African Ark at Children 1st @ Sheffield

Our Sheffield nursery was delighted to welcome Bemma Akyeampong from African Ark who came along to help the children learn about African culture through singing, dancing, storytelling and art.

Bemma shared examples of various dances that are enjoyed in her home country of Ghana and showed the children the different sounds made by the dancers as they moved. The children loved moving to music and dancing like the African animals that Bemma had told them about.

Bemma brought with her some beautiful fabrics from her hometown in Ghana and some of the children dressed up in traditional colourful robes, carrying bowls on their heads and babies who were tied to their backs.

She also showed some children how to create ‘African mud painting’ where each child had a small piece of cloth which they decorated in typical African designs.

It was a fantastic experience for all our children, helping them to learn about African culture and also to think about their own.

Experiences like this also help our children to understand and appreciate the similarities and differences between people in the world, reinforcing that we are all individual and very special. It also helps them to understand their place in the global community.