This June and July, we’ve been thinking about weather at Bangers & Smash.
Photo by Alex Jackman on Unsplash
Each week, we’ve explored a different kind of weather or weather phenomenon:
rain
thunder
wind
rainbow
sunshine
Children have enjoyed:
identifying rain, thunder and wind from sound recordings
taking turns to come to the front to play a rainstick and a thunder drum
tapping their cheeks, patting their knees and stamping their feet to make the sound of rain and thunder
trying out different phrases to describe rain and thunder e.g. ‘plip plop’, ‘pitter patter’, ‘boom’, ‘bang’, ‘crash’
tapping and banging junk drums to make the sounds of rain and thunder
blowing coloured scarves to make the sound of the wind then throwing the scarves in the air and saying, ‘Whoosh!’
making the shape of a rainbow with coloured scarves then throwing them in the air and saying, ‘Rainbow!’
making the shape of the sun with yellow scarves then throwing them in the air and saying, ‘Happy!’
dancing to Walking On Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves
Kitty has introduced a new song, Beautiful Rain, which incorporates body percussion in a slow, out-of-time intro before inviting everyone to sing a repeating phrase over a 4/4 pulse while playing a simple rhythmic pattern on junk drums:
Rain falling on --------’s drum (bang bang)
Rain falling on --------’s drum (bang bang)
It’s been great watching the children get to grips with singing and playing in time while naming themselves and their friends around the circle.
Children and staff have also enjoyed singing:
It’s Raining, It’s Pouring
Incey Wincey Spider
Rain, Rain, Go Away
Ducks Like Rain
I Can Sing A Rainbow
You Are My Sunshine
The Sun Has Got His Hat On
Mister Golden Sun
In addition, we’ve practised I Hear Thunder every week, gradually building up to a performance:
I hear thunder, I hear thunder
Hark, don’t you? Hark, don’t you?
Pitter patter raindrops, pitter patter raindrops
I’m wet through, so are you
I see blue skies, I see blues skies
Way up high, way up high
Hurry up sunshine, hurry up sunshine
I’ll soon dry, I’ll soon dry
Children have enjoyed singing while making the sound of rain and thunder on junk drums, blowing their scarves for the wind and waving them for sunshine before spreading them on their knees to ‘dry’.
South America Project Celebration at Under the Willow
Meanwhile at Under the Willow, we’ve continued our South America project with sessions on:
animals of South America
carnival
music and language
landscapes
stories and legends
Photo by Carmel Arquelau on Unsplash
Children have enjoyed:
taking it in turns to choose a picture of an animal while singing Walking Through The Rainforest
making the sounds of South American animals – a high whoop for a toucan, a screech for a parrot, a low growl for a jaguar etc
pretending to hang from a tree like a spider monkey while dancing to Rodopiou by Nazare Pereira
dressing up in woven shawls while singing a Brazilian carnival song, Mama Paquita
joining in with call-and-response body percussion before parading round in a circle to Fanfarra (Cabua-le-le) by Sergio Mendes
We’ve finished with our South America Project Celebration, which tells the story of how a little boy, Sambalalay, journeys across South America from Machu Pichu in the high Andes to Rio de Janiero in Brazil before going to carnival with Mama Paquita.
Written and directed by Kitty, the performance took place on Wednesday 10 July 2019 and brought together songs and musical activities from across the term.
Music in the Wildlife Garden
Kitty (vocals, guitar), Steve Rose (keyboard) and Polly Pidduck (backing vocals) were delighted to play for another Music in the Wildlife Garden session at Mother Goose Nursery Wildlife Garden on Saturday 29 June 2019.
On one of the hottest days of the year, families and members of the local community gathered to sing songs about wildlife (many of them Bangers & Smash originals), make and play junk percussion and enjoy tea, cake and a nature trail courtesy of host and wildlife gardener, Di Wallace.
Check out the pictures and video below!
The band – Steve, Polly and Kitty
Check out these awesome homemade shakers!
The children made their own owls to go with Kitty’s Owl Babies song!