Photo Credit: Rachel Brooke for Earlyarts
Hello Readers!
Welcome to the Creative Care Package No. 4 - a slight deviation to the normal Earlyarts Ebulletin - to bring artists and cultural organisations into your home or school and help ignite those little (and big!) imaginations in the days and weeks to come.
But first, a little personal story. I don't know if this happened to you but, when we bought our first family home and my first child was born, I imagined that we would raise him in community, sharing the burdens and joys with local friends, swapping ideas on how on earth to navigate this challenging journey of motherhood. However, I had not totally appreciated the drive for individualism that was fast becoming the cultural norm in our society, nor how pressured, busy and tired everyone was in trying to work and parent to the 'best of our ability'.
In his first year, my son had a brain hemorrhage, resulting in ongoing fitting and unexpected lapses in breathing. Although the doctors prepared us for the worst, my son was strong and pulled through. But it was a lonely few years, coping with an anything but calm toddler and trying to navigate the complexities of the health and social care systems, with no family or friends nearby to help. One of my saving graces was the weekly music and movement sessions at the local church hall. For my son it was a physical, expressive outlet for all the big emotions he couldn't yet put into words, and for me it was a lifesaver to be able to see other parents who had also not slept properly for weeks and weren't sure if anything we said was making sense.
Fast forward 18 years and my son and younger daughter are both amazing human beings who have carved out their lives as independent, expressive young people, against numerous odds, and constantly amaze me how creative they are in so many ways. Like many parents who struggle to achieve what they are told is 'best for their child', I didn't find out until years later that this 'ideal' parent I felt permanently guilty for not being was a complete myth. It doesn't exist. Except in the media, blogs, films and stories which are not real.
I wont get into the politics of why this myth is perpetuated to fuel big business and political agendas. But I will say that my passion for the small, the local and the community is all wrapped up in these Earlyarts E-bulletins. I hope this offers a space for you to do whatever you like with your children, to have fun, to share interests, to discover things about each other and to just be together, no matter what that looks like.
I sincerely hope, after the quarantine is lifted, that we won't be 'going back to normal'. But that, in this space, we will have carved out new habits of being together in community, building friendships across the garden wall, slowing down time so that we can all cope with growing up, finding our own voices so we can resist pressures from the media and, more importantly, finding a new rhythm where we can really tune in to our kids, and they into us.
Take great care of each other,
Ruth Churchill Dower
Earlyarts Director
Creative Ideas for Families and Schools
1. Music and Singing
i) For beautifully elegant and playful songs, check out singer-songwriter, Claire Tustin. Sit back and enjoy songs from her album Dancing with the Bees here: https://smarturl.it/5n0w55 or here: https://clairetustin.bandcamp.com/releases, or join Claire (and her dog Charlie) for a wonderful musical nature walk on her YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3e3UlUX. Once you’ve warmed up those vocal chords, why not explore Claire’s virtual music sessions on Thursdays - 10 am for children under four and 2 pm classes for children 4 - 7 years and their families: https://www.facebook.com/lullaboogaloo/.
ii) The brilliant team at soundLincs have put together an early years resource pack called First Steps Into Music which offers eight fun, practical ideas for music making with under 5s. Aimed at helping develop social, communication and co-ordination skills, it is designed especially for use at home with no prior musical knowledge required. Tune in to your musical ears here: http://www.soundlincs.org/early-years-resource-pack/. Plus soundLincs are providing musical ideas at 11.30am every morning on their facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/soundlincs.
iii) Also from the amazing soundLincs is the First Notes app, available free on IoS and Android. This exciting resource gives you 120 creative ideas for use in schools, settings or in the home to help build up music making skills and knowledge. It is directly linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) so you can see what areas of learning your child is covering across the whole curriculum. And uses video, sing-a-long tracks and lyrics to bring music to life in a fun way for the right stage of your child: http://www.soundlincs.org/2016/06/first-notes-app-share-special/.
iv) Feeling in the groove on a balmy sunny evening? Why not express yourself in one of the many excellent online singing groups, bands or orchestras? Here’s a few to get your teeth in to: https://www.alternativeclassical.co.uk/features/self-isolation-ensembles. Some are live groups, others provide a musical track for you to record your contribution which is then edited in to the overall performance – both moving and rewarding.
2. Art, Design, Materials and Mixed Media
i) The fabulous Starcatchers team bring you a series of Wee Inspirations for your little ones. Easy activities that require little preparation or kit, create many moments of silliness and laughter between you and have lasting benefits. Many of these ideas also cover other art forms but you can take your pick here: https://www.starcatchers.org.uk/wee-inspirations/.
ii) If you are an artist, maker, actor, mover or creative of any description and a mum/ aunty / godmother / grandmother or any kind of mother, here’s a great network bringing together Mothers Who Make. The group has networking sessions in several different regions so you can get to know other mothers and find the balance between creative work and parenting: https://www.facebook.com/MothersWhoMake/.
iii) Fancy contributing your wonderful artworks to Grayson Perry’s Artclub? In his new Channel 4 series, Grayson Perry is intending to unleash the nation’s collective creativity by talking to famous artists, running masterclasses and critiquing viewers’ own creations via video calls from inside his studio. Each week a new theme for submissions is announced – fancy a go? https://www.swanfilms.tv/2020/03/enter-your-artwork-here/
iv) Don’t forget to try out the lovely artist, Louisa Penfold’s, Kids’ Art Projects such as this super-satisfying feast: Make blinged-up playdough with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry: http://www.louisapenfold.com/kids-art-projects-blinged-up-play-dough-recipe/. Check out Louisa’s other creative ideas on her Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/louisa.penfold/
3. Dance and Movement
i) The superb Social Distancing Festival brings many international artists and performers together whose pieces were cancelled in the final stages of rehearsal, but one of the most compelling watches is their Dance channel: https://www.socialdistancingfestival.com/dance. For instance, check out The Story of a Mother or Lights Out is about Accepting Love for physical and emotive expressions of loving in the current climate. Many beautiful evenings worth of watching!
