| Make your own music! |
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| Paper Plate Maracas Craft A maraca is a Latin American and Tupi rattle. The original maracas were made from hollow gourds filled with pebbles or seeds. You can make simple maracas from one or two paper plates stapled together, containing dried beans or popcorn. These are fun to make at a party for preschoolers - you can then make a lot of noise! Supplies needed: One or two paper plates Dried beans, rice, or popcorn Stapler Paint, markers, or crayons Optional: crepe paper streamers Put a handful or two of dried beans, rice, or popcorn in a paper plate. Staple a paper plate securely on top of it. [You can use a single plate for each maraca by folding a paper plate in half, adding the beans, then stapling the rim to itself.] Decorate the maracas with crayons, markers, or paint. Optional: Staple long crepe paper streamers to the maracas. You now have great maracas that you can use to make music. |
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| Native American Rattle Craft You can make a simple yet beautiful Native American rattle from a twig, yarn and beads. When you shake it, it makes a rattling sound. Supplies needed: A y-shaped twig Yarn Scissors Tape Feathers, beads, buttons, washers, spools, and/or shells with holes in them. Wind yarn around a y-shaped twig, covering it entirely. Start and end the winding with knots (or tape, if the children cannot make knots). Along the way, wind in a few decorative objects, like feathers or beads. Tie a short piece of yarn to one arm of the "y." Thread a few beads, washers, spools, or other small objects onto the yarn. Tie the other end of the yarn onto the other arm of the twig. |
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| TUBE HORNS YOU WILL NEED - A cardboard tube - a gift wrapping tube or paper towel tube is best. A piece of construction paper or a file folder Tape - Masking tape or duct tape is preferable. PROCEDURE: 1. Shape the paper into a funnel with a hole just big enough for the tube to fit into. 2. Tape the funnel to the tube as shown: The tube shouldn't stick too far into the funnel - just enough to be secure. That's it! Now to make some noise! How to Play: 1. First, practice making your lips buzz. It's kind of like when you used to make machine gun sounds with your lips. Also you might consider the way that a horse does it... 2. Press your lips up to tube and buzz away! 3. Try making your lips buzz faster and slower. You'll soon discover that if you buzz your lips just right, you'll get the best sound from the horn. This is because of an effect of sound waves. When the length of the sound wave you create matches up well with the length of the tube, the sound gets stronger. The funnel acts as an amplifier - it makes the sound much louder. If you don't believe me, try one tube without a funnel and one with a funnel. There should be a BIG difference! Variations: 1. Try different lengths of tube. If the tubes have the same size hole, the longer the tube is the lower the sound. Therefore, the shorter the tube, the lower the sound. 2. If you get a nice long tube (2 or 3 feet) with just the right size hole (pretty small, about an inch or so across) you can actually start to get different sounds (also called pitches) by changing the tightness of your lips and blowing harder or softer. By experimenting a lot you should be able to get a lot of different pitches. This is exactly the way that certain brass instruments like bugles work. 3. You can even use other kinds of tubes. Garden hose works pretty well, especially the variety that has a wider hole. The thinner hole kind is a bit hard to blow, but will get a good sound if you really blast it. I would NOT recommend using metal tubes as they might be a) sharp at the ends; b) rusty; or c) once been attached to something nasty, say, a bathroom..... http://www.home.earthlink.net/~jbertles/index.html |
