Mother Goose on the Loose is an award-winning early literacy program for children from birth to age 3 with their parents or caregivers. The Indiana State Library will occasionally offer free workshops on MGOL and I highly recommend them if you ever have the chance to go!
Mother Goose on the Loose by
Let Mother Goose on the loose in your library and jump-start children's learning and brain development. Here are activities that will build motor, music, social, and preliteracy skills in infants and toddlers. Mother Goose on the Loose incorporates books, rhymes, fingerplays, flannelboard stories, music, dance, and child-parent interaction into dynamic programs that will bring whole families into the library. Award-winning program creator Betsy Diamant-Cohen offers this valuable manual that helps librarians and educators create their own Mother Goose on the Loose (MGOL) routines with ready-to-use plans and materials. The guide features ten MGOL programs - each one with complete scripts and instructions In addition, you'll find planning and scheduling sheets for implementing the program and instructions for designing your own original MGOL sessions. Chapters outline the learning process for infants and toddlers, including the importance of repetition, ritual, play, reading, movement, and music; provide tips for communicating with parents; and suggest ways to incorporate books, instruments, and props.Diamant-Cohen includes suggestions for expanding and evaluating the MGOL program and a list of FAQs (and answers) for sharing with parents and administrators. The companion CD-ROM features all of the rhymes and songs as well as a complete Mother Goose on the Loose script.
Babies Need Words Every Day was launched by ALA in 2015 and consists of sharable resources designed to bridge the 30 Million Word Gap by providing parents with proven ways to build their children's literacy skills.
For baby and toddler storytimes, I typically choose books with animals, body parts, colors or known rhymes and songs to read. Also, anything featuring a baby! Babies tend to love seeing themselves in books! Always feel free to be repetitive with your books for storytimes with these ages too. If there is a book you know they love, read it every week or every other week if you want to. They will love it!
The Babies on the Bus by
The babies on the bus sing LA-LA-LA! LA-LA-LA! LA-LA-LA! Jump on the bus with Karen Katz's adorable babies as they take a classic song for an all-new ride! This irresistible board book by the popular author of The Colors of Us, Counting Kisses, and Where Is Baby's Belly Button?will steal your heart.
Baby Dance by
Up and down, to and fro, coo and crow baby, there you go. Up to the ceiling, down to the ground, backward and forward, round and round ... All babies love to be lifted, twirled and held in loving arms. Now a rhythmic poem by nineteenth century poet Anne Taylor makes a delightful board book perfect for baby and parent to share. Marjorie van Heerden has captured the energy and joy of this playful text in vivd pastel illustrations full of the soft, gentle motion of dance. For babies who are responding to music and movement, here's a playful poem that has father and child dancing lovingly across the pages.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? beginning readers: These beloved children's stories are now available in beginning reader format. With the important pre-reading concepts of rhyme, rhythm, and repetition, these picture books have long been used as beginning readers. Now, with a 6" x 9" trim and a classic beginning reader layout, children will have a more "grown up" version to read by themselves. Complete with an introduction by master educator Laura Robb, and with fun reading activities added, these new versions ofBrown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and PolarBear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? are certain to appeal to a new age group and find an even wider audience.
Chugga Chugga Choo-Choo by
Kids love trains, and Kevin Lewis and illustrator Daniel Kirk's Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo will do nothing but encourage the obsession. "Sun's up! / Morning's here. / Up and at 'em, / engineer," cheerfully begins this rhyming picture book. As the simple large-lettered text chugs along, Daniel Kirk brings a child's playroom and train set to life with bold, bright illustrations reminiscent of his work in Bigger. In the course of the book, the toys bustle about to make sure the steam engine is loaded up with freight and finds its way (through the country, 'round the mountains, into tunnels, and across the river) to its destination--the city. There the "sleepy-sleepy choo-choo" rests, right next to a tired little boy, until the next day's work begins: "To theroundhouse/ you are bound. / Good night, engine, / safe and sound." (Baby to preschool)
From Head to Toe by
From Eric Carle, the New York Times bestselling creator of beloved books including The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Grouchy Ladybug, comes From Head to Toe, a colorful and energetic book that will have young readers clapping their hands, stomping their feet, and wiggling their toes! Giraffes can bend their necks, monkeys can wave their hands, and donkeys can kick their legs. And so can you! Throughout this interactive book, the animals of From Head to Toe invite young readers to copy their antics as they play. Through Carle's vibrant collages and simple instructions, children will learn the importance of listening, exercising, and taking on a new challenge. Join the giraffes, monkeys, donkeys, seals, and more for a frolicking, fun adventure!
Whose Toes Are Those? by
A vibrant, playful verse that celebrates a beautiful brown baby's adorable little toes, for fans of Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes. Who do you suppose has such fine toes? So brown and sweet. Who could have such darling feet? Snuggle with a child on your lap with this cheerful rhyme inspired by the classic giggle-inspiring game of This Little Piggy. With lush, adorable pictures from New York Times bestselling illustrator LeUyen Pham, reminiscent of the beloved work of Ezra Jack Keats, this interactive board book full of toddler appeal is a perfect baby gift for parent-child playtime.
