Dear Friend
Welcome to the Creative Care Package No. 8 - bringing artists and cultural organisations into your home or school to help ignite those little (and big!) imaginations in the days and weeks to come.
Anyone who knows me knows I have an unbridled passion for the immense, unceasing and astonishing potential of our children. It is not a potential that is touchy and feely and has no name (which is easy to ignore). Nor is it a potential only linked to the future, as if children only realise their true selves when they become adults. I propose that children’s potential is something that is bursting out of them right now.
It comes with all their family history, their cultures, their multiple identities, their biological DNA, their sense of place, of being and of belonging. In that sense, children are shaped 100% by nature and 100% by nurture. The problem is that we often miss that potential by seeing only what we want to see, limited and shaped by our own histories, cultures, educational experiences, opportunities, oppressions, and so on (I talk here in my book about creative ways to counter this).
So my passion for justice is largely driven by this fearful sense that we are not grasping the full, complex, messy and beautiful picture of who our children have been and are now, nevermind what they might become. It is partly why I set up Earlyarts back in 2002.
It is so deeply entwined with the systematic racism exposed in the unjust killing of George Floyd and many others (including children), which sparked for me a journey of complex and challenging emotions that many of you, I'm sure, will have shared. My commitment is to social transformation that uproots deep, systemic racism. But this is futile without action. Listening to our children and families properly is important. Listening at the feet of those whose oppression has changed who they were meant to be, and massively limited their potential, will help us make visible the terrors of privilege and power and unfasten our perceived notions of non-white cultures.
But racism isn’t just a binary debate about black and white. It is what is known as intersectional, meaning it is bound up with a multitude of power abuses against gender, class, ability, age, sexual orientation, race and culture. These stem from a deeply embedded colonialist culture that strives to achieve an ‘ideal’ normative state based on the white, middle-class, able-bodied man. Each one adds a layer of oppression to an already highly discriminatory situation for which I can't breathe is an extremely apt description.
In taking action to ensure that what our children absorb and participate in are not structures of white privilege, by changing our curriculum, educational resources, cultural products, media representation, languages, intentionality and understandings, we will avoid perpetuating this normalising culture which is permanently excluding our brothers and sisters of colour from the lives they could and should be living.
I hope you enjoy the intercultural resources in our 8th Creative Care Package. They are not easy to find because intercultural arts activities for young children are not widely produced or available - another colonialist status quo that must be changed. Please share them, think about them and try them out with your children so that we can change the ways of the world together.
Take good care,
Ruth Churchill Dower
Creative Ideas for Families and Schools
1. Music and Singing
i) When Feversham Primary’s new head, Naveed Idrees, arrived in 2018, he positioned inter-cultural music firmly at the heart of the curriculum and claims this was a big part of the recipe that took the school from failing to being amongst the top 10% in Britain. Feversham’s Music Co-ordinator, Jimmy Rotherham shares the journey, along with key figures on Black music education, Nate Holder, Pran Patel and Michelle McCauley who discuss why and how to decolonise the music curriculum: https://www.steamco.org.uk/news/artofbradford.
ii) The wonderful Bradley Travis, from the English Touring Opera, is running a super series of online music workshops to which all families with disabled children and their siblings are warmly invited. Exploring creative play, rhythm, sound and song with our bodies, these workshops are great fun and easy to join in with at 11am on Wednesdays, or catch up with previous workshops here: http://englishtouringopera.org.uk/productions/online-workshops-for-children-with-send.
iii) You are warmly invited to join the lovely Heather (on cello) and Dave (on percussion) for a special monthly Groove Tots class for 0-4 year olds. With songs from around the world, dance and instrumental play, you and your little ones will have a lot of fun together. The next class is Sunday 5th July at 3pm (UK time - BST), so have your instruments ready and click to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88402656175?pwd=eVZPV05JU1hDWHRlbDQ2QXBjODU5QT09.
iv) National music charity, Sound Connections (who run the London Early Years Music Network), has published a super blog full of music and other resources to help us all learn about, understand and dismantle the structural racism that exists in our society and develop a more critical, reflective and honest culture, including the most insightful antiracism books for raising our children: https://www.sound-connections.org.uk/news/sound-connections-anti-racism-statement.
v) What do you do with children’s songs that are racist or have questionable lyrics? This excellent article explores this question, identifying questionable songs our children have been brought up on, and how to modify them whilst helping children understand why this view of history needs changing: https://bit.ly/2C8gpz3. Also, it is worth checking out this amazing list of songs with a questionable past compiled by American Kodály Institute director, Lauren McDougle: https://bit.ly/3huYBhU.
