, the kiddos 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. It's so funny! They totally invented it and it's continued on from week-to-week and from class-to-class. For years! Additionally, this song always gets the loudest end-of-song cheer from both the children and the adults. A++ for Rocketship Run! Here are a few pictures of the kids last week as they "traveled" to the sun:

*** One Little Froggy Goes Hop is a song I stole from this video (at the 9:30-mark):



I didn't have access to the recorded song above so I just sang it myself. It was SO GREAT. It was especially good for getting the kids to work on paying attention and following rules. I told them we were going to "make a big deal" about the word "stop." And encouraged them to not only stop playing the drums when I sang "stop" but to also to freeze. And if there's one thing a 4ish-year-old likes, it's a freeze dance song. (You want kids in silly poses? Freeze dance!) Unlike with the recorded version, singing the song myself also allowed me the luxury of varying the spaces of the pauses. It's fun to throw a really silly, long pause around occasionally.

# My Ball Rolls Over the Ocean is a variation on My Bonnie. In the song, we rolled the ball around on the parachute from person to person. It was my first time trying it. The idea came from the video below and can be seen at the 4:33-mark:



It was fun, but hard. The grown ups were better at the actual ball rolling than the kids and the kids seemed a little competitive about grabbing up the ball every time it fell off the parachute. I think if my group was even a little bit brattier, this may have lead to a problem, but luckily they were a fairly easy going bunch who shared and didn't complain when other kids took a turn with the ball. That said, it was fun to try to roll the ball around from person to person... even if it was slightly more fun for the grown ups than the kids. Here's a picture of me explaining what to do:

## This was the first time I used Stop & Go as a parachute song and all I have to say is: What took me so long? Is there any combo better than freeze dance and being under a parachute? I don't think so! Folks, if you need a new song to do with the parachute and you don't already do a freeze dance song, DO A FREEZE DANCE SONG. It works.

### My parachute version of Wheels on the Bus is a song where the kids get to go on top of the parachute. We lay the parachute down flat on the ground and the kids crawl into the middle and sit down flat. There are usually 1 or 2 kids who are either afraid of this or who would just prefer to stand outside the parachute with the grown ups, but the majority of the group likes this part the best of all! When the kids are all seated in the middle, the grown ups pull up from the parachute's handles and we all walk around in a circle, giving the kids a ride as we sing the first verse of Wheels on the Bus. We do 4 verses in total: 

1. The wheels on the bus go round and round (walk around counter clockwise)

2. The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish (swish the parachute around the kids)

3. The doors on the bus go open and shut (pull the parachute down then snap it closed around the kids on the word "shut")

4. The wheels on the bus go round and round (walk around clockwise)

The kids love this and, of all the on-top-of-the-parachute songs in my (rather small) repertoire, Wheels on the Bus may be the overall favorite, since it includes several different actions for the grown ups to do around the kids.

What worked least: My Ball Rolls Over the Ocean was, I guess, the least successful song of the day, but it was still fun for a change and the kids definitely got a kick out of using the big ball (aka "chasing after the big ball").

What worked best: This was a super fun playlist full of successes. I'm going to call it a three-way-tie between Rocketship Run (which is always a favorite), Stop & Go, and Wheels on the Bus.

Musical Kids (for babies 6-16 months) 2/24/17

Hi! I want to start by saying that I am NOT ignoring my blog; I'm just not working as much right now (I'm still on partial maternity leave) and thus, not doing as much to blog about. The truth is, I think about my blog all the time. I feel bad for neglecting it! So here I am, finally writing an entry, and writing it on my long-time-favorite program--Musial Kids.

The last time I blogged about Musical Kids was October 4 (just ten days before my sweet daughter was born) and I chose to blog about my baby group. Now today, I'm writing about the babies again, because, well, they're just fun! And it's my blog and I can write about whatever I want to!

