Entertaining babies

So how do you entertain your little ones? What songs do you sing? What games do you play? There are tons of sites with preschool stuff on them but does anyone have any sites with things like songs for younger babies? I can't remember the words to songs from 11 years ago when my youngest daughter was a baby LOL I feel like most days the boys are really bored lol I want to make sure they have a lot of stimulation and just don't feel I am doing enough.

Dianna

 

I constantly feel like I am not doing enough with the babies. When I am quiet around them I feel guilty! Mine really like eency weency spider - I can sing that song whenever they are fussy and they instantly stop and watch me. They actually like any kind of songs. I found a dvd of baby songs and they LOVE it, they watch it very intently. That DVD is good too because it has the words on the bottom of the screen so that I learn them and then I can sing them without the dvd (and if I don't remember the words I just make them up anyway!).
Games- peekaboo, round and round the garden, making funny animal sounds.

They like their highchairs so we spend lots of time in those, and that way I can read them a few books and they don't chew on them!

uhm....running out of ideas too - curious what others do...

 

I'm with you. I don't know many (any?) kid songs, and I'm a terrible singer. However, my boys think it's hilarious when I sing. Here are some of their favorites (you will see how few kid songs I know...)

Theme songs to Happy Days (child of the 70's), the Beverly Hillbillies, and Mr. Ed (I change the words sometimes)
The theme to Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers (except I substitute the word "feet" for "people" because they are very into their feet right now).
Day-O (that banana song--I started singing that one when we introduced bananas--Hey, Mr. Baby-man, tally me banana--you get it--they love it when I do accents)
Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes (in English and French--thank you high school French class--they think the "dance" is hilarious)
Splish, splash, I was taking a bath....(you can guess the application of this one)
Pop Goes the Weasel (except we substitute "Vin Diesel" for Weasel and the boys names for "Monkey"--kinder to animals, and we don't think Vin Diesel would mind)

I also make up a lot of songs. None of them are very good. Lots of baby "rap" that begins with "My name is (Finn/Theo) and I'm here to say, I like to rock it out the baby way" followed by a few verses describing whatever we're doing and some very poorly executed mommy beat box, which they love--big giggles. We are a very silly family. It's funny--I used to be a very dignified person; but I will make a complete a$$ out of myself to get them to laugh.

Games we play include "Sit up/stand up." Both my boys like to stand up. So I lay them down (one at a time) on a blanket and let them grab my fingers. I pull them up to sitting and then to standing, then back to sitting and lying. While doing this I sing "Sit up. Stand up. Stand up for baby rights. Sit down. Lie down. Don't give up the fight." (Bob Marley--revised). They will do this for a long time. They also like "elevator," I raise them over my head up three "floors" while counting. Then I say "Going down" and bring them down and kiss them on the nose and say "ding." This one is not sustainable; but it is a great arm/shoulder workout. I can do about 20 reps per baby of this one now. They also like to play airplane on my legs (or "Superbaby" as we call it). Other than those, mine will play with soft blocks, stacking rings (they don't stack yet, but they like to unstack) while we practice sitting up or do tummy time. Babycenter.com has some good developmental games organized by age that require little or no equipment. Some of them are really dumb; but I've gotten a few winners off that site--there's tons there. One that I got that's been good is to sit them up facing you and hold their hands. You sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" while rocking forwards and backwards (in a rowing motion, kind of). I usually pick them up when I hit "dream." I was surprised at how early they were able to do this one, and it has to be good for their back strength.

Reading back over this, I realize that I sound like a complete idiot; but my boys are happy--so I guess that's what matters.

 

My babies love Patty Cake.

Patty Cake Patty Cake, Bakers Man, Bake me a cake as fast as you can. Roll it up, roll it up, and put it in the pan. ( I tickle them a lot when I say put it in the pan.)