ii) Dance East is offering three Dance Tots sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays as part of their super Home is where the Dance Is programme. Join in with your little ones or perhaps sneak a creative dance session in yourself in their awesome weekly programme: https://www.danceeast.co.uk/get-dancing/home-dance/,
iii) Who wouldn’t want to Wake Up and Warm Up with the beautiful guys at Circus Central? These 15 minute sessions take place weekday mornings from 10-10.15am and are ideal for anyone needing an energetic boost to their day. Booking is free here: https://www.circuscentral.co.uk/classes/wake-up-and-warm-up-20200322-195309
iv) The awesome researchers at Leicester’s De Montford University have developed the Talent 25 programme to explore the creative skills of babies and young children through creative arts, music and dance sessions. Check out their early findings here on BBC Radio 4s half hour programme - The Art of Raising a Child: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000h1sc including interviews with the Talent 25 team and the families involved.
Photo credit: Rachel Brooke for Earlyarts
4. Museums and Galleries
i) What would you say if your only means of communicating with your family was a 25-word message that would take months to arrive? This is the first of several Family Missions being set every Friday by the wonderful Imperial War museum. This week you can also enjoy stories from history about the worlds biggest den told by the IWM’s resident storyteller, Ngaire, from her very own den inside her boat! More adventures here: https://www.iwm.org.uk/learning/adventures-in-history-the-worlds-best-den
ii) As if you couldn’t have any more fun, and then comes along the Void Gallery with their one and only Karen Cassidy teaching us how to make giant bubbles! Check out the ingredients you will need to prepare in advance, then tune in on Thursday 16th April at 11am on their Facebook or Instagram Live pages: https://www.facebook.com/events/636621680453105/ and @derryvoid.
iii) Don’t miss the chance to join in with Seven Stories whose #kidsbooksinquarantine challenge provides just the excuse you’ve been looking for to get creative. For big and little kids alike, you can all have a go at recreating your favourite children’s book cover and posting it on their facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/7Stories/.
iv) The amazing education team at Westminster Abbey will be inspiring the nation with their special Facebook Live activity session on Kings, Queens and Coronations on Friday 17th April at 10.30am. The session will include stories from some of the coronations which have been held in Westminster Abbey since 1066, and ideas on how to recreate a coronation ceremony at home. Don’t miss the fun at: https://www.facebook.com/WestminsterAbbeyLondon/.
v) The fabulous Art and Us programme run by MK Gallery (Milton Keynes) is a superb example of how art can reach beyond invisible borders and support the lives of families with children with complex needs. This little film gives a taste of how they do this and offers inspiration for working with unusual materials, art forms and spaces to build confidence and joy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAvRqbd2Jeo&feature=youtu.be
5. Story and Role Play
i) London's only purpose-built puppet theatre, Little Angel, are offering free entry to their latest performance of ‘I Want My Hat Back!’ for this week only! Sit back for a beautifully crafted conversation between hatless creatures, based on John Klassen’s picture book here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBJmp1c3XIQ
ii) Wizard Presents will be live streaming a bedtime story every Tuesday & Thursday with the wonderful Danyah Miller and invited guests at 6.30pm: https://www.wizardpresents.co.uk/danyah-miller/. Thursday's episode will be a spontaneous, improvised story using suggestions from viewers, and all episodes will be available to watch on the Youtube channel after the live stream, fully captioned for 1 week: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXKox_33AgldFm8dlGuPr9w.
iii) Join Rosie and Taylor from Burnley Youth Theatre in their creative weekly online activities, including: Live Creative Families at 10am on a Tuesday - uplifting live music and movement aimed at 0-4 year olds and their families, and Live Storytime at 10am on a Thursday - much loved stories brought to life for 0-6 year olds and their families: https://www.facebook.com/burnleyyouththeatre. Plus check out their other fun activities and Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEB&search_query=burnley+youth+theatre
iv) The wonderful team at KEAP (Kernow Education Arts Partnership) have turned their weekly story, song and movement sessions into an online early years event ‘Little Story Seekers’ so everyone can access it from home. Catch up with these free weekly sessions on Mondays at 10am from April 20th: https://www.facebook.com/TheWritersBlockCornwall/.
v) In the meantime, don’t miss their Creative Writing Competition on the theme of ‘Change’. Entries from 1 April, Deadline for entries is 1 May: https://thewritersblock.org.uk/the-writers-block-competition-2020/. To practice for this, why not explore their 'Prompt a day' creative writing prompts for all ages posted every weekday on Facebook? https://www.facebook.com/TheWritersBlockCornwall/. Wow! So much creativity!
P.S. Please do let me know if you come across excellent, non-commercial arts resources that should be included here for all families, schools and nurseries.
P.P.S. Don’t forget you can download a free pack on Den making from Earlyarts’ Nurturing Young Children’s Learning series by signing up to the quarterly Earlyarts Ebulletin, along with our pack on Ten Techniques for Creative Teaching (also great for families!). This way you’ll get notified of each new list of creative ideas.
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