For those not in the know: Musical Kids is a reoccurring program done in three 30-minute sessions per week: 6-16 months at 10:00, 17-29 months at 10:45, and 30 months-5 years at 11:30, for 3 or 4 weeks in a row. They're probably the most well-attended programs in the department and I seriously love the relationships that I've formed with the patrons who attend them. Musical Kids is part of the reason I consider myself so lucky to work where I do.

Here is my playlist from this morning's baby class: (red = ipod, blue = sing)

1. A New Way to Say Hello by Big Jeff
2. The Happy Song by Imogen Heap (shakers)*
3. Yellow Submarine by The Beatles (drums)
4. Row, Row Your Boat by Dr. John (drums)
5. Bell Horses by Kathy Reid-Naiman (bells)
6. The Owl Song by Playdate (bells + owl puppet)
7. Exercise to the Beat- Twinkle Theme by Lynn Kleiner (parachute) **
8. The Grand Old Duke of York (parachute) ***
9. Toast in the Toaster (parachute) ****
10. Slow and Fast by Hap Palmer (parachute)
10. Blow a Kiss by Laurie Berkner

* The Happy Song by Imogen Heap is a song that, according to LifeHacker, was scientifically designed to make babies smile. The song "encapsulates everything babies like in music:" Consonance, the female voice, a major key, a quick tempo, a simple, repetitive melody, drum rolls, key changes, rising pitch glides, and plenty of opportunities for anticipation and surprise. In short, it's a good song. And it really is! It's super catchy, all-around sweet, and it successfully made me smile. So I was super excited to debut it for the first time today in Musical Kids.

Well, it didn't work. At all! In fact, I challenge you to find one smiling child in the pictures below:

** This video is filled with amazing baby program ideas, including the seventh song I used during today's class: Exercise to the Beat- Twinkle Theme. The song starts around the 6-minute-mark (and zooms in on that super-cute little guy in the front at 7:05. Sooo cute!).

If you don't feel like watching the video, Exercise to the Beat- Twinkle Theme basically, involves lifting and moving baby's arms and legs like a little aerobics routine. It worked ok. There were a number of babies who were small and calm enough to really benefit from it; then there were a number of babies (the walkers) who were just too restless for it. Clearly the babies in the video above are both younger than my crowd and also more well-trained.

Side note: Last week I tried the first dance seen in the video above, "Folk Dance," and it worked pretty well! Explaining the steps felt a bit intimidating at first, but once we got going, everyone picked it up and got the hang of it quickly. Enjoyed it even! I'd give it another shot going forward. Also, my four-month-old baby LOVES when we do the Folk Dance into the mirror.

*** I found this parachute version of The Grand Old Duke of York from The Kids Music Experience YouTube channel (although I modified it a little). It's fantastic! And actually, so is this entire video:

**** If you've ever so much as glanced at my blog you know I think the ladies over at Jbrary are geniuses. I love their Toast in the Toaster rhyme, but actually, I've enjoyed it more as a parachute song with little beach balls for the "toast."

We all shake the balls on the chute for the rhyme, then when we get to the word "pop," we try to shoot the balls up into the air, like popping toast. I always do this twice and, while it's sometimes messy the first go-around, everyone definitely gets it and enjoys it the second time. (Fun side note: In my oldest group, one of the regular girls asked her mom if she could have toast when they got home. Inspiring snacks since 2017!)

What worked least: The Happy Song by Imogen Heap was a total disappointment! If it wasn't for my excitement (as well as extended introduction about how this song was scientifically proven to make babies smile), it would have worked as well as any other song, but all things considered, it was kind of a dud! I would, however, try it again with a smaller group, or in a one-on-one scenario.

What worked best: The Owl Song by Playdate is not only a great song (by a great band that's lead by Greg Attonito of The Bouncing Souls), but the baby group always responds particularly well to the use of puppets. When whatever the puppet-of-the-week is comes around, the babies transform into a super cute combination of friendly, shy, affectionate, and surprised. It'll melt your heart! Seriously!

