January 2020 has brought a host of exciting new themes and projects for Bangers & Smash!
Regular Bangers & Smash nurseries have spent the month learning about:
The Land of Ice & Snow
Chinese New Year
The Land of Ice & Snow
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
Children have enjoyed:
rubbing their hands together and singing finger rhymes before dressing up in coats, hats, scarves, gloves and boots for a journey to the Land of Ice & Snow
bouncing a silver snowflake on a cloth and listening to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake
singing Bangers & Smash original, It’s Snowing Outside
listening to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite while Kitty strokes their faces with a feather boa
meeting some animals that live in snowy places and singing their names – Reindeer, Arctic Fox, Snowy Owl, Penguin and Polar Bear
taking it in turns to dress up and hide in an igloo while singing Bangers & Smash original, Jack Frost
Chinese New Year
Photo by Valentin Petkov on Unsplash
Children have enjoyed:
singing a Chinese hello song, Ni Hao Ma, to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle
passing a Chinese rattle drum around the circle
singing Chinese New Year Is Here Again while playing bells and chime bars
waving red and yellow scarves and parading round with a paper dragon while listening to Training The Horses by the Peking Brothers
Africa Project at Under the Willow
Meanwhile, at Under the Willow, we’ve begun our 11-week Africa Project with sessions on:
Introduction to Africa
Desert landscapes
Animals of Africa
Photo by Cole Keister on Unsplash
Children have enjoyed:
finding Africa on a map and singing the Seven Continents song
learning a new hello song from South Africa, Haya Ma
looking at The Skin You Live In, a beautifully illustrated book celebrating skin colour
dancing to Funga Alafia, a welcome song from Nigeria recorded by Iya and the Kuumba Kids
looking at pictures of camel traders and listening to African Sanctus by David Fanshawe
playing claves and chanting to a recording of tribespeople in the Kalahari desert
singing traditional children’s song, Alice The Camel, and Helen McCookerybook’s Here’s A Great Big Lion
Short Breaks at Waterman’s Arts Centre
And finally, Kitty’s new multi-arts project for children in the early years with additional needs kicked off at Waterman’s Arts Centre on 10 January 2020.
Kitty with fellow presenter, Steve Grocott
In the first four sessions, Short Breaks children and their families have sung and danced to original Bangers & Smash songs and listened to stories about nature and wildlife especially written by Kitty.
They have also:
made junk shakers
played with a sensory garden
made worms in slime
created a bee in honeycomb collage
Playing with Aislinn’s sensory garden
Kitty is joined by fellow early years music specialist, musician and storyteller, Steve Grocott, and arts psychotherapy student and creative support leader, Aislinn Jeffers, both of whom are helping to create this exciting new education pilot as well as playing in the Short Breaks band!