The Mother Goose on the Loose Blog

Adapting MGOL Programs for Children with Visual Impairments

| children with disabilities, early literacy, Inclusive programming, lapsits, Mother Goose on the Loose, public library programming, Rhyme Time, serving special populations, special needs, Visual impairments
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Julie Ranelli, Children’s Librarian from Queen Anne’s County Free Library in Stevensville, MD just sent in the following question:

I’ve had a blind boy at MGOL for the past two weeks. I have used as many of the adaptations from the Library for the Blind’s training as I could. However, I don’t have birds, so I gave the boy two feathers to hold.

I feel like we do a lot of work with animals that he can’t see. He does enjoy the animal sounds. Would you recommend that I find some small, plush or plastic, animal toys that he could touch while we use puppets or flannel animals?

Any other items that you might recommend that I keep in a special box for him? (I know that I cannot afford extra materials for 30 children at a time.)

This boy responds very well to the program; there is already so much that’s auditory or based on the caregiver’s touch.

Below are  a few of the adaptations that can be made:

  • If the boy has low vision, be sure to use high contrast colors when making felt pieces or when placing them against the background of the flannel board.
  • If you have Audubon birds (http://marketplace.audubon.org/products/audubon-plush-birds-and-squirrels), hand them out during “Two little dickbirds” so he can actually feel the birds and hear the sound they make if he squeezes them for “Two Little Dickey Birds.”
  • During the welcoming comments, add a sentence inviting anyone who needs to sit close to flannel board to move nearer.
  • Describe what you are about to do instead of just relying on everyone paying attention visually. This can be hard since we are used to NOT describing the activities in order to encourage our audience to pay attention and respond to what they see without directions. Also, it requires practice to figure out exactly how to describe a fingerplay. For instance, saying, “Place your hands like this,” won’t work.   It is important to be very specific while using as little words as possible.
  • Try to find some sensory representations for some of the rhymes, such a piece of furry cloth for Baa Baa Black sheep.

 

These are just a few suggestions. I have been privileged to work with both Deborah Margolis and Lori Guenthner (the former and current librarians at the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped) in adapting and running MGOL programs for children of all abilities, and these are just some of the adaptations I have learned from them. I’m sure they have a lot to add so I will invite them to contribute to this thread as well.

In addition, I know there are some Websites that specifically discuss early childhood programming for children of all abilities. For instance, there is a wonderful ALSC blog by Tricia Bohanon Twarogowski about Programming for Children with Special Needs which can be accessed at: http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/?p=800

I’m sure the MGOL community has more suggestions so I invite all of our readers to contribute to this thread!

What can you do if your groups get too big?

| early literacy, Mother Goose on the Loose, Positive Reinforcement, ,
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One of my colleagues reported that Mother Goose on the Loose is going strong at her library. However, she likes having 12-15 children and is finding it overwhelming when over 50 people attend a session (even though two sessions are offered on the same day). She has cut out the interactive part of Humpty Dumpty because there were just too many people for all of them to be patient, especially after sitting through the drum name game and Hickory Dickory Dare.

She asked if I had any tips for staying motivated or dealing with large crowds and I will post my answer to her below:

On one hand, it is great that you are getting so many people. On the other hand, it definately compromises the quality. Is there any possibility of adding in another program so you can keep smaller groups?

The question of large crowds has come up a fair amount frequently. One suggestion is to find a volunteer (another librarian or a friend of the library or one of your friends with free time when your program is taking place.) That person would be in front of the crowd, but they would be sitting on the floor on the other side of the flannel board. When it is time to do the drum game or to pass out instruments or scarves, you start at your end, and they start at their end. Go around the circle and you will meet in the middle. Regina and I used to do this and it cuts the time in half!

