At Eaton House Nursery, every child has an opportunity to perform. This can be from a line in the Nativity, to showing off their latest dance move in music and movement, to galloping their way around the room with a partner in our tap lesson.
The key is finding what your child loves to do. Some children prefer playing an instrument, others love singing at the top of their voices for everyone to hear. We have a range of experiences on offer.
Each week the nursery children have a music lesson. This takes place in the music room or theatre. The children hear the piano playing as soon as they enter the room. A fun warm-up starts, everyone is encouraged to join in as well as the teachers! The children’s confidence blossoms; new songs, rhythms and instruments are explored. We also sing in different languages to make sure everyone is included. This is a wonderful cross-curricular opportunity to look at different cultures from around the world.
EYFS early learning goal:
“Children sing songs, make music and dance and experiment with ways of changing them.”
We perform music concerts throughout the year and also a Nativity takes place in the theatre, with a full set, lights and costumes. Our Nursery children always have the fantastic opportunity to watch siblings perform. We take them to see the plays and choirs perform. They get such enjoyment out of seeing their big brother or sister on the stage, there is lots of frantic waving and smiling! If the older boys and girls are learning a similar topic we often overlap. For example, we watched an assembly All about India from Year 5 with some stunning Bollywood dancing.
Tap dancing, music and movement and yoga are all part of the weekly curriculum. Many children have tap shoes and have now started to piece together a routine. The children learn to tap and clap out a beat and copy basic tap moves such as shuffle steps and tap springs. Through music and movement the children can express themselves to different styles of music, learning about rhythm and contributing with favourite pop songs. We often end the lesson with musical statues! Yoga is a huge hit, we use Cosmic Yoga that has a variety of themed moves, from Frozen to Star Wars. We raise awareness of how our body feels when we exercise and the positive impact of this. We stress the importance of good health. The children are helped to recognise the signs of exercise: feeling warmer, heart beating faster, slightly out of breath.
EYFS early learning goal:
“Children know the importance for good health of physical exercise and a healthy diet and talk about ways to keep healthy and safe.”
Every day children are encouraged to gain confidence and speak in front of their peers. Children talk about show-and-tell, and news, and sing days of the week. We gently encourage quieter children to participate in small group work and praise specifically, always handing out stamps, stickers and high fives along the way.
