Bibliobop-AKA-Library Dance Party!

I love to sing and dance so it's no surprise that Bibliobop is one of my favorite library programs! Play music and sing and dance with kids for about 45 minutes? Sign me up!

Previously I've used a bunch of CDs and changed them out with each song but finally I have a speaker and an iPad to use for this program, so I felt pretty high tech with my most recent Bibliobop! (Ha! It doesn't take much!) Although I originally advertised Bibliobop for ages 2-6, it's really open  to all ages and in the Fall I'm changing the description to say infants-age 6. I usually end up with babies and toddler anyway and really, why not include them? They can dance too!

The set up for Bibliobop is pretty simple. I have a display of music themed books and I have all my items I need up front. I put out a few chairs for the adults in the back (but I encourage them to dance too!) and I clear the floor. I always read a book to start and take a book break in the middle of dancing (mostly because Miss Sarah likes having a break in the middle!) I plan out my music and this time around I added everything into a playlist on iTunes and let it play which was awesome. I plan out ahead of time which songs I want to use for scarves, instruments, parachute, or any other special items but other than that we just dance. Some songs are action songs with movements telling us what to do and others are free dance songs-we just dance along to the music. I've started adding in more new music which the kids love (I used Let It Go with the parachute once and they freaked out!)

Here's the most recent playlist/book list I used:

Opening Book: Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin-always a popular pick and I chose this one to start since our opening songs had a rap style and the song in this book is similar.

Now it's time for the rules of Bibliobop!

#1-Everyone dance in the middle of the room on the dancefloor, not by the doors, tables, or chairs. Also, be sure to watch out for your friends as they dance!

#2-The big people in the room dance too-Miss Sarah isn't the only one dancing today! (I especially loved when I was 9 months pregnant and going in for an induction two days later and still did Bibliobop-my adults had no excuse not to dance along!) (Now, sometimes the adults will stop dancing about halfway through, and while it's usually OK, there have been a few times where it's become a distraction because they end up chatting and then the kids stop dancing or run around-and then into each other. To fix this, I give the adults a few songs of a break and then when we're close to the end, I stop the music and say, "Oh no! We forgot one of the rules of Bibliobop! We forgot rule #2-big people dance too! We only have two more songs left and we need to make them good ones. Everyone turn around and look at your big person and ask 'will you please come dance with me?'" The kids love it and it works like magic to get the adults dancing again.)

#3-The most important rule-HAVE FUN! 

And now we dance!

A Tooty Ta by Ray Remesch-I don't know where I've been, but I only recently learned about this song! It's hilarious to watch the kids and I think it's going to become a storytime regular!

Following Directions with Exercise by Mark D Pencil-A terrible name, but the kids love it. Our outreach department uses this with school age kids and they go crazy over it.

If You're Happy and You Know It-Carol Hammett-It's a classic! I use this version because it's slow enough for my little ones.

Happy by Pharrell-The kids get so excited when this comes on because they recognize it. But beware-it will be stuck in your head for days!

Bee by Bari Koral Family Rock Band-This was my scarf song. I had the kids pretend their scarves were bees. During the slow sections we laid down and rested and then we heard a buzzing. During the fast part we danced and waved our scarves. I had one little girl comment that this was her favorite song of the day.

Marching Medley by Ralph's World-A great movement song!

Little Blue Car by Jennifer Gasoi-I liked the rhythm of this one for instruments so this was our instrument song

Time for a book break!

This one has a nice bluesy feel to the rhyming text and I had the kids recite "B-A-B-Y" along with me.

Now we dance again!

Dance Freeze Melt by Mr Eric and Mr Michael-The Learning Groove CDs are awesome and this a creative take on the freeze dance that is so much fun.

Mover Music Jump Up by Imagination Movers-another movement song that's great for an activity song

The Fox by Ylvis-My kids still love this one and it's fun to around to this crazy song-plus it just screams storytime, doesn't it?

Mockingbird by Zee Avi-A nice quiet and soft song perfect for the parachute.

Bop Til You Drop by Greg and Steve-Another fun take on the freeze dance this time including fall down.

Give A Hug by Bari Koral Family Rock Band-A nice ending song to give hugs and wave to friends.

Take A Little Nap by Ralph's World-I think this one is so funny I love ending with it!

Phew! By that time it's time to leave and I have successfully completed my cardio workout for the day!

Any song suggestions to use for future dance parties?