Rather than skipping Humpty, try skipping Hickory Dickory Dare. You are right; they are both very time consuming. Humpty is at the very end of the program so when there is a big crowd, parents sometimes leave once their child has had a turn pulling Humpty off. I never take it personally — it’s better if they leave just before the end of the program while they are still interested and having a good time, than having them feel obligated to stay when they (and their children) have had enough. By saving your individualized activity for the end, you are giving them choice to leave or to stay.

In terms of staying motivated, look for new rhymes that you can use for standing up that don’t require moving around the circle (i.e. I’m a Little Teapot). Find new illustrations for rhymes you are already using (look beyond nursery rhyme books – picture books can provide some great illustrations for nursery rhymes. For instance, Lucy Cousins has a wonderful fish illustration that I show when reciting “One, two, three, four, five, once I caught a fish alive.” If you don’t already use nametags, put out labels and permanent markers at the beginning of the program so parents can make nametags for their children. Even if you don’t know each child personally, you can still call them by name and this makes for a more intimate environment.

Lastly, if you can, invite everyone to stay for a 30 minute free play session after your program has finished. Take out just a few toys and chat with people who have stayed. Don’t worry, not everyone will stay. Kids are tired, they need to nap, eat, etc. But you will be able to get know those parents and kids who stay afterward on a regular basis, so you can still feel like you have that personal connection.

I hope these suggestions help!

If any readers of this blog have other suggestions, please feel free to post them here or on the Mother Goose on the Loose Fan Club page. It’s great to share and learn from our colleagues!

Positive reinforcement

| Positive Reinforcement
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During Mother Goose on the Loose programs, the facilitator models the use of positive reinforcement when children are asked to do a specific task and they successfully complete it.

I had my own wonderful dose of positive reinforcement this weekend: I returned from a workshop in San Francsico and received an email from one of the participants that read:

I attended the training you did at the SFPL on Monday, September 27th, and it was great. You make me want to be a better librarian.

What inspiring positive reinforcement that was for me!

The reviews are in!!

| Positive Reinforcement
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I just received an email from Neil-Schuman announcing that the book, Early Literacy Programming en Español: Mother Goose on the Loose Programs for Bilingual Learners has just been reviewed. Below are what the reviews have said. Pretty good!

“In this thoughtful and highly useful resource, Diamant-Cohen takes elements of her energetic Mother Goose on the Loose literacy programs and incorporates them with early childhood literacy strategies used with Spanish-speaking, bilingual children and their families…this is a worthy source of ideas for any librarian serving Spanish-speaking populations.”
— REFORMA, Spring/Summer 2010

“The most helpful information covers how to work within the Latino community; how to plan and present with a Spanish-speaking partner; and how to customize the book’s programs to suit the individual library…Non-Spanish-speaking librarians, as well as those who speak Spanish, will benefit from this book.”
— Booklist, July 2010

“The volume is infused with enthusiasm to serve the children of Spanish-speakers. It will not only help English-speaking librarians, but also the bilingual ones to present and enjoy MGOL.”
— School Library Journal, May 2010

Early Literacy Survey

| early literacy
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A colleague who is a doctoral candidate at Florida State University is working on an adult early literacy assessment tool,called EL-Capstone that will be used to assess the understanding of early literacy concepts of adults who may be called upon as leaders to promote early literacy. She is looking  for 1000 anonymous volunteers that spread across a wide range of early literacy concept awareness levels to take the sample survey.  Data collection for the this early version of the EL-Capstone instrument has already launched. Below is the blurb describing the project; since instrument development cannot happen in isolation and needs the support of many people, I encourage you to participate and send the blurb to your colleagues.

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Anonymous volunteers needed to support  early literacy academic research in an online activity.
Making advancements in the field of early learning for children is a collaborative effort that includes academic research. If you are an adult over 18 years of age, you are invited to participate in a research project and to impact the development of a new tool that is being constructed under the guidance of the Florida State University. When finished, this tool will be used to assess the understanding of early literacy concepts of adults who may be called upon as leaders to promote early literacy development of young children. No experience or background in early literacy concepts is required. To participate, please visit: http://www.elcapstone.com

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