It has been a pleasure to welcome babies, toddlers and their grown-ups to experience the joy of the creative arts through our weekly Mini Creatives sessions.
This year, we have partnered with B’Opera to create an inclusive space where the musical potential of every child, no matter how small, is nurtured and developed.
Mini Creatives takes place every Friday at 10.30am in term time in our Creative Learning Space. It's perfect for children aged 0-4 years.
The sessions are led by B’Opera’s Zoë Challenor, and run for about 40 minutes with time to play afterwards.
The sessions have a repeating structure, reflecting the little ones’ need for repetition. But there's also the freedom to respond to what families bring and to the little ones’ music-making.
In a typical session we will introduce each other and the theme, through singing and through a character, like Rainbow Teddy.
A story is brought to life by Zoë through song, and together we sing action songs in response to what the children bring that day.
We also explore musical concepts like pulse, beat, rhythm, pitch, and characterisation through games and songs.
Grown-ups will often find themselves singing in rounds and modelling singing to their children.
Families help to co-create new songs during the sessions by offering actions, ideas, words and sounds.
Care and attention is paid to creating an environment that is relaxed, inclusive, and free from expectation.
Creativity is nurtured and encouraged during these sessions. Learning happens abundantly while everyone is relaxing and having fun.
These sessions help to build social networks and carer-child bonds which are the building blocks of our children’s future success.
About B'Opera's Zoë Challenor
Zoë combines a career in singing with a passion for education. A prize-winning graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, she spent eight years as Choral Director and Singing Teacher at Trinity Laban Conservatoire Junior Department in London.
Zoë’s work with Welsh National Opera (WNO) ranges from opera workshops with children, to co-creative songwriting with refugee families, to mentoring emerging workshop leaders. She writes, performs, and teaches singing, and ITM Alexander Technique. She is also mother to two young girls.
