We’ve had a busy end to the Autumn term at Bangers & Smash with rehearsals, performances, an outdoor community singalong and a Christmas party at Watermans Arts Centre!
Photo by Nati Melnychuk on Unsplash
Christmas shows
Preparations for Christmas began in November with Crystal Nurseries rehearsing Kitty’s version of the Nativity, Born In A Stable, and Mother Goose – Greendale practising their Christmas Show.
Come December, Crystal Nurseries parents and carers enjoyed performances in all three settings while Mother Goose – Greendale’s show took place at Christ Church in East Dulwich. Shows were jam-packed and it was wonderful to see the children and staff dressed up in their costumes, singing their hearts out.
My Body
Meanwhile, at Under the Willow, we brought our 12-week project, My Body, to a close with our final music sessions and My Body Project Celebration.
Our last two sessions were about:
Growing and getting older
The heart
Children enjoyed:
growing up tall from a crouching position while making a rising ‘ooh’ sound
singing Everything Grows by Raffi
playing a steady pulse on claves while reciting Kitty’s rhyme, Here’s My Heart
pretending to run while playing a fast pulse / pretending to sleep while playing a slow pulse
taking it in turns to come into the middle and jump during the song, Jumping Bean
With songs and stories inspired by My First Book of the Human Body, which uses the Montessori method to help children develop an awareness of their own bodies, the My Body Project Celebration brought together songs and activities from previous sessions in a performance for parents and carers on 27 November 2019.
Christmas dress-up
We finished the term at Under The Willow with three sessions on Christmas during which children took it in turns to wear Santa and elf hats and to hold reindeer puppets while singing and dancing to:
Here We Go Round The Christmas Tree
Father Christmas
Santa’s Little Helper
Three Little Reindeer
Jingle Bells
When The Red, Red Robin
Rockin’ Robin
We Wish You A Merry Christmas
Carols in the Wildlife Garden
Kitty was delighted to host Mother Goose Wildlife Garden’s annual Carols in the Wildlife Garden event on 14 December 2019.
With carol singing and Christmas wreath-making, families and members of the local community enjoyed mulled drinks round the fire pit and homemade mince pies courtesy of wildlife gardener, Di Wallace.
Kitty will be back in the Wildlife Garden this April with a junk instrument-making and singing session. Please click here for more details!
New project at Waterman’s Arts Centre
Kitty’s final music session of 2019 brought a new and exciting chapter for Bangers & Smash with the launch of a multi-arts project at Waterman’s Arts Centre for children in the early years with special educational needs and disabilities.
Kitty launched the project at Waterman’s Short Breaks Christmas Party on 20 December 2019 with a drop-in music session for Short Breaks children and their families.
As well as singing Christmas songs and dressing up as elves, Santas and reindeer, participants were introduced to the project, which combines original songs with activities based on gardening, learning about wildlife and recycling.
The new project runs from 10 January to 27 March 2020 and Kitty is delighted to be working with fellow early years music specialist, musician and storyteller, Steve Grocott, arts psychotherapy student and creative support leader, Aislinn Jeffers, and art and craft workshop providers, Art Jar.
A very Happy New Year from Bangers & Smash!