This Spring, we’ve had a ‘splashing’ time learning about water at Bangers & Smash!
Kitty ran water-themed music sessions at regular Bangers & Smash nurseries, Under the Willow, School Outdoors Dulwich, Crystal Nurseries and Mother Goose Greendale.
She also presented two family singing and junk-instrument-making sessions, The Sounds of Water, at Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses in Herne Hill.
Regular Bangers & Smash nurseries
Children and staff enjoyed:
looking at a picture of the earth and pointing out the water and the land
learning about how the earth orbits the sun and singing a circle song – accompanied by handbells – to welcome the New Year
making models of the earth and sun and and choosing one child to hold the sun in the middle of the circle while another walks around holding the earth
passing a toy snowflake around and thinking of words to describe snow:
cold
freezing
icy
touching a foil blanket and thinking of words to describe the sound of snow:
crunchy
scrunchy
jumping and reaching up as Kitty waved the foil blanket over their heads
learning songs & poems about snow:
Three Little Snowflakes
Snowland
Snowflakes at School Outdoors Dulwich
listening to and trying out wooden and plastic rainsticks
thinking of words and sounds to describe rain:
pitter patter
drip drop
swoosh
accompanying these with actions (tapping knees, wiggling fingers etc)
singing rain songs with shakers:
I Hear Thunder
It’s Raining, It’s Pouring
Rain, Rain, Go Away
Incey, Wincey Spider
putting the rain sounds, actions and songs together to create a performance
Shakers and rainsticks at Mother Goose Greendale
finding a partner and singing Row, Row, Row Your Boat with actions
looking at a family of rubber ducks and singing:
Five Little Ducks Went Swimming One Day
Ducks Like Rain
listening to Kitty’s story, The Journey of a Raindrop, and thinking about how tiny streams become rivers that flow into the sea
performing the story with vocal and body percussion while listening to Vltava (The Moldau) by Bedřich Smetana
bouncing a whale and a mermaid on a blue cloth and singing Little Ripples… Big Waves
listening and singing along to Baby Beluga by children’s songwriter, Raffi
Baby Beluga in the Mother Goose Wildlife Garden
We finished off the term with three songs celebrating Easter:
The Easter Bunny
Chick, Chick, Chicken
The Easter Parade
Easter basket at Crystal Nurseries
Under the Willow and School Outdoors Dulwich
As well as the above, Under the Willow and School Outdoors Dulwich brought their termly projects to a close with Project Celebrations for parents and carers on Friday 24 March.
Staff and children presented poems, songs and activities based on the theme of Water. School Outdoors Dulwich performed together as one big group while Under the Willow split into three smaller groups – babies, toddlers and preschoolers.
Kitty Pidduck presents…
The Sounds of Water
Kitty was also delighted to present two music sessions at Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses. Families gathered at BPCG’s new learning centre, Brockwell Barn, on Monday 3 April to celebrate The Sounds of Water.
As well as playing rainsticks, singing songs and dancing to watery music, children created their own junk orchestra and took turns to conduct.
They finished off with a water hunt, during which they filled watering cans and emptied them into the pond. This simple yet hugely engaging multi-sensory activity was the highlight of both sessions – big thanks to BPCG’s Children and Families Programme Manager, Charlene, for suggesting it!
Emptying watering cans into the pond!
Music in the Wildlife Garden
And finally, it’s time to join Kitty and Sarah on Saturday 29 April for their annual Music in the Wildlife Garden event at the Mother Goose Wildlife Garden in Camberwell.
As well as singing and junk-instrument-making, this FREE event for adults, families and accompanied children will feature pond-dipping and watery art activities courtesy of Berengère Ducoms and Hannah Littlejones.
Please come along and bring your little ones!
