Book Babies – Birthday Box
Book Babies
Birthday Box
It’s baby’s birthday and he got a great toy… in a huge box. Wait! Don’t put that box in the recycling bin just yet. That box can be your baby’s favorite toy, and it’s the only toy that will “grow” with him. Look below for fun box-themed ideas that will help your baby learn and grow.
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Ages 2-5
Welcome Songs
Here We Are Together
Here we are together, together, together! Oh, here we are together in our library. There’s (sing names)… Here we are together in our library!
Hello Everybody
Hello everybody let’s clap our hands*, clap our hands, clap our hands. Hello everybody let’s clap our hands today! *pat our head, stretch up high, wiggle our fingers, tickle our knees, kick our feet, bounce up high!
S, T, R, W, P
(Sing while pointing to each finger on your child’s hand.) Sing, talk, read, write, play! Sing, talk, read write, play! Sing, talk, read, write, play! Sing, talk, read, write, play each day!
Sing, Talk, Read, Write, Play
Play Tip
A cardboard box is a blank canvas for cognitive and social development. “Open-ended and free exploration plays a very important role in learning. When we give children the freedom and opportunity to explore, create, fail and reassess, we are helping them to form connections in the brain. All engaging experiences – even ones from cardboard boxes – help children learn about the world around them and how they influence it.”
Activity
Make a tunnel from a large cardboard box by opening both ends. Place the child at one end of the tunnel. You sit at the opposite end. Peek your face in the tunnel and say, “Hi!” Then lean away from the tunnel (so the child can’t see you) and say, “Bye!” Does the child try to communicate with you by crawling to find you, or by making sounds to copy your “hi” and “bye”? If your child isn’t mobile, you can use the box to prop them with a blanket and their favorite toys in the box. You can also push them around on the floor while making car, boat, and train noises.
Books Presented
The Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli
An imaginative young child has a wonderful time playing with a box he receives for his birthday.
The Happy Little Yellow Box by David A. Carter
This highly interactive novelty book follows a friendly yellow box as he journeys high and low, near and far—until finally resting in a spot that is “just right.”
Thank You Bear by Greg Foley
Despite the criticism of others, a bear finds the perfect gift for his mouse friend.
Songs, Rhymes, and Fingerplays
Did You Ever See a Baby
Did you ever see a baby, (have your child sitting on your lap)
A baby, a baby?
Did you ever see a baby,
Go this way and that? (rock from side to side)
Go this way and that way, (forward and back)
And that way and this way. (side to side)
Did you ever see a baby,
Go this way and that? (forward and back)
Rhyme: Here is a Box
Here is a box, rough and brown
Let’s set it down, on the ground
Look inside and what do I see
I see a (insert object/animal here) looking at me!
– Sturgiskids.wikifoundry.com
Flannel Rhyme: Five Brown Boxes
(Tune: Five Little Ducks)
5 brown boxes I got today
Let’s stack them up so we can play.
One falls down from the very top.
Now there’s 4, but we won’t STOP!
4 brown boxes…
3 brown boxes…
2 brown boxes I got today, let’s stack it up so we can play.
One falls down from the very top.
Now there’s one… so we’ll have to STOP!
Diaper Changing with Sign Language:
Baby Needs a Diaper Change
(Tune: London Bridge is Falling Down)
Baby needs a diaper change
Diaper change,
Diaper change
Baby needs a diaper change
Please and thank you!
Here are the Sign language signs:
Baby: (rock arms in cradle back and forth)
Diaper: (pinch fingers like clothes pins next to face)
Change: (wring hands in a fist)
Please: (rub chest)
Thank you: (hand to chin and out)
Song: Baby in the Box
(Tune: The Wheels on the Bus)
Baby in her box goes up and down, up and down, up and down.
Baby in her box goes up and down, then he turns around.
Baby in her box goes side to side, side to side, side to side.
Baby in her box goes side to side, then he waves bye bye.
– Adapted from Sunflowerstorytime.com
Signing Songs
“Baby”
“Diaper”
“Change“
“Please”
“Thank You”
Additional Books
What to Do With a Box by Jane Yolen
If you give a child a box, who can tell what will happen next? It may become a library or a boat. It could set the scene for a fairy tale or a wild expedition.
