For December’s monthly Baby Time, we shared some winter fun! We only had two babies, a 4 month old and a 16 month old, but I know that December weekends are busy for everyone! I’ll probably do some of these activities again in January, since, well, it’s the Midwest and it’ll be wintery then too. And in February. And March. And probably April.
I’m making a very concerted effort this year to thing positively about the winter, and the busyness of the holiday season. It’s easy to get sucked into the ubiquitous complaining. Cashier at the kitchen store taking a really long time to look up the price of my unnecessary kitchen gadget? Deep breath, I’m in no hurry, more time to sip my sample cocoa and gaze at shiny pots and pans, it can’t get to me if I don’t let it. (Did you see this article? So did I.) So our book this week was Baby Loves Winter by Karen Katz, and we talked about a lot of the things we love about winter time.
We sang a song I cobbled together from a few different sources, about snowflakes falling and landing on different parts of our bodies. The idea of laminating snowflakes and using them as props to hand out came from Mel’s Desk. In the comments someone mentioned an idea for using them in a modified version of “There’s a Spider on the Floor,” and from there my mind jumped to the song Leaves are Falling from Jbrary and I ended up with this:
Winter Snowflakes (tune: London Bridge)
Winter snowflakes, falling down
Falling down, falling down
Winter snowflakes, falling down
And landing on your __________ (repeat with head, legs, stomach, etc.)
For playtime, we did our usual bubbles and toys, plus a bin of “snow” to scoop and stir: instant mashed potatoes! I have seen this idea a few different places, and after another local children’s librarian mentioned how fun it is for babies, I gave it a try. It was a big hit with our 16 month old attendee, and I’ll pull it out again next month.
The whole plan:
Opening Song: Hi, Hello (tume: London Bridge)
Hi, hello and how are you? How are you, how are you?
Hi, hello and how are you? How are you today?
repeat with: Hi, hello and how is _____?
Introduction: Hello, everyone! It’s the last baby time of 2015! We’ll be reading some winter stories and doing a few winter themed activities. If the babies would rather look around or crawl around the room, that’s just fine! They are still hearing lots of rhymes and songs and words.
Book: Baby Loves Winter
Song: Winter Snowflakes (with laminated snowflakes)
Winter snowflakes, falling down
Falling down, falling down
Winter snowflakes, falling down
And landing on your __________
Rhyme: Acka Backa
Acka backa soda cracker,
Acka backa boo!
Acka backa soda cracker,
Up goes you!
[repeat first three lines]
I love you!
Song: Boots, Coat, Scarf and Hat (source: Mel’s Desk)
Boots and coat, scarf and hat, scarf and hat
Boots and coat, scarf and hat, scarf and hat
In wintertime we dress like that!
Boots and coat, scarf and hat, scarf and hat
Song: Oh Children, Ring Your Bells by Kathy Reid-Naiman (with bells)
Song: Jingle Bells by Raffi (with bells)