Music is so good for children, it helps promote language development, listening skills, rhythm and coordination. I have always played music since I was little, so my children have been exposed to music ever since they were born (& whilst in my tummy). They love it. Any chance they get to play music, they grab it. Hence, when I suggested we have a music themed week, they got very excited!
To make it different from the usual musical play they always do, I suggested we make some instruments ourselves, so we made a shaker and straw panpipes.
Here’s how to make them:
To make straw panpipes
You need:
- Lollipop stick
- Straws
- Tape (masking tape or washi tape)
- Scissors
- Pens to decorate
Making straw panpipes:
- Place the lollipop stick on the table, put the straws together, lined up on top of the stick and tape them down.
- Cut the bottom of the straws in a diagonal line, so every straw is a different length.
- There you have your straw panpipes, but if you would like, you can decorate them too. The start playing….
You need to blow across the top of the straws, rather than into them, so children may need a little help at first, but they soon get the hang of it.
The children loved making this and very much enjoyed playing with it afterwards. It was also a great teaching tool, getting them to listen to the pitch of the sound they made. The short straws made a high sound and the longer straws made a low sound. As the sound it makes is actually very quiet, it also helps them learn to listen.
How to make easy shakers
You need:
- 2 Yoghurt pots (the same sort)
- Making tape
- Rice or lentils or dried beans
- Stickers to decorate (optional)
- Pens to decorate (optional)
Easy shakers
- Put some dry rice or lentils etc into one yoghurt pot.
- Place the second pot on top and tape round the middle. You may need to put a few rounds of tape to ensure it doesn’t come apart.
- Decorate with pens and/or stickers.
These shakers are so easy to make, children enjoy it and they can get creative at the same time.
There are lots of ways to make shakers. An even simpler way, would be to put rice in a small pot with a lid on and there you have a noisy shaker!
Next, get dancing to music and shaking. You can read all about how we played with them here, we had so much fun!