| TAMBOURINE 2 paper plates stapler or glue hole punch string jingle bells crayons Staple or glue two paper plates together, facing each other. Using a hole punch, make holes around the plates and tie jingle bells to the holes with string. Decorate the tambourine with crayons. Shake to play. Note: Heavy duty paper plates may be more durable for this craft. Safety note: If using a stapler, an adult should do this. When finished be sure to cover the staples with scotch tape. DRUM empty oatmeal box with cover yarn pen 2 pencils 2 spools construction paper crayons Before beginning, you can decorate the oatmeal box with construction paper and/or crayons for a colorful effect. Place the cover on the box. Use a pen to make a hole in the center of the cover and in the center of the bottom of the box. Through these holes, pull a piece of yarn long enough to hang around child's neck and down to their waist. For the drumsticks, place the spools at the ends of the pencils, secure with glue if necessary. Beat to play. CHIMES ruler or stick washers nail polish string mixing spoon Hang the washers from the ruler or stick with pieces of string by wrapping the string around the ruler or stick and securing. Strike the washers with the mixing spoon to play. 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. HORN paper towel roll waxed paper rubber band pen Cover one end of the paper towel roll with waxed paper, secure it with a rubber band. Punch a row of holes along one side of the roll with the tip of a pen. To play, sing a tune into the open end of the horn. CYMBALS two matching pot covers yarn or ribbon Tie the ribbon or yarn around the handles of the pot covers. To play, strike together. XYLOPHONE tall glasses or jars water mixing spoon Fill the glasses or jars with different amounts of water. The more water in the glass, the lower the pitch will be. Having less water in the glass or jar will raise the pitch. To play, gently strike the glasses with a mixing spoon. Note: This instrument should probably be played by older children in "the band" because of the use of glass. COMB BUZZER pocket comb tissue paper Fold a piece of tissue paper over the tooth edge of a comb. To play, hum through the tissue paper. GUITAR empty shoe box rubber bands ruler or stick Remove the cover from the box. Stretch the rubber bands around the box. Attach the ruler or stick to the back of the box on one end to act as the arm of the guitar. To play, strum or pluck the rubber bands. HAND BELLS 2 paper towel rolls hole punch 4 jingle bells string or yarn Punch a hole in each end of the paper towel rolls. Tie two jingle bells to each side of the paper towel rolls by running string or yarn through the holes and carefully tying off. Shake to play. Have fun and let creativity and imagination run wild! Record the band's first song and play back for some great giggle time. Enjoy! Recommended Reading: Kuffner gives us an enormous number of ideas for fun things to do with our children. This is an arts and crafts type of book, and she does something I haven't seen in other activity books. She spends a chapter telling you how to organize for a toddler. She also provides a list of items to buy and old household items to save (dried magic markers, for example). The rest of the book is laid out equally well. There are chapters on rainy day play, water play, kitchen activities, outdoor adventures, how to entertain the kids when you're on errands or travel, nursery rhymes, learning activities, music, arts & crafts, and even birthday/holiday activities. The appendix lists craft recipes, "crazy can" activities, and best toys/books for toddlers. Very comprehensive and varied. (courtesy: Amazon) About the Author: Amanda Formaro is the entrepreneurial mother of four children. She is also the owner of FamilyCorner.com Magazine at http://familycorner.com |
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| Now some for the older kids or parents. |
| A simple-to-make Rainstick. Rainsticks are ceremonial musical instruments used to invoke the rain spirits. They are made by people who live in the deserts of northern Chile. In Chile, rainsticks are traditionally made from dead cactus tubes with hundreds of cactus spines hammered into the tube. Tiny lava pebbles cascade gently through the tube, sounding much like rain. This rainstick is definitely not traditional. It is made from a cardboard tube (instead of the dried cactus) and aluminum foil (in place of cactus spines). Supplies needed: A paper towel tube or other long cardboard tube Aluminum foil Small dried beans (like lentils), unpopped popcorn, dry rice, or tiny pasta. Brown paper (from a grocery bag) or construction paper Glue Scissors Crayons or markers Trace around the end of your tube onto a piece of brown paper (or construction paper). Draw a bigger circle around that circle and then draw a lot of spokes between the two circles.#1 Cut along the spokes.#2 Put glue on the spokes and glue the cap onto one end of your tube.#3 Cut a piece of aluminum foil that is about one and half times the length of your tube and about 6 inches wide.#4 Crunch the aluminum foil into two long, thin, snake-like shapes. Then twist each one into a spring shape.#5 Put the aluminum foil springs into your tube. Pour some dry beans, dry rice, or unpopped popcorn into your tube. The tube should only be about 1/10 full. You can experiment to see how different amounts and different types of seeds and beans change the sound.#6 Make another cap from brown paper (the same as the first three steps) and cap your tube.#7 Optional: Decorate the tube by covering it with brown paper or construction paper, and then making designs with crayons or markers (or cut-out paper or stickers). Rainforest designs are nice, especially brightly-colored butterflies, frogs, and flowers. Tiny construction paper butterflies (like the one on the right) are nice glued onto the rainstick. Family Fun |
