Mother Goose Day

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By Akindman

Old Mother Goose,

When she wanted to wander,

Would ride through the air

On a very fine gander.

Jack's mother came in,

And caught the goose soon,

And mounting its back,

Flew up to the moon.

The familiar figure of Mother Goose is an imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes which are often published as Mother Goose Rhymes. As a character, she appears in one "nursery rhyme".  A Christmas pantomime called Mother Goose is often performed in the United Kingdom. The so-called "Mother Goose" rhymes and stories have formed the basis for many classic British pantomimes. Mother Goose is generally depicted in literature and book illustration as an elderly country woman in a tall hat and shawl, a costume identical to the peasant costume worn in Wales in the early 20th century, but is sometimes depicted as a goose (usually wearing a bonnet).

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Tips for Celebrating:

• Get several editions of Mother Goose Rhymes and compare how different illustrators have depicted the same characters. Fine artists all have their own ways of illustrating the rhymes. Of particular note are the following (though some are old editions, reprints are readily available): Randolph Caldecott (most drawn 1880- 1886), Walter Crane (1877 & 1879), Raymond Briggs (1966), Marguerite de Angeli (1954), W. W. Denslow (1901), Roger Duvoisin (1936), Kate Greenaway (1881 & c1990), Lois Lenski (1927), Helen Oxenbury (1975), Maud & Miska Petersham (1945), Alice & Martin Provensen (1976), Peter Spier (1967), Arthur Rackham (1913), Jessie Wilcox Smith (1914), Gustaf Tenggren (1940), Tasha Tudor (1944).
• Have small groups act out skits of different rhymes (with only a few minutes to put together their acts). A variation on this is to give each group the rhyme to act out in pantomime, and have the other groups guess which rhyme is being acted.
• Another variation on acting out the rhymes is to play traditional Charades, with nursery rhymes as the focus.
• Search out the Mother Goose rhymes which are set to music and have a Mother Goose Songfest.
• Seek out Mother Goose Rhymes which have fingerplay actions, and teach them to the children. (The single largest source of fingerplays is Children's Counting-Out Rhymes, Fingerplays, Jump-Rope and Bounce-Ball Chants and Other Rhythms: A Comprehensive English-Language Reference by Gloria T. Delamar (McFarland Pub.)
• Have participants cook together to make a simple recipe associated with a Mother Goose rhyme. Ie. "Curds and Whey," associated with Little Miss Muffet is an old term for cottage cheese; "Pease Porridge" is thick pea soup. A surprisingly tasty snack is to put pea soup as a spread (directly from the can with no liquid added) on crackers.
• With the right age group, introduce the "rhythm and patter" of a nursery rhyme for writers to imitate in creating their own verses. Quite aside from Mother Goose Day, this is a useful device for teaching an understanding of the patterns of poetry. This technique has been used with both children and adults.
• Have a simple line-by-line recitation of rhymes, with participants taking turns giving the next line. Stay with the better-known rhymes so no one will be embarrassed.
• The most basic way to celebrate is to read aloud from an attractively-illustrated edition of Mother Goose rhymes.

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Links:

http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/mother_goose.htm

http://www3.amherst.edu/~rjyanco94/literature/mothergoose/rhymes/menu.html

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/rhymes/coloring/

Mother Goose Day

by Diane Forrest

May 1, 2011

Mother Goose Day was created only recently, as a day to appreciate nursery rhymes and stories. They are a favorite of children and their parents.

The term "Mother Goose" dates back to the 1650's. It referred to stories like Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty. It does not appear to represent a particular person, as many of "Mother Goose" stories were written both before and after this term was first used. And, the stories were written by numerous authors.

Enjoy "Mother Goose Day" by reading Mother Goose stories and rhymes to your children or grandchildren.

When I was a child I had the big hard back Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme book with the black and white checkerboard cover. I loved spending hours reading the rhymes and looking at the colorful pictures. Later, as I got older, I learned that many of those rhymes were based on actual events that took place during the time they were written. Poems like Georgie Porgie and Peas Porridge Hot. They were such a memorable part of my childhood, that now I buy a copy when every new baby is born into my family, making sure it’s the big hard back cover edition. My favorite verse is the days of the week, I was born on a Friday.

Monday’s child is fair of face,

Tuesday’s child is full of grace,

Wednesday's child is full of woe,

Thursday’s child has far to go,

Friday’s child is loving and giving,

Saturday’s child works hard for its living,

But the child that’s born on the Sabbath day,

Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.

Origin of Mother Goose Day:  According to the Mother Goose Society: "Mother Goose Day was founded in 1987 by Gloria T. Delamar in tandem with the publication of her book, Mother Goose; From Nursery to Literature.