Musical Kids (for babies ages 6-16 months) and Last Post Before I Have My Own Baby!

It has been exactly one year since the last time I blogged about my baby group of  Musical Kids!

As pretty much everyone ever knows, I love Musical Kids. I have blogged about this program many times in the past but it's continued to be my favorite part of my job. Since I am leaving for maternity leave next week, I wanted to do one last Musical Kids post, before I go. And since it's been exactly one year since, why not have this post be about the babies (6-16 months) again this time?

The lowdown on Musial Kids, for those not in the know: This is a reoccurring program done in three 30-minute sessions per week: 6-16 months at 10:00, 17-23 months at 10:45, and 3-5 years at 11:30, for 3 or 4 weeks in a row. They're probably the most well-attended programs in the department and I seriously love the relationships I have formed with our core group of regular parents and children. Today I am going to write about my baby group (again) who I see first at 10:00 because, for the first time, they were my biggest group. Also, they've been so so SO wonderfully sympathetic through my pregnancy and I kind of just love them.

Here is my playlist from last Friday morning: (red = ipod, blue = sing)

1. A New Way to Say Hello by Big Jeff
2. This Land is Your Land by  Josh Levine (shakers)
3. I Know a Chicken by Laurie Berkner (shakers + chicken puppet)
4. Mix a Pancake (scarves) *
5. Scarf Version of Early in the Morning (scarves) **
6. Wheels on the Bus (with big book)
7. She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain (lap song) ***
8. Can't Buy Me Love  by The Beatles (tambourines)
9. Whole Lotta Lovin' by Fats Domino (tambourines)
10. Grand Old Duke of York (parachute) ****
11. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Kathy Reid-Naiman (parachute) x2
12. Blow a Kiss by Laurie Berkner

This was the first time in a long time (or possibly ever) that I didn't use the drums in a class of Musical Kids! I was a little worried about it because I feel like everyone has kind of come to expect them, but nobody seemed to miss them at all! Plus I included the tambourines instead, which are also really fun. So I guess a little instrument variety is ok after all.

As usual, this program was made better because of good ol' Jbrary, specifically, their Babytime Story Resources playlist, which has pretty much everything you could ever need for a successful baby program.

* Mix a Pancake is thanks to (of course) Jbrary, although using it with scarves was my idea! Here it is:

** I actually can't remember where I got the Scarf Version of So Early in the Morning from (apologies if it was you!) but it goes like this:

This is the way we wash our arms, wash our arms, wash our arms. This is the way we wash our arms so early in the morning... (and we pretend to use our scarves as a wash cloths).

Then we go through and sing it over and over with other body parts. Popular on-the-spot body part choices for me are knees, elbows, head, feet, and belly.

*** I got this wonderful version of She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain from, you guessed it, Jbrary! It's pretty no-fail and everyone usually enjoys it (minus a few complaints about tired arms):

**** I found this parachute version of The Grand Old Duke of York from The Kids Music Experience YouTube channel (although I modified it a little):

When I first started doing Musical Kids (about 6 or 7 years ago as a librarian trainee helping another librarian), I did not care for this baby group one bit. The idea of a singing and dancing program with babies intimidated me because, well, babies can't sing or dance. It took me a LOT of time (like, 5 years) to get comfortable with this group and even longer to actually enjoy it. But I started to really dig this age group once I figured out one key thing--with babies, you get to do an entire category of songs you can't do with the older crew: lap songs! Once I found my lap songs rhythm, I started to love the 10:00 group! You can do so much with them that you can't do with the walkers. They're actually really fun! Plus they're just totally wild for the parachute.

Anyway, last note, regardless of how little they are, it's always important that babies be exposed to music and rhythms early! Here are the reasons why: 

1. Singing helps children to hear the smaller sounds that make up words, because each note gets its own sound.

2. Moving, marching, clapping, and playing instruments helps with children’s motor skills.

3. Singing helps children build vocabulary through song lyrics. For younger children, “naming songs” where you are singing a list of animals, foods, or any other objects are beneficial. 

