← Spark & Whetstone
Concert Night
A concert at the kitchen table. Everyone brings one piece: sung, clapped, hummed, or played on a pot and a wooden spoon. One person introduces each piece, the way a real concert does, and everyone claps the same for all of them. Nobody scores. Twenty minutes is plenty.
This page never listens: there is no microphone and nothing is saved. The programme is gone when you leave unless you print it.
Your child's version, on Spark & Anvil: HumTots (ages 3–5) sings in the child's own key, MelodyMice (ages 6–8) plays a tune on coloured bars, and StageForge (ages 9–14) is about getting up in front of people.
How it works
- Everyone brings one piece, or none: listening is a part too.
- Sing it, clap it, hum it, say it in time, or play it on whatever is in the kitchen.
- Choose one person to introduce. Before each piece they say who, what, and one line about why.
- Each performer can start again once, no explanation needed.
- Everyone claps the same for every piece. Nobody scores, ranks or votes.
- End with one song the whole table already knows, all together.
The introducer has the best seat: they get to make each performer feel expected. Keep it short, say the name clearly, and start the clapping when the piece ends.
The kitchen orchestra
- A pot and a wooden spoon
- A drum. Tap the middle for a low thud and near the rim for a ring.
- Glasses with water
- Tap gently with a spoon. More water gives a lower note, so you can tune a little scale.
- Rice or dried beans in a closed jar
- A shaker. Short, sharp shakes keep the beat; a slow roll is a wave.
- Two spoons, back to back
- Hold them loosely and bounce them on your knee for a clicking rhythm.
- A rubber band around an open box
- Pluck it. Stretch it tighter and the note goes up.
- A comb and a piece of paper
- Fold the paper over the comb and hum through it: a kazoo.
No piece at all? A family song is the obvious first one. If yours is written down in the Family Songbook, a grandchild can lead it.
More for the family table: the Family Songbook, the course Singing with a Child (its table activity is the Name Song), and Commons Night for a whole room.