Trying to de-code a child’s requests and language is sometimes difficult – especially if the child is only referring to “Erin’s song”.   So, to help the parents and caregivers of our classroom, we are going to share a few of the resources supported by YouTube that we use in our room for story time, dramatic play, and nap time.

Storytime begins with “Erin’s song”. It’s called Good Morning Song by The Kiboomers.  The favorite set of books we are interested in now is the Barefoot Books series.  The publishers celebrate art and stories that open the hearts and minds of children from all walks of life, focusing on themes that encourage independence of spirit, enthusiasm for learning and respect for the world’s diversity.  The books come along with a CD where the story has been set to music.  If you would like to listen to the music, you can also find them on YouTube.  At the moment, our 3 favorite books and story songs are The Farmyard Jamboree, Walking through the Jungle, and The Journey Home from Grandpa’s.

With all of the cold weather that we’ve been having lately, we have been looking for different ways to move our bodies around our room. Sometimes these songs are requested, but most often we use them to provide a safer alternative to the sporadic running and chasing (that most likely breaks out from cabin fever).  Once again, we turn to YouTube for these 2 favorite songs: We Are The Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner; and, Listen and Move by TheKidscartoons.

Nap time transition transpires in many small steps. There’s the scraping of plates, washing of hands and face, and then the removal of our shoes.  The children then find their way to their beds as the lights are dimmed and stuffies or blankets are cuddled.  Before the lights are mostly out, we like to listen to a few stories that we find on YouTube.   They are:  any of the Pete the Cat series, and Good Night Moon.  During nap time, we like to listen to instrumental music that we also find on YouTube by searching for 8 Hour Sleep Music.

We hope that the information we have shared with you today helps solve some mysterious requests you have gotten at home. If there is anything else you can think of that you would like to know about the resources we use, please do not hesitate to ask next time you see us.

Enjoy the great weather this weekend!

Kerry, Erin and Kaitlin