MGOL Rhymes: We Clap Our Hands Together

Mother Goose on the Loose® (MGOL) is a research-based, award-winning, early childhood program. Originally designed for parents & caregivers with babies and toddlers from birth to age 2, it uses purposeful play to builds school readiness skills, strengthen parent/child bonding, and provide “developmental tips” to parents.

MGOL builds children’s social, emotional, and early literacy skills in fun, interactive ways using rhymes, songs, fingerplays, puppets, book illustrations, a flannel board and felt characters, colored scarves, and a variety of musical instruments. Focusing on the WHOLE child, MGOL is used for weekly storytimes/circle times in public libraries, Head Start classrooms, and childcare centers.

Because of its easy adaptability for all ages and settings, MGOL has been successfully used with children in elementary schools, preschools, homeschooling groups, and hospitals; for parents with babies in NICUs (MGOL Goslings), WIC centers, and jails; for families in laundromats, art museums, children’s museums, play groups and many other places.

MGOL’s founder, Dr. Betsy Diamant-Cohen, frequently presents workshops and webinars to educate new facilitators. Since the best way to learn is by doing, participants are often asked to choose a rhyme, create a felt piece to go along with it, and choose an activity for the rhyme that helps build a school readiness skill. Before presenting in front of the group, participants can opt to be filmed for the MGOL YouTube site. During COVID, many children’s librarians are presenting MGOL online and have also agreed to have clips of their rhymes and songs posted here.

These video clips show real-life librarians and childcare providers in action. While not slickly produced, they form an extensive resource for educators looking to creatively use scarves, bells, maracas, drums, ASL, clapping, Spanish rhymes and more in their programs.

In this video you can see Lynn Scott from the Enoch Pratt Free Library presenting “We Clap Our Hands Together” as a standing up rhyme during her Mother Goose on the Loose program. Feel free to use this activity while planning your MGOL program /storytime/ circle time.

For more resources on songs and rhymes, with links to relevant research and different adaptations of Mother Goose on the Loose that can be used in storytimes, circle times, or classrooms, feel free to check out: