{"id":33252,"date":"2025-06-24T00:01:22","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T04:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=33252"},"modified":"2025-05-30T10:20:48","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T14:20:48","slug":"bounce-and-tickle-songs-for-baby-storytime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2025\/06\/bounce-and-tickle-songs-for-baby-storytime\/","title":{"rendered":"Bounce and Tickle Songs for Baby Storytime!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I started doing Baby Storytime at my library last year and I will admit that this was a cute, but challenging journey. I have been so used to toddlers and preschoolers being so engaged that I had forgotten that babies work differently and therefore need a much different storytime. The key to a baby storytime is lots of songs, from bouncing songs to prop songs<\/a>. Here are some bounce and tickle songs that my baby storytime families love!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Clop, Clop, Clop, Clop, Clop<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Who doesn\u2019t love horses? This is the perfect bounce song for babies, as it incorporates movement, funny sounds, and locks into their imaginations by having them \u201cride\u201d a horse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clop, clop, clop, clop, clop\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go and never stop.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hop along my little pony <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where it’s smooth and where it’s stony. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Make clicking noises)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit: Jbrary<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Hippopotamus Got on a City Bus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

More animal-themed bounce songs! This is a great song for babies because it includes the bounce and other movements, including a hug from the caregiver. The children that are around 18 months old love to make the sounds of the sheep and cow, as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A hip, a hip, a hippopotamus <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Got on, got on, got on a city bus <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And all, and all, and all the people said, <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You’re squishing us!” (hug baby) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sheep, a sheep, a sheep <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

got on a bus <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

and all, and all, and all the people said, <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Baaaack up!” <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A cow, a cow, a cow <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

got on a bus <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And all, and all, and all the people said, <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Mooooove over!”<\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit: Jbrary<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On My Toe There is a Flea<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is actually my favorite baby storytime song! Before singing this song, I always have the babies and caregivers point out the body parts (\u201cWhere are your toes? Okay, let\u2019s work our way up and point at our stomachs.\u201d). This is a great way to get them ready for the song and familiarize them with body parts. The kids love this song, especially the part with the stomach, because they get a nice tickle there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On my toe there is a flea,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now he\u2019s climbing up on me,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Past my stomach, past my nose,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On my head where my hair grows.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On my head there is a flea<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now he\u2019s climbing down on me,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Past my stomach, past my knee,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On my toe,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take THAT, you flea!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit: King County Library System<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slowly, Slowly, Very Slowly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is another fun tickle song that the families enjoy. It is especially fun for the babies because they anticipate the tickling. Just like the title implies, the caregiver would move their fingers slowly up the baby\u2019s body. When the song gets quick, the baby is tickled and laughs ensue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slowly, slowly, very slowly<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creeps the garden snail<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slowly, slowly, very slowly<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Up the garden rail<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quickly, quickly, very quickly<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Runs the little mouse<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quickly, quickly, very quickly<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Into his little house!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit: Princeton Public Library<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are your favorite bounce and tickle songs for baby storytime?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

This post is intended to address the\u00a0following\u00a0ALSC Competencies<\/a>:\u00a0\u00a0I: Commitment to Client Group and III: Programming Skills. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I started doing Baby Storytime at my library last year and I will admit that this was a cute, but challenging journey. I have been so used to toddlers and preschoolers being so engaged that I had forgotten that babies work differently and therefore need a much different storytime. The key to a baby storytime is lots of songs, from bouncing songs to prop songs. Here are some bounce and tickle songs that my baby storytime families love!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":374,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[2581,96,1],"tags":[2533,245,1679,1488,117],"class_list":["post-33252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogger-ariel-barreras","category-early-literacy","category-uncategorized","tag-babies-and-toddlers","tag-early-literacy-2","tag-programming-skills","tag-songs","tag-storytime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/374"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33252\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}