March and April have been super-busy at Bangers & Smash with songs and activities on the theme of Birds in Spring!
Big thanks to Under the Willow for this fabulous wall art!
Children and staff enjoyed:
listening to a tin bird whistle, a wooden owl hoot, a card that plays the sound of a barn owl and a ceramic water warbler and mimicking the sounds as a group and on their own
playing a game where Kitty makes the sound of a bird and they guess which bird it is (cuckoo / dove / owl / duck / goose / chicken etc)
making up new verses to a Portuguese song, As Pombinhas Da Catrina, about a little girl and her pet doves
looking at a soft toy barn owl and snowy owl and learning I Saw An Owl and The Wide-Eyed Owl
looking at Martin Waddell’s beautiful Owl Babies book and singing Kitty’s accompanying song
singing Fly Little Bird about a bird who flies away in Autumn and comes back in Spring
pretending to be baby birds in a nest and saying ‘Tweet, tweet, tweet’ when Kitty gives them a worm
passing round a wooden egg shaker and taking it in turns to shake it
looking at a toy hen and baby chick in a nest and singing Chick, Chick, Chicken
Children at Mother Goose Greendale enjoyed singing to this owl in a tree!
In addition:
Under the Willow and School Outdoors Dulwich presented Project Celebrations for parents and carers about Spring and Birds in Winter & Spring
children and staff at Smart Kids paraded with homemade Easter baskets and bonnets and made a video of Spring and Easter songs to post on the Famly app
Homemade Easter baskets and bonnets at Smart Kids!
Kitty Pidduck presents…
Kitty was also delighted to present two music and craft sessions for families and members of the local community.
Music in the Wildlife Garden
Kitty was joined by folk musician and Bangers & Smash co-founder, Sarah Allen, for a morning of singing and junk-instrument-making in the Mother Goose Wildlife Garden on Saturday 26 March.
Sarah and Kitty in the Mother Goose Wildlife Garden
Ably assisted by host and wildlife gardener, Di, and volunteer, Dylan, families made shakers and drums from recycled and natural materials while singing songs from Kitty’s musical preschool series, currently in development with King Bee Animation.
Give a Hoot
With the help of volunteer, Liz, Kitty also presented a morning of owl-themed songs and activities at Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses on Wednesday 13 April.
There’s a wide-eyed owl…
Families listened to different owl sounds and sang songs about barn owls and snowy owls. They looked at Martin Waddell’s Owl Babies book and learned Kitty’s accompanying song before hunting for owl babies in the wooded area behind the mud kitchen.
The second part of the session was spent making and decorating owl babies and owl hoots before finishing with a reprise of Kitty’s Owl Babies song.
Check out this fabulous owl baby!
Huge thanks to Mother Goose Wildlife Garden and Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses and, of course, to all children, staff, parents and volunteers who continue to make Bangers & Smash music sessions such a pleasure!