With the end of lockdown in sight and the first daffodils starting to show, it’s time to look back over the last three months at Bangers & Smash – with regular and bespoke sessions on Winter, healthy living and more!
Kitty continued to run face-to-face sessions at School Outdoors Dulwich – with Crystal Nurseries rejoining after half-term – as well as delivering online sessions for Under the Willow and ‘The Elephants’ – a fabulous group of mums and daughters who have been singing together since April 2020.
School Outdoors Dulwich
At School Outdoors Dulwich, children and staff enjoyed:
learning a new hello song, Willaby Wallaby Wee
warming up with a clapping / tapping / stamping song
thinking of new verses to add to the song, Fly, Little Bird, about what animals do in cold weather:
Sleep, Little Hedgehog
Climb, Little Squirrel
Hunt, Little Barn Owl
Run, Little Fox
Hide, Little Mouse
Screech, Little Parakeet
thinking about what sounds these animals might make and listening to:
a bird whistle
an owl hoot
a mouse squeak
looking at soft toy animals and making up their own words to Bangers & Smash original, I’m In The Mood For A Song!
learning poems and songs about Winter:
Snowland
Drifting Snowflakes, Swirling Snowflakes
moving to slow and fast music played on a xylophone
shaking their hands, clapping and jumping to Shake My Sillies Out
shaking shakers to Hey There, Shaky, Shaky by The Wiggles and Nzama, Nzama, a Malawian song about beans cooking in a pot
learning a new song, Jumping Bean, and taking it in turns to jump up and down
dancing round some ivy and a buddleia bush to Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush
Under the Willow
Under the Willow moved to their new monthly curriculum in the New Year with sessions on healthy eating in January, exercise & fitness in February and dental health in March.
Healthy eating
Children and staff enjoyed:
warming up with a clapping / tapping / stamping song
looking at pictures of healthy foods like fruits, nuts, seeds and pulses and recapping the song, Do You Like?
learning a new song, When The Boat Comes In, about a fishy on a dishy
practising vowel sounds and singing Raffi’s Apples & Bananas
pretending to chop up different fruits while listening to The Wiggles’ Fruit Salad
looking at a junk shaker made from kidney beans and shaking their shakers to Nzama, Nzama, a Malawian song about beans cooking in a pot
playing claves to Peanut Vendor
Exercise & fitness
Children and staff enjoyed:
warming up with some simple exercises – yawning and stretching, standing on tiptoes, crouching down, making a star shape etc
rolling their arms round and round to Roly Poly
wobbling like a jelly and singing Jelly On My Plate
singing a song about wellbeing, Every Little Cell In My Body Is Happy (to the tune of Shortnin’ Bread)
joining in with two action songs:
Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes
The Down Up Song
marching to The Grand Old Duke Of York
shaking shakers to Hey There, Shaky, Shaky by The Wiggles
learning a new song, Jumping Bean, and taking it in turns to jump up and down
shaking their hands, clapping and jumping to Shake My Sillies Out
pretending to exercise in a gym while listening to Pump Up The Jam by Technotronic
Dental health
Children and staff enjoyed:
warming up, stretching and clapping to Every Little Cell In My Body Is Happy
singing Bangers & Smash original, Two Eyes, about the different parts of their faces
thinking about how people eat by pretending to bite, chew and swallow a banana
wobbling like a jelly and singing Jelly On My Plate
looking at a toothbrush and singing Brush Your Teeth (to the tune of Row Your Boat)
clapping a steady pulse and singing / rapping a new song, Smile!
shaking shakers to Hey There, Shaky, Shaky by The Wiggles
shaking their hands, clapping and jumping to Shake My Sillies Out
‘The Elephants’ and Crystal Nurseries
‘The Elephants’ enjoyed all of the above as well as two sessions on minibeasts. As always, our cosy online parent and child sessions felt very special!
Meanwhile, Crystal Nurseries took a break until half-term, after which they enjoyed sessions on exercise & fitness and dental health. It was lovely to be back teaching face-to-face at all three nurseries and to reconnect with children and staff – we missed you!
Why not book your own Bangers & Smash music session?
As lockdown eases, Bangers & Smash are still working with families, nurseries and childcare settings to provide music sessions that reflect their needs.
For some, this has meant continuing to deliver music via Zoom while for others, we’ve created bespoke risk assessments that allow us to teach safely in person.
We’d love to help out with your music offering so if you’re a parent, carer, childcare provider or arts setting and would like to discuss setting up one or more music sessions – either in person or via Zoom – please get in touch here!