I'm a Little Kawaii Teapot

I bet you have heard this one before, but do you know the second verse? I didn't! 

I'm a little teapot, short and stout,

Here is my handle, here is my spout. 

When I get all steamed up, hear me shout,

Tip me over and pour me out!

I'm a clever teapot, yes it's true

Let me show you what I can do

I can change my handle and my spout.

Just tip me over and pour me out!

Nursery rhyme remixes remind me of the books of Jane Cabrera. She does such an awesome job of extending traditional songs. Her bright, bold illustrations are pretty great as well. I use her jungle-fied "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "The Wheels on the Bus" over and over at storytime. They can be shortened for toddlers or read in full with the preschoolers.

And look, here is a nonplussed aloe plant.

Thanks to Jessica from Storytime in the Stacks for hosting this weeks:

Tick Tock, Tick Tock

This is my absolute favorite babytime rhyme. First you start out gently swinging the baby like a pendulum. Then "Stop!" and figure out what time it is. 

To finish, you lift the baby up in the air and say "Cuckoo!" for each hour. Repeat.

Start with one o'clock and keep going until your arms are too tired. Members of the armed services are welcome to continue to 24 o'clock.

Toddlers love it too! Have them rock back and forth and then jump up at the end while shouting "Cuckoo!"

Here is the rhyme:

Tick tock, tick tock, 

I'm a little cuckoo clock. 

Tick tock, tick tock. Stop! 

What time is it? 

It's one o'clock…Cuckoo!

Thanks to Bridget from What is Bridget Reading? for Hosting this week's Flannel Friday!

Bubble Bubble Pop!

This one came from the folks at jbrary. Watch them sing it to learn the motions. Despite its blatant perpetuation of science myth (that fish make air bubbles when breathing), I love using this at storytime.

Toot Toot, Beep Beep: Traffic Light [aka. Ignition (remix) Pt. 2]

Emma Garcia's books are always a big hit at Toddler storytime. Too bad they are currently only "in print" in the board book format. Most of my library's large format picture book copies are getting pretty ratty due to high circulation. I made these to bring "Toot Toot, Beep Beep" off the page and onto to the feltboard.

Giddy Up Kawaii Horsie

Babies love bouncing. These two traditional nursery rhymes give you an opportunity to make that happen. Bounce child on your knee, then switch to the other knee at the end of the rhyme and repeat. 

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.”