This is a great baby-centered activity to do in a small group or at a meeting. There are two ways to do it. One uses a finger as the baby and the other is using a thumb as the baby. Hold out the palm of one hand, or hold a thumbs up gesture, and sing, to the tune of “Oats Peas Beans and Barley Grow”:
Now’s the time to go to sleep,
Put the baby in the bed lay a finger on the open palm, or hold up a thumb
Cover the baby in the bed close other hand around the finger, or tuck thumb into its hand so the fingers are enclosing it
And kiss the baby goodnight kiss somewhere around the tip of finger
First you might listen closely to see if she’s asleep, then and pull out the finger/thumb, hold it up and wiggle it and go ‘Waa! Waa!” “Oh, no, the baby’s crying! What should we do?”
Then you start with one child, asking for suggestions (like “Give her a bottle!”) and add it to the song:
Now’s the time to go to sleep,
Put the baby in the bed
Cover the baby in the bed
Give the baby a bottle
And kiss the baby goodnight kiss somewhere around the tip of finger/near thumb
…and repeat with every child’s suggestion, adding them on so the song gets longer and longer, until you finally kiss the baby goodnight and say “listen! she finally went to sleep!”