2. Art, Design, Materials and Mixed Media
i) In 2020, Children’s Art Week will take place online, at home and in schools across three weeks from 29 June – 19 July. Each week will focus on a special theme (Week 1: The Natural World, Week 2: Connecting across generations, Week 3: Literacy and creative writing). Register your own activities until 25th June, from live-streamed arts sessions to digital collections: https://engage.org/happenings/childrens-art-week/.
ii) The fabulous Liverpool Learning Partnership are launching their Creative Spark initiative for primary schools – a series of creative arts resources to ignite inclusive learning. This week, the art work of Lubaina Himid is a starting point for discussion about shapes, colours, friendships, love, kindness, the strength of Black people throughout history - and how we might change the world! https://mailchi.mp/2416bae09eaf/local-art-culture-to-inspire-creative-learning-4853329.
iii) Imaginate, who produce the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival, has developed a fantastic programme of children’s activities designed by professional artists. Whether you enjoy den-making, animation, story building, digital spaces or shadow-box theatre, there is plenty here for children and young people to create their own worlds: https://www.imaginate.org.uk/families/.
iv) Moving seamlessly from the art gallery into the online art space, Atelier @TheWhitworth are bringing weekly Atelier at home sessions on their facebook page. Discover how to create inspiring spaces that engage young children’s imaginations for longer through encouraging immersion and exploration through arts-based play. Spark your imagination here: https://www.facebook.com/Culturekidsmanchester/.
v) Creativity is NOT cancelled! In the midst of social distancing over many borders, Selfridges in collaboration with design company, Hato, invite you to join their live digital artboard and help design the letters! Take a little time out to experiment and play. The designs will all be recorded in real-time and revealed at the end of the week via instagram! https://creativityisnotcancelled.hato.co/. Or get your free indoor play manual here: https://manual-for-indoor-play.hato.co/.
3. Dance and Movement
i) The inspirational dance artist, Takeshi Matsumoto, has put together a few dance ideas for Hackney Children's Theatre with his very own improvised violin music. A short but beautiful piece that will inspire any little one (and their parent!) to have a go: https://youtu.be/R2mRcRjqlUU.
ii) Poetic Play is a non-verbal movement video made by dance artist, Maria Svensson, for Ireland’s national day of free creativity, Cruinniú na nÓg 2020. Using bath crayons to track her body’s simple movement and sounds, Maria gently shares ideas and possibilities on how to explore movement play with your toddler, along with music by composer and singer Fiona Kelleher: https://youtu.be/-JsFgFjEp7Y.
iii) How many of your little ones love their blanket? Based on the children’s story by Annaliese Stony, It’s Not Just A Blanket, dance artist, Liz Clark, has produced a super workshop on Sensory Stories, exploring your space with your blanket (and a pillow!): https://vimeo.com/424271219. Or join Liz here to find a zillion different ways to dance with your favourite jumpers: https://vimeo.com/411588314.
iv) Families at the Bluecoat is a group run by Liverpool’s contemporary art centre with daily activities to try out in lockdown: https://www.facebook.com/groups/272398703930442/. One of their latest additions is a series of simple but powerful movement activities from Dance Artist, Mary Prestidge. Why not have a go and along with their handy guide?: https://bit.ly/35nvO9w.
