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Start the new year with a tap, clap, and bang! Let's Make Music by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman from the All Are Welcome board book series is the perfect baby storytime book for exploring music, instruments, and movement.
Both babies and their caregivers will love the rhythm and opportunity to clap, shake, toot, and boom along with you. Work one or more of these elements into your next Baby Storytime for more engagement and fun.
How to Make Your Read-Aloud Interactive
The beauty of this book is the built-in opportunities to encourage attendees to "clap your hands. Tap your feet...Beat the drums!" and more. You can provide specific instructions to caregivers ahead of time, such as "Let's practice patting baby's hands on the floor like we're beating a drum...shaking our bodies like maracas, etc. " so they can perform those movements during the story OR read/sing the book and let caregivers and babies create their own movements.
Pass Out Instruments
If you've got shaker eggs or musical instruments in your storytime collection, this is the perfect book for utilizing them. Pass them out before you read or wait until afterward to be enjoyed with a follow-up song.
My favorite musical instrument set for babies is the Baby Band Rhythm Set from Lakeshore Learning. They're ergonomically designed for little hands, easy to wipe clean, and in my experience, have endured years of heavy banging and dropping.
Instruments Song
Keep the fun going with this instrument version of "London Bridge" and encourage caregivers to gently tap their instruments on the baby's toes and hands as instructed in the lyrics. If you distributed instruments, shakers, or bells to use with the read-aloud, you're all set to transition into the song!
Tap Your Instruments
(Tune: London Bridge)
Tap your instrument on your toes
On your toes, on your toes
Tap your instruments on your toes
And make some music with me
Tap your instrument on your hand…
Shake your instrument to and fro…
Playtime Activities
Ending Baby Storytime with free play provides children and their caregivers an excellent opportunity to explore and socialize. Here are great play activities to enjoy with Let's Make Music:
Homemade Baby Guitar
If you've got a bread pan and rubber bands, you've got a DIY guitar! Set out one or two for babies to play with, but demonstrate it to the caregivers first. Ask them to be vigilant, as the rubberbands could come off and pose a choking hazard.
Baby guitars support fine motor development and offer a nice introduction to cause and effect. Plus, it may inspire caregivers to create DIY musical instruments at home. More info and tips about this activity can be found on the blog LaughingKidsLearn.com.
Homemade Shakers
Another easy DIY instrument is the tried and true sensory shaker bottle! Fill an empty plastic bottle with any fun objects, such as beads, pom balls, or pipe cleaners. Just be sure to hot glue the cap back on so baby can't open it. More examples can be found in the blog Little Hands Learning.
Like the homemade guitars, make a few ahead of time to set out for caregivers/babies to enjoy during playtime. OR you could set up a DIY station for caregivers to make a sensory bottle while their little ones play.
More Baby Storytime Books
Let's Make Music pairs beautifully with these other storytime books:
For more information about Baby Storytimes, including a full outline, additional books, songs, rhymes, and prop ideas, visit The Youth Desk's Baby Storytime page!
