The Mother Goose on the Loose Blog

MGOL in Puerto Rico at Headstart Conference

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If you are free on Wednesday, November 16 and would like to learn more about outreach with Mother Goose on the Loose, consider registering to attend the Region 2 Headstart Annual Conference Puerto Rico.  Dora Garraton (Vigo County Public Library in Terre Haute, IN) and Dana Antonelli (Champaign Public Library in IL) with the title “Mother Goose on the Loose” who have travelled throughout their communities in Goosemobiles bringing MGOL songs and rhymes to Headstarts, daycares, and other community sites will be presenting.  Read the description below

Mother Goose is on the Loose: Spreading Early Literacy Activities and Knowledge

Nov. 16, 8:00 am – 9:30 am

Are you looking for new ideas for activities that you can use in your classroom and adapt easily for family engagement programs? Mother Goose on the Loose (MGOL) is a versatile, award-winning early literacy program used in public libraries throughout the country that combines research with practical activities to help children build readiness skills. Explore this adaptable program and learn new and enriching ways to use rhymes, songs, developmental tips, modeling, and personal connections to help adults who live or work with children to aid in their development, as well. Learn and explore some skill building activities with MGOL outreach experts who have created extensive partnerships to bring MGOL-adaptations to center-based and home-based daycares, preschools, parent groups, local businesses, foster care picnics, agencies, NICUs, women’s shelters, prisons, etc. Brainstorm ways to adapt what you have learned in the presentation for your own use. 

 

Betsy Diamant-Cohen, Creator of MGOL

Dora Garratón, Vigo County Public Library

Dana Antonelli, Champaign Public Library

 

 

 

 

“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” in Ute Now Available!

| early literacy, Lullabies, MGOL, nursery rhymes, songs, songs, rhymes, Using music with babies, Using music with children, Ute song, Workshops, , ,
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With the assistance of my daughter, Maya, the wonderful video of Noleda Badback singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” in Ute is now uploaded to the MGOL YouTube Channel. Listening to her sing this at the end of the MGOL workshop I presented in Cortez, Montana last week inspired me to share it with others as quickly as possible.  I loved her introduction, her singing of the song, and her translation.  See for yourself:

If you have versions of songs or rhymes that would be good to add to the MGOL Playlists, please feel free to submit them! I am always looking to expand this resource for children’s librarians and early childhood educators.

Thank you, Noleda!

“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” in Ute

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This week, I travelled to Cortez, Colorado to present a Mother Goose on the Loose workshop at the library. Some of the participants were women who worked at the Early Childhood Center on the nearby Ute reservation.  

Typically, at the end of a workshop, each person chooses a rhyme or song, thinks of an accompanying activity, decides in which of the 10 sections it should appear, makes a felt piece to go along with it, and then presents their song/rhyme/activity to the group while using the flannel board.

One of the women told us how she sings “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” in Ute to her nephew and then presented it to us. Listening to her was a privilege. She gave me permission to record it and post it for other librarians, so here it is:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/fJy1cA919MBZri7v9  

Her singing was so magnificent, that I asked her to sing it again, and she did!  This time, she did some hand movements to go along with it. https://photos.app.goo.gl/33nR2rTWeMtYPuvk9

Shortly, I will ask my daughter Maya to the link the two videos together, add a title page and a credits page, and I will add it to the MGOL YouTube page with playlists of all the other videos of rhymes and songs that participants have shared during MGOL workshops. But I felt this was so moving, I wanted to share it on my blog even before it was ready to post on YouTube. Enjoy!

 

Register for the MGOL Workshop on Sept. 30!

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On Friday, September 30, from 9 am – 4 pm (with an hour for lunch on your own) I will offering a full-day MGOL workshop at Port Discovery Children’s Museum in Baltimore. For just $300, you can learn all about the research supporting MGOL, participate in an actual MGOL session, learn how to plan and present programs, have the opportunity to create a felt piece and use it with the group, sample developmental tips for adults, and more.

Join us for the fun and skill-building day. To register, please call Betsy at 443-928-3915 or send a email to info@mgol.org.

 

Childcare providers in Maryland can get 6 credit hours from the  Maryland State Department of Education. For more information, check out this link!

 

Librarians dancing at a MGOL workshop in Washington DC
Librarians dancing at a MGOL workshop in Washington DC
Teachers creating felt characters at an MGOL workshop in Maryland
Teachers creating felt characters at an MGOL workshop in Maryland
Librarians at a MGOL Workshop in Montana, pretending their hands are neurons.
Librarians at a MGOL Workshop in Montana, pretending their hands are neurons.

The importance of smiling at your children

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I just read a fascinating article by Lisa Scott, Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of the Brain, Cognition and Development Research Lab at the University of Florida, that reinforces earlier research which says that babies love looking at faces, will look at a face longer than anything else, and thus faces are important educational tools for babies.

https://bold.expert/the-importance-of-faces-for-infants-learning/

Smiling at people puts them at ease and creates connection.  Image how much more powerful it is, then, to smile at your baby!