4. Singing different pitches helps children think spatially because the notes of the melody move up and down. 

5. Singing different rhythms helps children think mathematically because the beats are timed and precise. 

6. Singing with young children helps them to learn critical communication skills such as reciprocal dialogue, speech sounds, and how to associate sounds with objects, events, and feelings.

I can't muster up a "What worked best" and "What worked least" for this post. Musical Kids always feels like a success for me and racking my brain to come up with a "worked least" just seems pointlessly negative.

Anyway, I'm going to sort of sign off here for the next 2-3 months. I'll be back at work and back to blog posts in no time, but for the next bunch of weeks, it's time for me to have a baby and love a baby. <3

Musical Kids (for Ages 3-5) 3/18/16

It's been several months since I've blogged about my ongoing Musical Kids program. This is one of my favorite programs (if not my all time favorite one), so I felt like another post was overdue.

This reoccurring program is done in three 30-minute sessions per week: 6-16 months at 10:00, 17-35 months at 10:45, and 3-5 years at 11:30, for either 3 or 4 weeks in a row. In this case, it was 4-weeks in a row. All of the sessions are very well-attended, with a core group of wonderful regulars who I've been getting to watch grow up. Today, specifically, every class was amazing! It must be the opposite of a full moon (a new moon?) out. It all just worked! This time, I am blogging about my oldest crew, the 3-5-year-olds, which was also my smallest group of the day.

Here's my playlist (red = ipod, blue = sing):

1. A New Way to Say Hello by Big Jeff
2. Shake Your Shakers (shakers) *
3. I Know a Chicken by Laurie Berkner (shakers + chicken puppet)
4. The Scarf is On My Head (scarves + handouts) **
5. Popcorn Kernels (scarves + handouts) **
6. B-I-N-G-O by Lynn Kleiner (circle dance) ***
7. My Grandfather Clock by Bob McGrath (rhythm sticks)
8. Bread & Butter (rhythm sticks) ****
9. No More Monkeys by Asheba (drums)
10. Rocketship Run by Laurie Berkner (rockets + handouts) #
11. Thunder & Lightening (parachute) ##
12. Slow and Fast by Hap Palmer (parachute + beach balls)
13. Merry-Go-Round by Wee Sing (parachute) x2 ###
14. Blow a Kiss by Laurie Berkner

* Shake Your Shakers is an easy song to sing. It's to the tune of London Bridges and goes like this:

Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake
Shake your shakers
Shake your shakers high, high, high
high, high, high, high, high, high
Shake your shakers, high, high, high
Shake your shakers
Shake your shakers low, low, low
low, low, low, low, low, low
Shake your shakers low, low, low
Shake your shakers
Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake
Shake your shakers

If it's not totally obvious, we hold the shakers up high in the air for "high, high, high," and down by the ground for "low, low, low." Easy peasy! Here's a picture of high, high, high:

** The handout for The Scarf is On My Head & Popcorn Kernels can be downloaded here. The Scarf is On My Head goes to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell and is possibly the reigning favorite scarf song. Popcorn Kernels goes to the tune of Frère Jacques and, for this one, we start out by waving our scarves over our heads, then crumpling them into balls in our hands (the pot), then we shake them up in their crumpled balls, and then toss them up in the air for them to "pop." It's fun. I've done a handful of different scarf songs with all 3 age groups but these two seem to stand out as the overall favorites. It also seems to work out that every time I decide to mix it up and do something different with the scarves, I hear one kid ask their mom if we're going to do The Scarf is On My Head and then feel bad that we aren't. Variety--can't live with it, can't live without it!

