The basic Mother Goose on the Loose program seamlessly combines music, movement, art, picture
books, and puppets in a fun way while helping introduce nursery rhymes to young children. This program develops early literacy and school readiness skills in young children. A typical session basic Mother Goose on the Loose session incorporates the most effective practices for using books with young children, the LISTEN, LIKE, LEARN approach for teaching music, and activities designed to encourage brain-based learning. It lasts 30 minutes but can be formatted to fit the needs of individual groups; designed to encourage participants to listen, to like, and to learn during storytime. Learn more about the basic program.
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MGOL at the Kent Island Branch of the Queen Anne’s County Library |
MGOL at Port Discovery Children’s Museum |
MGOL at a Judith P. Hoyer Center Early Learning Hubs |
Originally designed for children from birth to age two accompanied by parents or caregivers in a library setting, the basic program has been successfully adapted for specific audiences and has been presented in many settings. There have been many successful adaptations of MGOL; more detailed information can be found in Betsy’s book, MGOL Here, There and Everywhere .
When COVID-19 began infecting people in the United States, families were urged to stay at home. Many adults began working from home to protect others as well as for their own safety. Although many public libraries closed their doors, children’s librarians wanted to continue providing programs and services to their families. Thus, Virtual MGOL was born.
- At first sessions took place in homes, outdoors, and in other unique locations since libraries were closed. Learn more…
- Then, when library buildings opened for staff but not for visitors, the sessions were recorded or broadcast live from there. Learn more…
Two other MGOL programs specifically developed to meet the needs of new and young families are MGOL: Hatchlings and MGOL: Goslings:
MGOL Hatchlings, a 2-part expansion of the Mother Goose on the Loose program. Hatchlings: Ready to Hatch is for expectant parents and Hatchlings: In the Nest is for parents of newborns. Hatchlings sessions empower parents by providing informal instruction about child development, giving a repertoire of songs and rhymes to share with babies, and modeling age-appropriate play-based early literacy practices. Learn more here.
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MGOL Goslings is for adult family members with babies in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The parent education provided supports parental bonding and prepares parents with skills for interpreting their baby’s signals and interacting appropriately with their medically fragile babies while fostering their early language and literacy skills. Learn more here
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