Our library’s weekly children’s programs – Rhyme Time, Story Time, and Playgroup – are all open to kids from birth to age five, but until this year we didn’t have anything specifically for babies. In late February, I introduced Baby Lapsit Storytime, for babies from birth to 12 months or walking, and people started coming right away!

Flier made in Canva

As always, Jbrary served as an excellent resource, as did Mel’s Desk, the Show Me Librarian, KCLS, the book Baby Storytime Magic by Kathy McMillan and Christine Kirker, and of course, the Massachusetts youth librarian listserv (a.k.a. massyac).

From these sources, as well as my own favorite board books and memories of the baby storytime I attended at the Belmont Public Library several years ago, I put together a 20-30 minute program of songs, rhymes, books, and early literacy tips (the PLA Early Literacy Calendar has lots of these; I hand out a copy of each month’s calendar and suggestions to those who want one). I collected baby-friendly toys (no choking hazards, easy to wipe down or wash) from our current collection of stuff, plus leftovers from the Toy Swap; I also use the play scarves from Rhyme Time (and bring them home with me to wash).

Room setup: Vacuum the rug and set the bean bags up in a circle. Pull some chairs over too for those who are more comfortable sitting. There’s room for “stroller parking” in the back. The box of baby toys stays on the table until after the more structured part of the program happens. Extra copies of board books go on the little side table next to my chair, and I set up extra books along the window ledge (other board books, picture books for babies, poetry, etc.); if they’re in easy reach, people will check them out!

• Welcome and introductions: We start whenever at least one, but ideally two, baby/caregiver pair(s) has/have arrived. Because of what I call “baby time,” this isn’t always precisely at 10am.
• Song: “Well Hello Everybody, Can You Touch Your Nose?“
• Rhyme/fingerplay: “Open Shut Them”
• Early literacy tip (e.g. rhymes and songs are important for babies because they slow down words and help babies hear the different sounds – an important preliteracy skill)
• Song cube* song (ABCs, Itsy-Bitsy Spider, I’m A Little Teapot, Where Is Thumbkin?, etc.)
• Rhyme/bounce: “The Grand Old Duke of York” (usually twice)
• Book (see image and list below)**
• Rhyme/play: Peekaboo to the tune of Frere Jacques
• Song: “Head and Shoulders” by Ella Jenkins: we do head and shoulders, knees and toes, back and belly.
• Early literacy tip (e.g. fingerplays help babies build the small muscles in their hands, preparing them to grip crayons so they can draw and write)
  
• Scarf/rhyme: “Popcorn Kernels in the Pot” and/or “Jack in the Box”
• Rhyme/bounce: “Trot, Trot to Boston” (I learned this one as an adult, it’s pretty New England specific)
• Song: “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”
• Goodbye and closing: announce dates of next baby storytimes, and anything else interesting coming up – for example, we have a babywearing expert visiting next month, and a babies and kids clothing swap later this summer.
• Play, socialize, and help! Put the toys on the rug and offer copies of the early literacy calendar. It’s so important for caregivers to have time to talk with each other, to exchange tips, to commiserate, to share information with each other. During this time I often play with babies, read them an extra book, offer info about library resources, or go and get specific books from our shelves.

*I got the song cube idea from another librarian friend. I make mine out of empty tissue boxes, paper, marker, crayons, and clear packing tape. Each side has a picture that corresponds to a simple, well-known song, e.g. a teapot for “I’m A Little Teapot,” a spider for “Itsy-Bitsy Spider,” a rowboat for “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” a rocket ship for “Zoom zoom zoom, We’re going to the moon.” You can see a couple of examples from this Step Into Storytime post.

Visual book list made in LibraryAware

**A week or so ahead of time, I request a board book or full-size picture book for myself, and extra copies of the board book for caregivers to read along if they want. Here are the books we’ve read so far:

• Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury
• Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers and Marla Frazee
• More, More, More Said the Baby by Vera B. Williams
• Happy Hippo, Angry Duck by Sandra Boynton
• Alma, Head to Toe by Juana Martinez-Neal (this one is bilingual, English/Spanish; there is also Alma and Her Family, Alma at Home, and Where Is Pajarito?
• Jamberry by Bruce Degen
• How Kind! by Mary Murphy

Baby storytime has been an absolute delight, and I’m excited to keep it going. I’m grateful for the advice of other librarians and early literacy specialists, and to the caregivers for bringing their babies to the library. It’s never too early to begin reading with babies (or to sign up for 1000 Books Before Kindergarten!).