Enhancing Children’s Play and Learning Time with Music
It’s no secret that music makes people happy. Whether you’re a total rockstar or you can’t carry a tune, you have still used music at least once in your life. Music is most commonly introduced during phases of childhood, as it can positively impact a child's development.
Remember learning the ABC’s? Did you ever play musical chairs? Both of those use music! Music has many more benefits than just improving mood. Music is able to help with coordination, listening skills, and can improve language in children.
With summer approaching and school letting out, some parents and babysitters worry about how to keep the kids busy. Don't worry, this article is going to introduce some awesome music-based activities to try at home with kids. These activities will help get the kids moving - and will also put a smile on their faces.
In order to play the game, you need a toy that makes sound. Try to find a toy that plays continuous music instead of just sound effects. After you find what toy will work best for this game it’s time to hide it. Then it’s time to find the toy. The child will have to listen very carefully and try to follow the sound.
If you don't have a toy that plays music, you could hide a toy with a phone or something else that plays music. Whether you use a toy or some type of music player, the kids will still have to use their listening skills!
This is another game that uses strong listening skills. The object of this game is for the child to guess the instrument that makes the sound they are listening to.
Before playing the game, make sure to play different sounds and tell the child what instrument makes that sound. Sometimes printing out pictures of the different instruments helps. If you have an instrument nearby like a piano or guitar, you could even have the child try to play it.
Once the child understands the different instruments and sounds that will be used, you can start the game. For parents and babysitters who are working the speaker, YouTube is the best place to find music sounds. For example, this video is a great one. It shows different instruments and the sounds they make. This game is good for the older kids too!
This is a game the little kids really enjoy. It’s very easy to explain because the title says exactly what you will do. The first step is to put on some fun dancing music. Let the children dance around a little to warm up.
Once they're ready, the game can start. There are a few ways to play. You can have one child go at a time and make everyone else guess what animal they are. If that’s not working, everyone can stand in a circle and dance like the same animal. There are many different ways to diversify the game.
So whether you're dancing with short arms like a dinosaur or jumping up and down like a dog on its back legs, go try this game with the kids. This is a great way to get the kids moving and learn the different types of animals.
Limbo is an old-time favorite and is fun for all ages. In order to limbo, play the limbo song, and find a bar you can use-- a yardstick works just fine.
When you’re ready, have the kids line up. Start with the bar pretty high and have all the kids go under one at time. Slowly lower the bar and have the kids go under. The lower the bar, the more they will have to bend. Once someone touches the bar, they are out. Whoever can stay in the longest wins.
This game is good for all ages - especially if you're flexible. If parents or babysitters want to play and are up for a challenge, have the littlest kid hold the bar. This is a great summer game. To make this game even more exciting, take it outside and have the kids jump in the pool once they are out.
This game is good for expressing emotions and can be played a few different ways. The objective is to introduce different types of genres and have the children open up about certain feelings.
One way to play is to have the adult play a song and have the children guess what kind of song it is - sad, happy, sleepy, and so on. You can also let the child pick a song to play and guess. You could also add dancing to the game.
This game is a good way to express feelings. It helps grow the appreciation for different types of music and how each can be used to express emotions.
Who doesn’t like trivia? This game is for those who know their music. This game comes with many different variations and the rules of the game can easily be changed to suit the players best.
This website recommends using questions such as “how many semiquavers can fit into a bar of 5/4?” or “What was the name of the Prince’s first album?” While these are great trivia questions, you could even bump it up another level and make it a game like guess the song title or finish these lyrics. Many websites have good questions for music trivia.
Knowalot is a good website for music quiz questions and answers. It also offers free printable worksheets for different grade levels. Try to quiz yourself and see if it would be a good fit for the kids!
Now that you are familiar with some music-based activities, give them a try! These activities are great for birthday parties or rainy days. But feel free to take any of these activities outside to give the kids some fresh air!
You can also personalize any of these activities - sometimes that's how the best games are found. If the kids enjoy these activities, take some photos and share them with Incadence. We love to see the unique ways you use music.
Edited by Cara Jernigan on January 17, 2021