 

http://www.kididdles.com/lyrics/lullabies.html

 

We play peek a boo, patty cake, this little piggy went to market. They also love when I read to them.
I have started trying to get them to play with each other more so, that I'm not always on the floor playing with them.
Songs that I sing.... I bet they wish that they could have ear plugs but, the poor things love it when I sing: twinkle twinkle little star,
3 little birds, I love you you love me, and Songs from Yo Gabba Gabba: I love flowers, Balloons Balloons make me Happy,Keep trying don't give up,Don't bite your friends. They LOVE Yo Gabba Gabba so we DVR the episodes and the songs just stick in my head and that's mostly what I sing to them.

Good Luck your doing a GREAT job!

 

Thanks everyone

Oh we love Yo Gabba Gabba now. I dvr it too. I love the music part. My husband laughs b/c I go around singing songs now lol

Thanks for that link Mary

Great how so many make up songs and stuff.

One thing I realized that is great about twins...there are two people who think I have the best singing voice ...even though it is horrible LOL

Dianna

 

Jenn,

You don't sounds like an idiot at all. You sound like a great mom, your kids will be so happy. My mom was a lot like you and my friends loved coming over to visit because she was so much fun. We love when she comes to visit because she entertains the babies so well, they love her. I have such wonderful memories of growing up because of her, and so will your kids.

Jen

 

Same here, when I don't remember words I google them. In fact, I just googled the Old lady song, the one about "there was a woman that swallowed a fly, I don't know why she swallowed a fly" that song. They love that one.

 

QUOTE(Dianna @ Aug 20 2008, 02:13 PM) [snapback]939202[/snapback]
Thanks everyone

Oh we love Yo Gabba Gabba now. I dvr it too. I love the music part. My husband laughs b/c I go around singing songs now lol


Dianna


:lol: the songs are very catchy

 

My boys LOVE songs...here are their favorites...

Patty Cake
Yankee Doodle
Eency Weency Spider
This Old Man
Frog Went A-Courting
The Name Game (Finley, Finley, Bo-Binley, Banana Fana Fo Finley.....)

Plus I turn Nursery Rhymes into songs and they love:

Humpty Dumpty
Three Blind Mice
Jack and Jill

And then I, also, make up a lot of songs to sing to them to describe what we are doing - "Finley's playing with a toy, playing with a toy, playing with a toy. Finley is such a good boy...la la la la la." etc. Pretty silly, but they like it.

 

Lucas is not a good name for the name game...his name is not good for rhyming....Lucas...mucus..pucas(not even a word) LOL

Dianna

 

QUOTE(JennTx @ Aug 20 2008, 10:20 AM) [snapback]938875[/snapback]
Theme songs to Happy Days (child of the 70's), the Beverly Hillbillies, and Mr. Ed (I change the words sometimes)
The theme to Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers (except I substitute the word "feet" for "people" because they are very into their feet right now).
Day-O (that banana song--I started singing that one when we introduced bananas--Hey, Mr. Baby-man, tally me banana--you get it--they love it when I do accents)
"Sit up. Stand up. Stand up for baby rights. Sit down. Lie down. Don't give up the fight." (Bob Marley--revised).



lmao!!! your post cracked me up!


and dianna... lucas, mucus, pucus? lol!!! poor kid! hahaha and my girls' names don't really rhyme with anything, either!


and let's see... we play peek a boo, hide and seek, i sing songs (horrible singer)... they LOVE "5 little speckled frogs" i've been singing it since they were about 8 weeks old! and i sing songs to the rhythym of "can't touch this" like, "it's jammy time duh nuh nuh nuh ch ch nuh nuh ch ch nuh nuh it's jammy time!...." they clap and sing to that one lol and for lunch, "it's yummy time!.... we're gonna eat our yummies, and then we won't be dummies..." (whatever gets them to open their mouths to eat! ) i read to them (they LOVE being read to), i teach them colors and numbers... when i cook i have them in teh excersaucers in the kitchen and i talk to them while i cook and i show them what i'm making and explain to them what i'm doing (it really passes time, but i really need to stop making all the cookies, cuz it's not helping with my weightloss... )