Garden Watch and Storytelling Week

Are you taking part in the RSPB Big Garden Watch and/or Storytelling Week with the children in your early years setting?  Both happen near each other RSPB... end of January / Storytelling beginning of February!  Have you thought about linking these to musical activities?  If not here are a few ideas to get you started: 

RSPB Big Garden Watch

Every year, at the end of January, the RSPB encourages people to take part in the survey so that they can track how the birds are doing in the UK.  Even if you are not taking part officially you may like to get the children looking out to see what birds that they can spot.

You may like to use the download from the RSPB website that has images of native birds.  Here’s the direct link: https://www.rspb.org.uk/globalassets/downloads/documents/kids-and-schools/spot-it-birds-and-mammals.pdf 

You could also explore music written to sound like birds flying and encourage the children to move to the music.  E.g.

• Lark Ascending
• Cuckoo from Carnival of the Animals
• The Bird from Peter and the Wolf

Storytelling Week

What about acting out songs and nursery rhymes that the children know well. e.g.

• Grand Old Duke of York
• Humpty Dumpty
• Horsey, Horsey

Get up and encourage the children to do actions/movements as the words suggest. 

Maybe video the children doing their moves.  Then watch it back without the sound on so that they can see if they can identify the song/rhyme just from their actions/movements!

or

Add a singing element to a story they know well.  Take a look at my blog '9 Books That You Can Sing' for more ideas: https://musicalabc.simplero.com/blog/2958-9-books-that-you-can-sing 

Some stories have songs to go with them for example:

• Goldilocks and the three bears
• The Gruffalo

 Here is a video of Julia Donaldson singing, The Gruffalo:

If you have other ideas that you have tried please comment below.

Happy music making!