At Clowns we strive to be at the forefront of early years education and are constantly developing the way music is presented to the children. Music and movement lessons combine singing classic nursery rhymes, playing instruments, dancing, and learning about rhythm and basic music theory. We also sing pop songs and songs the children sing at home, including songs from around the world in different languages. We encourage parents to email in songs and introduce them to the children with the help of our Music Teacher.
Music lessons are held in each classroom at least twice a week. They are between 30-55 minutes long and are tailored to the age of the children within the classes. The lessons incorporate the topics and different parts of the curriculum the children are covering at the time, as well as any special interests the children have.
The format of a typical lesson includes:
- A warm up song and hello greeting song
- Action and finger play song
- A new song involving the current topic
- Action and movement or dance song
- Interactive song using props such as puppets or pictures and involving numeracy skills or literacy such as rhyming.
- Instruments including various percussion such as shakers and tambourines, or instruments the children bring in
- Mindful moment and music appreciation time with colourful lights. This covers a wide variety of genres from classical to jazz to world music, where the children lay down and have 3 minutes quiet time to end the lesson.
- In addition, we offer extra-curricular music lessons in violin, ukulele, rhythm and singing.
Twice a year we have a performance at the King Alfred’s Phoenix Theatre for the children in our Limetree classes. This is a great opportunity for the children to showcase what they have learnt throughout the year on a real stage with lights, microphones and a live audience. It is amazing to see how this boosts the children’s confidence and gives them a real chance to shine and show what they have learnt.
