At the beginning of the session the children were all given their own ‘Djembe drum’. They were taught how to tip it between their knees so the sound would come out of the bottom of the drum correctly. They were shown how to use the palm of their hand flatly against the skin of the drum so they could make a loud bang. Of course, the children were thrilled that they could really make big noises without being told to ‘be quiet!’ They were then shown how to make a smaller sound at the side of the drum and even smaller taps with one finger. They were taught about a game ‘Simon’ whereby they were played a rhythm and they had to echo the beat, they responded well and were quick to learn the various beats. Each child then made their own rhythm up for the rest of the class to play – needless to say, vocal sound effects were introduced and played a large part in their sound pattern! The noise became louder and louder but thankfully they ceased immediately when given the instruction to stop!

In the afternoon the three year groups came together and shared a brilliant half hour. The older children were given a ‘Djembe drum’ and the younger ones were thrilled to be given a fantastic assortment of percussion instruments. The little wooden frogs were very popular and sounded just like the real thing! There were hollowed out nuts, seeds and beads all being shaken, struck and beaten. It was explained that they should try and keep time with the horn beating but listening to the various sounds and speeds it was a very interesting rhythm!

What a wonderful experience this was for all the children, their smile told the story.