During Reception task time this week, the children learnt John Kanaka; a halyard shanty, sung while sailors pulled on ropes to raise heavy sails. We added percussion to the lyrics, “John Kanaka-naka too-rye-ay”. The children chose drums, claves, chekeres and chime bars to mark this rhythm. They patiently waited for their lyric before playing the instrument and after a few practices were able to keep in time and work as a team. I was really impressed, so I decided to challenge them further by internalising the lyrics using the “thinking voice” whist playing the rhythm. Their concentration was fantastic, and they achieved this very well. Great job Reception!