Crafts

1. Jingle Bell Painting

Need: Jingle Bells, paint and paper. It's just like marble painting but instead of marbles use jingle bells. Place a piece of paper in a box along with paint. Then place three jingles bells into the box; before hand show the children the noise they make. Allow the children to shake the box, and paint with the bells.

2. Musical Fingers

Select a variety of music to play. Give the children large pieces of paper with spoonfuls of fingerpaint placed in the centers. Play the music and let the children fingerpaint to it. Encourage them to move their fingers and hands to the rhythms and tempos of the different kinds of music. 

3. Drums

Create drums out of empty coffee cans with plastic lids, plastic ice cream pails, or oatmeal boxes. The children can decorate as desired with paper, paint, markers, or crayons. 

4. Guitar

Use a shoebox to create a guitar. Cut a hole in the center of the shoebox lid. Help the children stretch five rubber bands of different widths across one shoebox. The different size rubber bands will provide different pitches.   Add a paper towel tube on the end for the handle.

5. Kazoos

Make Kazoos with empty paper towel rolls and waxed paper. The children can decorate the outside of the kazoos with markers. Place a piece of waxed paper over one end of the roll and secure it with a rubber band. Poke 2 or 3 small holes into the waved paper allowing sound to be produced.

6. Rhythm Sticks

Two wooden dowels should be given to each interested child. The sticks can be decorated with paint or markers.

7. Finger Cymbals

Each child will have two baby food jar lids.  Poke a hole in the middle of each lid and add an elastic so you can put your little fingers in.  Decorate however you want

8. Musical Bottle

Each child will have an empty plastic bottle with a lid.  Add colored pasta and glue the lid on.  Decorate however you want and shake away.

9. My Own Song

Make several different notes cut out of black construction paper.  Give each child a sheet of white paper and make lines on it.  The children will then glue their notes on their paper making their own song. 

10. Chimes

All you need is a stick, washers, string and a mixing spoon.  Tie the washers with the string to the stick and use the mixing spoon to strike the washers to play your music.  Note: You can make this craft colorful by painting the washers first with different color nail polishes, such as red, gold, glittery, etc. Parents should supervise this part of the activity closely.

 

Circle Activities

 

1. The Crazy Conductor

Give each child an instrument. Tell them that you shall be the conductor. When you shake your head, the cymbals will play, when you shake your feet the tambourines will play and so on. When you shake your whole body, then everyone plays. Allow children to take turns to be the conductor.

2. Water Music

Fill six glasses with different levels of water. For effect, in each glass place drops of food coloring, providing six different colors. Carefully strike each glass with a spoon. Each glass will make a different sound. Challenge the children to listen for the differences. Which sound is the highest? Which sound is the lowest? When water is added or removed from a glass, how does the sound change?

3. Jumping Seeds

Set seeds or something small on top of a drum. Then beat the drum. What happens? Why? This activity can be extended by having the children jump to the drum beat.

4. Freeze Dance

I work with kids that are 2-4 and we love to play freeze dance. Pick any kind of music (the faster the better), have the kids dance to the music and freeze when it stops. The positions are great that the kids end up having.

5. Movement Activity

All you need is a bell and a set of rhythm sticks for a fun movement activity. ( And it really fine tunes Listening Skills!) "Click" a slow beat on the sticks. Call this "walking music". Then "click" out a faster beat with the sticks. Call this "jogging music". Now, ask the children to listen to the sticks' rhythm. When they hear the "walking music", they should walk around the room. When they hear the "jogging music", jog. Now ring the bell. This means "stop and drop". Now, have fun with the slow and fast beats of the sticks ("walking music" and "jogging music”) and ring the bell. Now you've got the power and your kids have a great physical and auditory workout!

6. Scarf Dancing

You will need once scarf per child.  Play many different types of music.  Have the children move their scarves to the beat of the music. Talk about the music....... Is it fast, slow, happy, sad, etc.........

7. Musical Hugs

We dance to lively music, and when I pause the music, the children have to find a partner to hug. Often 2, 3, or more children hug each other, until I turn the music back on. We dance again, until the next pause in the music. Very fun!

8. Tempo and Beats

Teaching tempo and beat to children. In order for the students to learn the definitions of tempo and beat, taking turns put a child on your lap as you recite a poem with a definite beat and bounce the child on your knees varying the tempos and beats. The children watching may either choose the tempo or guess whether the tempo you used was fast, medium, or slow. This activity allows the child on your lap to feel the beat and produces lots of giggles. Fun and learning combined!

9. Rhythm Sticks

Pass out two rhythm sticks to each child and sit in a circle. Next, have each child tap out their own name. Then the rest of the group could do it w/them. This way they start getting basic syllable concepts w/o even knowing it. For instance mine would be, Kim(tap) ber(tap) ly(tap).

10. TLC Band

Have the children play various instruments as you record them.  Have them listen to their music afterwards.

 

Songs

 

1. Sing, Sing, Sing (Sung to: Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

Sing, sing, sing with me.

