On Monday, Nov. 14, the kindergarten and pre-kindergarten classes of the St. Mary of the Lakes School got a visit from a very special character during their school day. Around 10 a.m., Mother Goose, played by Marilyn Scanlon, joined the children for a morning presentation.
Scanlon plays the role of Mother Goose each year at the school, and has been dressing in character for a variety of schools and libraries since 1994. As an educational performer, she utilizes her theater background in combination with her nine years of teaching experience in the public schools, as well as from having held the roles of “head clown” and director of the Joy Clown Troupe, an ecumenical Christian clown troupe. These experiences have led to her desire to help keep nursery rhymes a magical part of childhood and to help pass down literary heritage.
Scanlon’s performances at the St. Mary of the Lakes School began after a former student, Christy Osler, saw her program at a bookstore. This student’s father, local dentist, Rick Osler, arranged for the program to visit his daughter’s kindergarten classroom. From that year on, the school has invited Scanlon to visit.
Although Christy is now a junior at Boston University, Mother Goose still asks about her, and when Christy was enrolled in St. Mary’s, Mother Goose would always visit with her for a minute when she came for her annual visit.
“Marilyn Scanlon has a wonderful way about her. She is so kind and that comes across in her performances,” the school’s kindergarten teacher, Margaret DeRespino, said. “She is also very funny.”
For about 15 years, DeRespino has witnessed Scanlon’s presentation to her classes. The roughly 45-minute presentation includes a few nursery rhymes and asks some of the students to act out these rhymes by playing roles such as the King of Nursery Land, Queen of England, King and Queen of Hearts and more. Mother Goose also brings a wagon filled with props she uses for her program, and each year the students’ favorite poem to act out is “The Three Little Kittens.”
This year, nursery rhymes also performed and discussed included the stories of Jack and Jill, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Little Bo Peep, Sing a Song of Sixpence and more. Scanlon also had the students on the look-out for a few of Little Bo Peep’s sheep that had gone missing and had the children laughing and shouting each time a sheep would appear inside a prop.
“The children enjoy this event because Mother Goose is very entertaining. She gets the children’s attention the minute she arrives,” DeRespino said. “Mother Goose is dressed in a wonderful costume, and she has a goose puppet in her arms. She also uses some magic in her performance which the children just love.”
DeRespino believes it is important for children to memorize some poetry, and while many students enter her class having already memorized poems relayed by their parents, grandparents or nursery school, they can all still enjoy Scanlon’s theatricals. She explained the Mother Goose program also teaches the children to be kind to one another, and shows them they can appreciate nursery rhymes even more when they see them acted out.
“We invite Scanlon back each year because she is always a hit with the kindergartners,” DeRespino said. “Many of my students have older siblings who have seen Mother Goose when they were in kindergarten, and they can’t wait until it is their turn to meet her.