*** B-I-N-G-O is one of my very favorites. I picked it out mainly to be a song to use with my first group (the 6-16-month-olds) but then realized that it's actually fun for all ages! I first saw it on Lynn Kleiner's DVD that came with this instrument kit but there's no video for it online! I've scoured and scoured and it's just not out there. SO. Just the song is on YouTube (below), and I will do my best to explain the actions:



For the verse part, everyone marches around in a circle. Then, at the chorus, everyone stops marching and faces inward. For the letters B, I, N, and G we all take a step in, one letter at a time, so by the time we're at G, everyone is really close together. Then, for O, everyone runs back and the circle gets big again. When we're in the middle, everyone has a good giggle at how close and silly we all are. (When I do this with babies, the parents hold their little ones and, when we get to the middle of the circle, it's a great chance for the babies to do some facial recognition). If you can visualize how this works, I totally recommend it with all ages!

**** Bread & Butter is a Jbrary favorite of mine. It can be seen below:



For this one, I did loud, soft, fast, slow, and nicely, in that order. It was wonderfully quiet during "soft," I have to say.

# I write about Rocketship Run every time I blog about my middle or oldest Musical Kids group. It's an absolute essential. I can't do this class without it. The kids are obsessed with it. When we do this song, I hand out rockets-on-sticks for them to zoom around with, and then also, I hold up signs for all the places we "travel" to. Here is a picture of my gear:

When I hold up a given sign, the kiddos 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. It's so funny! They totally invented it and it's continued on from week-to-week and from class-to-class. Additionally, this song always gets the loudest end-of-song cheer from both the children and the adults. A++!

## Thunder & Lightening is a short parachute song to the tune of The More We Get Together. We start out by shaking the parachute low and fast for the first verse, then lift up high for the second. It goes like this:

There's thunder and lightening and wind and rain,
There's thunder and lightening and wind and rain,
Come under my umbrella, umbrella, umbrella,
Come under my umbrella, it's starting to storm.

### Like Rocketship Run, Merry-Go-Round has become an essential part of my Musical Kids repertoire for the oldest group. For this, we lay the parachute down flat on the ground and the kids crawl into the middle and sit down flat. There are usually 1 or 2 kids who are either afraid of this or who would just prefer to stand outside the parachute with the grown ups, but the majority of the group likes this part the best of all! When the kids are all in all seated in the middle, the grown ups pull up from the parachute's handles and we all walk around in a circle, giving the kids a ride. I play the song twice (it's only 28-seconds long) and we change directions for the second time around. Here they are on their ride (apologies for all the backs):

What worked least: Two weeks ago, all three Musical Kids classes were weird and off-feeling. I like to blame things on the phases of the moon, but honestly, I was probably just tired or stressed or sad or in a brain fog or something. Everything about the classes that week was just a little not-quite-right... culminating with me bumping into a 2-year-old and accidentally knocking her down (she didn't cry and was totally fine, but STILL). So, while not every single moment of every single Musical Kids class is a perfect success, today's class totally was. Additionally, sometimes when I have a group on the smaller side (8 kids in total for this one), it loses some of it's pep but not today! Nope! The pep was in full swing! I'm proud and happy to blog about this one. This was my A-Game Musical Kids.

What worked best: I always wind up answering this the same way-- Rocketship Run. However, while Rocketship Run was totally its usual awesome self, I felt like it didn't compete with the giggles that came with the parachute this time. So, to change things up for once....what worked best was the parachute! So much cute laughter! Plus I had my first younger sibling join in for the Merry-Go-Round song (pictured above in navy blue) and she quite enjoyed it!

Musical Kids (for ages 17-35 months) 11/20/15

Anyone who's even glanced at my blog probably knows that I love Musical Kids. This is a reoccurring program done in three 30-minute sessions per week: 6-16 months at 10:00, 17-35 months at 10:45, and 3-5 years at 11:30, for either 3 or 4 weeks in a row. All of the sessions are very well-attended, with a core group of wonderful regulars who I've been getting to watch grow up. I feel SO lucky to get to hang out with these sweet and goofy kids weekly.

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!