Community Singing and Story Time

There are a group of wonderful mommy's in my community and once a week we get together for singing / story time with all of our kiddo's.

Mom's can sign up to either host, bring a snack, or read stories.

This past week it was at my house.

The kids always have a fun time, and it is good for the mom's to be able to catch up as well.

Each week the person who hosts picks the music activity.

Here are some that we've done in the past:

Putting scraps of paper on the wall with songs written on the back - each child gets a turn to pick the next song.

Introducing instruments: one of my neighbors plays the violin, so she talked about all of the different parts on her violin and accompanied us while we sang.  She even sent the kids home with a paper violin for them to cut out and "practice" with themselves.

Those that have musical toys or mini instruments pass them out to the kids so they can practice playing, as well as setting the beat to different songs.

Other ideas were introducing the kids to rounds, patterns and beats.

Each week it is a little bit different, but we always follow the same pattern.

We sing songs for the first half hour or so,

Then we set out blankets for the kids to sit on.

They get to have snacks while someone reads to them.

After that, they play with whatever toys are available at the hosts' house.

Here is a list of some of the songs that we sing:

• ABC Nursery Rhymes
• Baby Fish
• Beehive
• Bingo
• Book of Mormon Stories
• Bringing Home My Baby Bumblebee
• Days of the Week
• Do Your Ears Hang Low
• Fire Truck
• Five Little Ducks
• Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
• Hinges
• I Had a Little Turtle (Tiny Tim)
• If You're Happy and You Know It
• Itsy-Bitsy Spider
• London Bridges
• My Horse and Buggy
• Old McDonald had a Farm
• Poly Put the Kettle On
• Popcorn Popping
• Ring Around the Rosies
• Row Row Row Your Boat
• Speckled Frogs
• Suzie has a hat (Introduction song)
• The Grand Old Duke of York
• Three Little Monkeys
• Thumbkin
• To Market To Market
• Two Little Blackbirds
• Wake Up Me
• When Dogs Wake Up in the Morning
• Will You Stand Up (the welcome song)
• Wise Man and Foolish Man

This has been a huge help for my kids personally on many levels, especially with social skills.

Even if you don't have a group of mom's that want to participate, music is a fun way to play and interact with your kids by yourself.

The more we sing and read at home, the more they want to do it!