Photo Credit: Rachel Brooke for Earlyarts
4. Museums and Galleries
i) The awesome National Museums Liverpool have come up with the perfect antidote to closed museums – helping families create their very own museum at home! This wonderful initiative, My Home is My Museum, is open to 4-11 year olds to create an exhibition of artworks inspired by the people, places and things that are important to you. Learn how to collect your objects, create your gallery and perhaps even star in your own video! https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/my-home-my-museum.
ii) The wonderful team at Manchester Art Gallery, in partnership with Martenscroft Sure Start Centre and Manchester Health Visitors, normally hold weekly Healthy Child Drop-In and Baby Stay and Play sessions for littlies. During lockdown, why not try out some of their immersive online activities with artist Naomi Kendrick, designed for parents and babies to explore the gallery wonders: https://manchesterartgallery.org/learn/families/baby-stay-and-play-at-home/.
iii) 'Aren’t we all kind of in this together? So why is it that you’re blacker than I am? And we’re not even talking skin tone, we’re talking attitudes or music… Shouldn’t I be allowed to live my life the way that I choose? Why should I now have to conform to your idea of what is black?' A brilliant and challenging film on what it is to be Black from the fabulous Firstsite Colchester gallery as part of their Super Black exhibition - A Must See: https://firstsite.uk/event/super-black.
iv) Manchester Museum in Quarantine is a space dedicated to exploring some of the most beautiful beasties you could ever fall in love with. Not only can you investigate a mass of different collections but their enthusiastic curators are now going LIVE to bring their stories to life. If you don’t know your tyrannosaurus from your frogliscious, then find out more here https://www.mminquarantine.com/resource-for-home-educators-and-fam.
5. Story and Role Play
i) Bamboozle Theatre Company produce the most beautiful sensory environments for children with profound disabilities and, this summer, have transferred their latest production, Shipwrecked, to an online environment for you to enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/user/bamboozle1210/videos. Scroll down the list for short films with families whose children have experienced these stimulating environments, or watch the videos here: https://www.bamboozletheatre.co.uk/families/.
ii) The talented Half Moon Theatre is bringing its fabulous families performances online. A selection of recent much-loved productions for young people are available here for different age-groups during lockdown, including When Spring Comes, Once Upon a Snowflake and Butterflies: https://www.halfmoon.org.uk/halfmoonathome/live/#showingnow.
iii) The fabulous Oily Cart aims to reimagine theatre to include all young audiences, especially those who relate to the world in a sensory way – explore their sensory resources here: https://oilycart.org.uk/resources/. To support those who will be in lockdown for longer than some, families are warmly invited to join their facebook group and share in their treasury chest of sensory activities and resources: https://www.facebook.com/groups/oilycartfamilies.
iv) The Unicorn theatre’s first entirely digitally created theatre experience, Anansi the Spider Re-spun for ages 3 - 8, is being streamed for free in partnership with The Guardian. These classic West African and Caribbean tales about the infamous mischief-maker and master spinner of yarns have been filmed by the cast themselves in their own homes so that they can bring them to yours! Join the party and enjoy the downloadable creative resources here: https://www.unicorntheatre.com/anansi-respun!
v) Calling all early years teachers, practitioners, childcarers and families thinking about broadening their bookshelves and lesson planning. Teacher, Mr Finch, has written a superb blog which not only helps us think through the key anti-racism issues all children (and their adults) should know about. But also provides a hugely useful booklist of essential reading for children of all cultures: https://mrefinch.wordpress.com/2020/06/03/a-curriculum-for-anti-racism/.
vi) Former Poet Laureate for the London borough of Brent, MC on the Brighton Hip-Hop scene and theatre-maker extraordinaire, Simon Mole has had to sadly postpone his fantastic tour with Mole & Geko. But thankfully he is offering his superb poetry workshops online for us all. Tune in on Tuesdays from 10am, sign up here beforehand for details: https://www.simonmole.com/schools/online-poetry-workshops/
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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Another special offer!
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Designed by artists, teachers and parents together, this series includes 20 different art forms as starting points for all your creative activities.
Each pack shows how to support your children's learning through the arts, with added guidance for SEND activities.
Available as a complete set of 20 or a bite-sized bundle of 6 books for ages 0-5.
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