Sing out loud and clear

To tell the people everywhere

That music time is here

2.The Finger Band (Sung To: Round the Mulberry Bush)

The finger band has come to town, come to town, come to town.

The finger band has come to town so early in the morning.

This is the way we play the drums ,play the drums, play the drums.

This is the way we play the drums so early in the morning.

The finger band has gone away, gone away, gone away.

The finger band has gone away so early in the morning

Note: Insert any musical instrument in place of the drums

3. Old Macdonald had a band

Old Macdonald had a band E-I-E-I-O

And in this band he had a (name an instrument)

E-I-E-I-O , etc.

4. Musical Instruments (tune of Mary Had A Little Lamb)

If you have some rhythm sticks,

rhythm sticks, rhythm sticks

If you have some rhythm sticks, you can play them now.

Continue until all instruments have played.

5. Ten Little Notes (tune of Ten Little Indians)

One little, two little, three little notes,

Four little, five little, six little notes,

Seven little, eight little, nine little notes,

Ten little notes on a music sheet.

 

Stories

 

1. Music, Music For Everyone

Rosa’s grandma is sick and must stay upstairs in bed.  After school Rosa and her friends often make music for her grandma. She says their playing music makes her feel like a little girl dancing at a party.   Rosa had an idea to start a band wither friends and play music at party’s to make some money to help her grandmother.  They made enough money to fill her grandmother’s jar again.

2. Stop That Noise!

Mike drums on any surface. Sara hums all day long. Tom makes all kinds of sounds.  They drive their families crazy and disturb their classmates.  How can their teacher stop that noise?  He thought to himself that’s not noise that’s music.  So he made a deal with the children if they wanted they could start a band but they needed to be quiet during class time.  The children made a name for their band and made their own instruments.  They held an open house for parents and performed their music.

3. Froggy Plays In The Band

Tah Dah! Here comes Froggy’s marching band, led by the one and only Frogilina. Froggy and his pals are sure they can win the big prize in the Apple Blossom Parade.  They just have to remember the rules.  Don’t look left, Don’t look right and don’t stop for anything!  But things never go as planned when froggy’s around.

4. Mole Music

Mole has always lived a simple life, but he feels something is missing.  When he first hears someone playing violin, Mole realizes that he longs to make beautiful music, too.  Through practice and patience, Mole learns to play.  And even know he plays alone, in the privacy of his underground home, his music has an effect on others that is more magical then Mole will ever know.

5. Brave Highland Heart

Whenever my father puffs out his cheeks and plays his bagpipes, my brothers go to visit their friends.  Our dog creeps under the bed, the horses flatten their ears and the hens cluck.   But one special night everyone listened when my father played his pipes. 

6. The Old Man Who Loved To Sing

In a quiet valley far from the city lived an old man who loved to sing.  When he wasn’t singing, he whistled and when he wasn’t whistling he played music on an old wind up gramophone.  The animals of the valley learned to love the man and his music, but one day, the music stopped.  The old man had forgotten how to sing.  And so all the animals of the valley gathered together to remind the old man of his true love –Music.

7. Animal Music

They’re playing loud; They’re marching fast. Let’s hurry and see them before they’ve passed.  Animal Music will have children marching with Mr. Lion and dancing with Mr. Sheep and their music-making friends.  This cornucopia of musical merriment never misses a beat as the animals play their instruments and stomp their feet to the music.

8. The Fabulous Song

Sarah played the piano so when her brother Frederic was born he to had to play the piano.  He didn’t like the piano.  So he took clarinet lessons. He didn’t like that either.  He tried almost every instrument in an orchestra.  One night the family had a birthday party for his 7th birthday and everyone wanted to play a different instrument and sing different songs.  So Frederic got up on a stool and took a wooden spoon and began to sway it back and forth.  Everyone was amazed and watched Frederic has he lead everyone to play a song.  Frederic the conductor!

9. M is For Music

Music and the alphabet have always gone together.  Don’t children learn their letters by singing the ABC’s? But you have never heard a musical alphabet like this one.  Beloved tunes, unusual instruments.  From Anthem to Zydeco, the language of music and the music of language harmonize in one superb symphony.

10. The Painted Chest

An old wooden chest lies buried in the mud.  Who will unlock its secret?  An old wooden chest is unearthed by villagers.  Disappointed in its worthless contents, they toss the chest aside.  But young Maddie cannot forget the image of the beautiful painted chest and the mysterious objects within.  She begins exploring with them and realizes she can make music.  Some of the villagers soon join in.  Music and dancing, laughter and color became such a great part of the villager’s lives they could not begin to imagine how they ever lived without it.

 

General Activities

 

1. Dramatizing

Add a cassette recorder and a small microphone to the dramatic play area. The children may enjoy using it for singing and recording their voices.

2. Dancing

Have your children dance around to various types of music. (Jazz, country, blues, classical, rap, rock)

3.  Musical Instruments

Set out variety of musical instruments for the children to play.