"A complete guide to playing with babies and young children" ~ Under Five Magazine
Interactive Play with Playsongs Books and Audio for Babies and Toddlers
You can play with your baby from birth with our interactive playsongs and rhymes. Peekaboo, fingerplays, knee-bouncers, lullabies ~ we've got them all.
Fuel the energy of a child-minding day ~ changing a nappy, getting out and about, teatime fun, splashing in the bath. What a day! Time to get to sleep with a crooning lullaby.
Skipping names
I loved the thwack on the ground of the big playground skipping rope, when I was a kid. It was heavy, and took two kids to 'caw' it. We played many different games, but this one I learned much later from Eilidh, whose school playground was further south in Fife. It reads a lot harder than it sounds, so be sure to have a listen. It works for everyone's name, so change it to suit your baby or toddler's name. It has a lovely, kneebouncing beat to it, and that's how we use it ~ that or as a bobbing dance with a babe-in-arms:
Eilidh bombailie
Stickalailie fyfailie
Fyfailie stickalailie
That’s how you spell
Eilidh!
Dressing Song ~ All by yourself
from the Playsongs Grand Day Out collection
Zips, buttons, which way up, which way round ~ all those problems for a little toddler to master, just to get a coat on. We've got songs and rhymes to help with getting dressed. Here's an encouraging one from Playsongs Grand Day Out.
Dance ~ Five Little Owls
from the Five Little Owls collection
Dancing with a babe-in-arms, or hand in hand with a just-standing toddler is one of the great joys of playing together. Our collections are full of dance opportunities and this one comes from Five Little Owls, our counting song collection.
Fingerplay ~ Mousie Brown
from the Playsongs Grand Exercise collection
The dexterity to manage a fingerplay develops slowly, but you can caress baby's fingers, and tap your toddlers fingertips to support them as they learn how to work their fingers independently. Our collections all have fingerplays. Some are so simple; others have hand actions like this one from Playsongs Grand Exercise.
Croon ~ The Mailboat
from the Sleepytime Playsongs collection
Croons are a simple, repetitive sing-song type of lullaby. They have a calming effect on a little baby. They also have a calming effect on the parent or carer so they're mutually benefitial, particularly on those wakeful nights. All our collections of songs and rhymes include croons like this from Sleepytime Playsongs.
