Strike Up the Band

Music Activity for Preschoolers

BRRRR – it’s cold outside! Let’s warm up with this music activity for preschoolers - a little jam session that will cure the winter doldrums. All ages welcome!

Ages/Grades:

Infants, Toddlers

Learning Domains:

Approaches to Learning, Physical Well-Being and Motor Development

Materials Needed:

Lots of household items that can be used as first instruments. Wooden spoons with short handles and boxes make great drums! See more ideas below which came from one trip to my basement.*

Preparation:

Introduce the music makers to the children. For our purposes, music makers are household items that can be used alone or in combination to make sounds (which at this young age will have to substitute for making music!).

As much as we like to give children the opportunity to openly explore new materials, it is important that we model how to use these tools as instruments. For example, show how to use the wooden spoon as a drumstick on a pretend drum. We can all imagine where else they might land if we do not make this clear from the outset! My personal favorite is the fat paint brush and the pie tin. The swoosh sound is easy on the eardrums!

Note:
Careful supervision is necessary when using household products. Please consider the age and the abilities of the individual child before using these materials.

*Being an educator of over 30 years, I've got quite a collection of teacher stuff in my basement!

White round gift box and wood spoon Silver serving tray and silver spoon Tall round plastic container with lid filled with plastic balls

Plastic white measuring cups to use as cymbals White box with lid and wooden spoon to use as drum Metal pie tin and large paint brush

Let us know what you think about this music activity for preschoolers!