Spring has finally sprung at Bangers & Smash and we’ve celebrated with music sessions on Easter, farm animals, our bodies and more!
Celebrating Easter
Children and staff at all Bangers & Smash nurseries – as well as families in our online group, ‘The Elephants’ – celebrated Easter with songs about eggs, bunnies, chicks and Easter bonnets.
We played shakers, listened to the story of Farmer Brown and danced to Louis Jordan’s There Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens.
Families and staff from Mother Goose Greendale also took part in a special Zoom Easter Concert.
We sang songs about Easter and baby animals, played wooden spoons to Hot Cross Buns and danced to Walking On Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves.
Crystal Nurseries, School Outdoors Dulwich and ‘The Elephants’
Farm Animals
Children and staff at Crystal Nurseries and School Outdoors Dulwich – as well as families in our online group, ‘The Elephants’ – spent April and May singing about farm animals.
They enjoyed:
looking at a kitten, a puppy, a chicken and a duck and mimicking the sounds they make
adding the sounds to the song, My Little Kitten
learning the finger rhyme, Five Little Ducks Went Swimming One Day, and singing it with a Mummy duck, Daddy duck and five baby ducks
singing and dancing to Ducks Like Rain by Raffi
looking at a book of farm animals and making the sound of each animal
extending this activity with older children to create a farm animal ‘soundscape’
looking at a picture book about animals in a farmhouse and singing the song, Cows In The Kitchen
adding in extra animals and thinking of places for them to hide e.g. Mouse In The Teapot
singing Horsey, Horsey and dancing to Hoe Down from Rodeo by Aaron Copland
clapping along to Old Macdonald Had A Farm
All nurseries were able to make junk claves with the children and Kitty used these to play a pulse and to explore different tempi (slow, medium and fast) while singing Horsey, Horsey.
‘The Elephants’ did the same using wooden spoons!
Under the Willow
Meanwhile at Under the Willow, Kitty ran sessions on our bodies in April and science experiments in May.
Our Bodies
Children and staff enjoyed:
singing a song about wellbeing, Every Little Cell In My Body Is Happy (to the tune of Shortnin’ Bread)
singing Bangers & Smash original, Two Eyes, about the different parts of our faces
exercising to Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes
learning a new song, Legs
singing a song about a spider who climbs up our bodies and jumps off our heads, There’s A Spider On The Floor
listening to a rattle and moving like skeletons to Dem Bones by Fats Waller
shaking, clapping, jumping, yawning and wiggling to Shake My Sillies Out
Science Experiments
Children and staff enjoyed:
making the sound of a train – chiffa chuffa, chiffa chuffa
listening to a train whistle and mimicking the sound – whoo, whoo!
joining in with actions to Up Like A Rocket by Steve Grocott
looking at pictures of children doing scientific experiments and singing:
Molly Has A Test Tube
Can We Learn Something New About The World?
Will It Sink Or Will It Float?
The Arms On The Robot Go Up & Down
looking at a clockwork toy robot and moving to Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger by Daft Punk
looking at a picture of children on a seesaw and singing Seesaw, Marjorie Daw while moving backwards and forwards with a partner
looking at a mechanical toy carousel and singing Round And Round On A Merry-Go-Round while going round and round with a partner
Photo by Clint Patterson on Unsplash
Kitty was delighted to be invited back into the nursery in May after running sessions on Zoom over the last year. It was amazing to see everyone in person again and to meet new staff and children!
Mother Goose Greendale
And finally, Kitty has been asked to resume music sessions at Mother Goose Greendale from June, which is wonderful news.
Sessions will take place in the Wildlife Garden and Kitty hopes to use the warmer weather as an opportunity to explore the garden and its inhabitants in all their glory!