Migration and hibernation take us from Autumn into Winter

This November, as the weather gets colder and the festive season looms, we've been rehearsing our Christmas shows in some regular Bangers & Smash nurseries while thinking about Autumn and Winter in others.

Photo by Hans Poppe on Unsplash

Starting with the finger rhyme, Five Little Leaves, we've looked at how the trees lose their leaves as the wind blows through the town – brrr!

What do the animals do when it gets cold?

  • The hedgehog burrows his way under some dead leaves and goes to sleep in our song, Sleep, Little Hedgehog. While some children like to curl up like hedgehogs, others enjoy shouting 'Wake up!' to remind their friends that Spring is on its way

How about the birds?

  • Some migrate to warmer climes as demonstrated in Fly, Little Bird, a gentle song in a minor key in which the children flap their wings and fly away till Spring

  • Others wait out the freezing weather with help from us in the form of bird seed, hanging feeders, fat balls and stale bread. In the song, Feed The Birds, from the film, Mary Poppins, the children take it in turns to purchase some (pretend) bird seed for 'Tuppence a bag' and put it into their friends' upturned mouths as they chorus, 'Tweet, tweet!'

Rounding off these sessions on seasonal migration and hibernation, both children and staff have loved flapping their wings and shaking their tailfeathers to The Jacksons' ever-popular Rockin' Robin!

Celebrating Black History Month with Bangers & Smash!

We always look forward to October at Bangers & Smash because it's Black History Month!

This year, we've had a blast singing and sharing songs and stories from Africa and the Caribbean while thinking about The Skin You Live In. This beautifully illustrated book uses sumptuous language and imagery to celebrate skin colour:

  • your coffee and cream skin, your warm cocoa dream skin, your chocolate chip, double dip, sundae supreme skin

  • your marshmallow treat skin, your spun sugar sweet skin, your cherry topped, candy dropped, frosting complete skin

  • your butterscotch gold skin, your lemon tart bold skin, your mountain high, apple pie, cookie dough rolled skin

The children have enjoyed looking at their own and their friends' skin while singing and dancing to Brown Girl in the Ring in a circle.

Black and Brown staff members at regular Bangers & Smash nurseries have shared songs and stories from their childhoods and heritages.

Thanks to the following:

  • Vinette and Israel for Go Down Emmanuel Road, a Jamaican song about passing stones around a circle

  • Elizabeth for Nzama, a Malawian song about some tasty beans

  • Ronke and Yemi for Labe Igi Orombo, a Nigerian song in the Yoruba language about playing under an orange tree

  • Juliet and Nkechi for O Kereke, a Nigerian song in the Igbo language about passing stones around a circle

  • Elizabeth for Benyi Ni Biti, a Ghanaian song about a man who plays a drum

Thanks also to Drums for Schools for their wonderful Nursery Rhythm Kit which we've used to accompany all the above songs throughout the month. The children have loved choosing their own instruments and using them to keep a pulse and join in with simple repeating rhythms.

We've also enjoyed dancing to Get Up, Edina by Desmond Dekker and Young, Gifted & Black by Bob & Marcia.

Israel said:

'Kitty has shown so much interest during Black History Month. She has done her research and got music from Africa and Jamaica. Kitty has raised an awareness to brown and chocolate skin children, how talented and beautiful they are.'