Early Years Residency Roundup!

Musicians Kasia Eliasz and Gustavo de Morais finished their 8 weeks residency in Darndale Belcamp Integrated Childcare Service: Jigsaw Centre.

The artists delivered eight music and movement workshops to children ages 1- 2 years in the Teddy Bears and Clever Cats rooms. Kasia and Gustavo played the guitar and the Tibetan bowl while singing familiar nursery rhymes, new songs and even creating music to children’s familiar stories. The children danced with rainbow ribbons and played with different percussion instruments such as: Brazilian ganzá, caxixi and tamborims; colourful egg shakers; and cabalonga nut shakers.

During the sessions the children and the early years educators also got the chance to practice how to play ukuleles!

The Ark Arts in Early Learning and Childcare Scheme is funded by the Arts Council.

Visual Artists Jane Groves and Olga Vnukova delivered 8 weeks of visual arts workshops to children aged 3 and 4 years in St. Joseph’s Early Childhood Development Service.

Children planted seeds, learnt about the Autumn season, made shadow puppets, and played and created with new and natural materials. One of the sessions took place in Flannagan’s Community Garden where Aliccia and Roberto showed us the garden, it was a great day to be creative outdoors!

Children learnt and discovered new plants, trees and insects and made their own creations with charcoal and leaves, fruits and vegetables that they picked from the garden - some even tasted lettuce leaves and edible honeysuckle fruits!

These repeated interactions with the brilliant groups of children are so important to introduce arts and cultural experiences to children from a very young age.

Images by Gemma Bovenizer