We’ve had an busy end to the Autumn term at Bangers & Smash with rehearsals, performances and an outdoor community singalong!
Christmas Shows
Preparations for Christmas began in November with Crystal Nurseries rehearsing Kitty’s version of The Ugly Bug Ball (featuring a host of songs about minibeasts) and Mother Goose – Greendale practising their Christmas Show.
Come December, parents and carers enjoyed performances in all four settings. Shows were packed to the rafters and it was wonderful to see the children (and, in some cases, staff!) dressed up in their costumes, singing their hearts out.
Check out some of the Ugly Bugs at Smart Kids Christmas Show!
Earth Story
Meanwhile, at Under the Willow, we brought our 10-week project, Earth Story, to a close with our final music sessions and Earth Story Project Celebration.
Our last two sessions were about:
Dinosaurs and prehistoric animals
Early man
Children enjoyed:
choosing a toy dinosaur and singing Ten Big Dinosaurs and Where’s The Dinosaur?
stomping around the room and roaring to The Prehistoric Animal Brigade
dancing to Walk the Dinosaur by Was Not Was
singing and dancing to a Nigerian welcome song, Funga Alafia
Inspired by Older Than The Stars, a beautifully illustrated picture book about the origins of the universe, our Earth Story Project Celebration brought together songs and activities from the previous ten sessions in a performance for parents and carers on 28 November 2018.
Winter Tree Festival
We finished the term with three sessions on lights and lanterns as part of Under the Willow’s Winter Tree Festival.
In the first two sessions, we looked at how light plays a part in three seasonal festivals, Hanukkah, Diwali and Christmas, while in the last session, we sang a selection of Christmas songs, including:
Here We Go Round The Christmas Tree
Let It Snow
When Santa Got Stuck Up The Chimney
Jingle Bells
Carols in the Wildlife Garden
Our final Bangers & Smash session of 2018 brought co-founders, Kitty and Sarah, together for an afternoon of singing and Christmas wreath-making in the Mother Goose Nursery Wildlife Garden.
Despite freezing temperatures and rain, the event saw families and members of the local community join in with carols and Christmas songs while tucking into mulled wine and mince pies courtesy of wildlife gardener and host, Di Wallace.
Thanks to everyone at Mother Goose for inviting us to perform and a very Happy New Year from Bangers & Smash!