MOTHER GOOSE DAY

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Mother Goose day is a fun holiday for all ages. Established in 1987 when the book: Mother Goose; From Nursery to Literature by Gloria T. Delamar was published. This book looks at the history of nursery rhymes as well as the history in nursery rhymes. They aim this book at an adult audience, but we can celebrate Mother Goose Day without the book!

Who wrote Mother Goose?

So knock me over with a feather, a goose feather. I was *Today Years Old* when I discovered that Mother Goose is an imaginary author who published a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes. I had always thought Mother Goose was a pen name, like Dr. Seuss. Many people wonder: Was Mother Goose a real person? Well, the answer is no.

The first authenticated starting point for “Mother Goose” is said to be a collection of fairy tales published in 1695. This also marks the beginning of the fairy tale genre of literature.

There are many references to Mother Goose over the years, and it’s hard to tell who exactly She (or he) is. What seems to be agreed upon is that the rhymes come from MANY sources and get handed down from generation to generation.

Using Fingerplays

Finger plays are commonly used with nursery rhymes. A Finger play is a short poem or rhyme that is acted out with the fingers. (Think “This Little Piggy”, or Itsy, Bitsy, Spider. ) Finger plays are engaging and capture the learners attention. They promote vocabulary and listening skills all while a young learner is using their imagination and creativity. Finger plays also help strengthen motor skills and autonomy (desire to do it yourself) in young learners. finger plays and nursery rhymes help get little ones ready to read.

To get you started here is a set of Story Sticks for Mary Had a Little Lamb. This set Is completely FREE in honor of Mother Goose day!

The adorable designs can be printed in color or black and white (So your learner can color their own). There are finger puppets and craft stick puppets so you can pick what works best for the motor skills and dexterity of your child.

With this set your learners can:

• Re- tell the story from Mary Had A Little Lamb in their own words, using the puppets as visual clues.

• Engage in free choice story telling .

• tell what came first, next, last by holding up the puppets in order.

I also have blank templates for each style to make your own Fairy Tale or Nursery Rhyme!

Mother Goose Day at the Elementary Level

Think Nursery Rhymes are only for the very youngest of learners? Think again! Here are some ideas for using them with older students:

• Write your own Nursery Rhyme
• Write the Origin Story or Back story for the Nursery Rhyme. Why exactly was Humpty Dumpty On the wall? What leads up to that?
• In the same fashion, what happens after the rhyme ends. Jack and Jill are at the bottom of the hill and Jack has a “broken crown” – and then what happened…
• Have elementary learners put on Nursery Rhyme plays and film them.

Source:

http://www.librarysupport.net/mothergoosesociety/index.html

Can’t celebrate this year – Mark your calendar & save this holiday for next year!

You can also pin the image below to your Pinterest boards to save this fantastic holiday!

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