Kawaii Chicken in the Barnyard

Another rhyme about biting. As little as most adults like being bitten by children, there sure are plenty of rhymes encouraging parents to bite their kids. It's a pretty weird double standard. I guess it is never to early to teach kids about the hypocrisies and contradictions of life in the modern world.

On a less morose note, I've been loving the Caspar Babypants song, "Chicken in the Cornbread." Me and my coworker, Amanda are borderline groupies.

Kawaii Worms Up!

Worms Up! It's the code worm. 

No matter where you say it, you know that you'll be heard.

W.O.R.M. Up!

There are all kinds of baby rhymes: tickles, bounces, fingerplays, peek-a-boo... "Worms Up" is an example from the genre "Baby Biting Rhymes." No one knows why caregivers like to bite babies...just make sure you don't draw blood.

Two Little Bluebirds Sitting on a Hill- variations

I love how the birds look like ears on the hill. Yes, the green thing in the middle is supposed to be a hill. And it is not so happy about birds standing on its head!

At the beginning of my career, we did this rhyme with props, handing out little laminated bird cutouts for kids to chew and drool on during storytime. The thought of those slimy little avian disease vectors gives me the heebie jeebies. Nowadays, the kids just hold up their fingers to be the “birds.”

The Grand Old Captain Kirk

I found this awesome variation of "The Grand Old Duke of York" while looking for movement rhymes on the scoutsongs.com website. It is never too early to indoctrinate your baby into geekiness! Here is my adaptation for baby storytime:

Oh, the grand old Captain Kirk

bounce to rhythm

He had ten thousand men

He beamed them up to the Enterprise

lift baby up

Then he beamed them down again

bring back down
And when they were up, they were up

lift baby up 

And when they were down, they were down

bring back down

And when they were only halfway up,

hug

They were nowhere to be found.

spin in circle
insert joke about "redshirts"

This rhyme reminds me of my most prized possesion, this shirt:

Thanks to Wendy at Flannelboard Fun for hosting this week's:

Flannel Friday 2/17/2017

Hey fantasic flannelboard fanatics! 

This week:

Kathryn from Fun with Friends at Storytime has some amazingly detailed Koalas!

Kate from Felt Board Magic has "5 Little Snowmen" waiting to find out what happens to solid water when it gets warm.

Laura from One for the Books has "Five Little Owls" 

and "Something in the Nighttime"

Shawn from Read, Rhyme, Sing has "Dog Bones!"

And from me? Here is a fat cat:

Next week, Flannel Friday will be hosted by Wendy at Flannel Board Fun.

Need more information about Flannel Friday?  Visit the Blog and Facebook!  Want even more ideas?  Check out Flannel Friday on Pinterest!

Jill be Nimble

Gender-swapping the names from traditional nursery rhymes is an important aspect in my quest for storytime equality. Jill can jump just as well as Jack, yo.

Another fun variation is using the child's name instead of Jack or Jill. Rhymes are more fun when your kid is the star!

My Heart is Like a Zoo

Valentine's Day is coming. I adapted some images from Michael Hall's "My Heart is Like a Zoo" and added actions for use at my toddler storytime.