Benefits of the Mother Goose on the Loose Program

FOR CHILDREN

Programs like MGOL provide effective pre-reading experiences that can help children develop literacy skills by

• helping children’s eyes to focus,
• aiding them in recognizing objects and developing sensory awareness,
• reinforcing basic concepts, and
• giving children time for physical closeness, which is so crucial for their emotional and intellectual development.

Attending the program together with an adult can help to strengthen the ties between them.

SCHOOL READINESS

By coming to Mother Goose on the Loose in the public library on a regular basis, children can develop many school readiness skills. The five domains for school readiness are:

• positive approaches to learning
• social and emotional well-being
• health any physical well-being
• language development
• general knowledge about the world

Positive approaches to learning include:

• Developing familiarity and comfort
  • With libraries
  • With books
  • With words
  • With music
  • With other children
  • With rules
  • With routine and structure
  • With librarians
  • With caregivers who regularly attend the program with them
• Having a positive experiences with books
• Experiencing joyful interactions with the “teacher”/librarian
• Being exposed to different types of book use and illustration
• Observing an adult using books
• Seeing how pictures can tell a story
• Listening to instructions
• Mimicking the physical actions of the instructor
• Improving attention skills

Mother Goose on the Loose helps children’s social and emotional well-being by giving them practice:

• Taking turns
• Being patient
• Showing appreciation to others
• Receiving positive reinforcement
• Paying attention
• Following instructions
• Listening when others speak
• Playing with others
• Expressing emotions in a positive way
• Learning how to relax through lullabies
• Regulating emotions
• Observing social behavior

Health and physical well-being is encouraged by:

• Providing physical exercise
• Making daily hygiene activities fun
• Identifying various body parts
• Learning what different body parts can do
• Moving and exercising various parts of the body
• Snuggling with a loving adult
• Learning how to respond instinctively to the word “Stop”
• Exercising of fine and gross motor skills

Language development is encouraged in Mother Goose on the Loose programs by children:

• Hearing new vocabulary words
• “Reading” books
• Repeating sounds
• Connecting sounds to objects or images
• Hearing rhymesReciting rhymes
• Playing games that emphasize syllables
• Learning about the difference between opposites:
  • soft & loud
  • high & low
  • quick & slow
• Singing songs
• Communicating with others
• Becoming familiar with rhythm, tone, timbre, and timing

Children’s general knowledge is expanded by:

• Seeing images of different animals and connecting that with their names and sounds
• Singing songs about their environment – i.e. vehicles and the weather
• Hearing about a variety of activities
• Interacting with people from different backgrounds
• Hearing sounds of nature mimicked through the human voice
• Identifying colors
• Seeing different shapes named and identified
• Experiencing actions and consequences
• Improving cognitive skills
• Learning to use the voice as a musical instrument
• Learning how to play various musical instruments