Setting the Stage
A good way to start is to familiarize yourself with the iconic characters who live in the nursery rhymes and imagine how they should look. Your local library's children's section should have plenty of books for you to peruse for ideas. Once you're acquainted with the rhymes, keep your eyes open for potential costume elements as you go about your daily routine. Mistress Mary grows a garden of bluebells, so some fresh flowers from your own garden or silk ones from the craft store in a basket will make great props. Another Mary has a little lamb, and Little Bo Peep is also friends with a sheep, so check the baby aisles for stuffed toys. If you have more than one child, consider the characters who come in pairs. Jack and Jill only need a pail of water, and children can be the animal characters as well as human ones. Turn one child into Miss Muffet's spider by cutting up some old long-sleeved shirts. Cut off the arms from two shirts, stuff them with cotton or even newspaper, sew or safety-pin the ends closed, and fasten them to your young one's shirt to give him the extra "legs" he needs. Lots of rhymes deal with food, so you can even bring the game to the dinner table. Little Jack Horner eats pie. Jack Sprat eats no fat. A hard-boiled egg can be Humpty Dumpty, for your children to rescue as the king's horses and men. When you see yard sale signs, stop and look for bonnets, aprons, suspenders, wigs and other ensemble pieces that can be mixed and matched to fit the descriptions of multiple characters. If you are skilled at sewing, you should be able to find patterns for dresses and suits that are as simple or elaborate as you want. Another thing to consider is the setting for the rhyme. Some are indoors, mentioning a specific room of the house or, as in Little Jack Horner's case, a corner. Some are outside, giving your children the opportunity to exercise, running up a hill as Jack and Jill, or shepherding little lambs behind them.