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| STYROCELLO Like many string instruments, Cellos have a fingerboard, a sound box (the curvy body), a bridge (the thin piece of wood that holds the strings in the air) and strings. To build a two-string StyroCello, you will need all those things, too! YOU WILL NEED: Fingerboard - A long, strong cardboard tube - about 3 feet long. It doesn't matter how wide it is, as long as the cardboard is strong - at least 1/4" thick. You can find tubes like this at a local rug store or a fabric store - they are usually quite happy to give them away. Sound Box - A styrofoam box or block. The bigger your styrofoam, the louder your styrocello will sound. Bridge - A small wooden block - approximately 3" x 3" x 1" Strings -Fishing line - the thicker, the better. The best is 60-80 lb test line of the kind used for larger fish. The thinner the fishing line, the softer your styrocello will sound. Procedure 1. Using a sharp knife (get an adult to help you) cut two small slits on one end of the tube and two more on the other end. 2. Cut a length of fishing line to be quite a bit longer than your tube. Tie a knot in one end of the fishing line. Slide the knot into the slit at the end of the tube with the knot inside the tube. This will anchor one end of the string. 3. Lay the tube on the floor with the styrofoam on top in the middle of the tube [open side down if you have a box]. Then pull the anchored string over the styrofoam to the other end of the tube so that it is semi-tight. Here is where you will tie the second knot and anchor it in the other end of the tube. Repeat the process with the second string. Try to make it slightly tighter or looser than the other string. 4. Slide the wooden block between the styrofoam and the strings. Then slide the whole styrofoam and bridge assembly down the tube until the strings are nice and tight. TO PLAY: Place the box end of the styrocello on the floor and lean the instrument back against your shoulder as you sit in a chair. Pluck the strings just above the bridge. To change pitch you can place your fingers against the strings near your shoulder to create a pizz effect; or slide a pencil up and down the strings as you pluck to get a gliss sound. You may want to use a violin or cello bow on your styrocello. A bass bow should get an even bigger sound. http://www.home.earthlink.net/~jbertles/index.html |
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| Finger Piano/Bobby Piano In Africa, finger pianos are also known by the names sensei, m'bira, and kalimba among others. Here is how to make your own. You will need: Bobby pins (large ones work best but you can use both large and small) Pliers (to break the bobby pins) Heavy duty staple gun and 3/8 inch heavy duty staples Plywood (about 6 inches by 6 inches and at least 1/2 inch thick) Hammer Step 1: Break three Bobby pins by putting the bent part in the jaws of the pliers and crushing them down. As you open them up again the metal will snap (Note: if you donŐt have pliers you can also break the pins by hammering the bent part flat with a hammer). If you broke three pins you should now have six pieces, each with a rubber tipped end and a rather sharper metal end. Step 2: THE LOW PIN. Staple a pin to the left side of your plywood. Use two staples positioned right at the sharp metal edge of the pin to leave the rubber tipped end free for playing. If the staples did not go all the way in, then hammer down the staples to hold the pin tightly. The rubber tipped side should be up in the air (to be able to vibrate). If it is not, then bend it up just a bit. Step 3. The rest of the pins. Start stapling in the rest of the pins. As you work your way from left to right, staple the pins further and further toward the rubber tips, so that the length of the vibrating pin is getting shorter and shorter. You probably shouldn't staple the pins any further than halfway down the length of the pin. To play: push down on the rubber tip then slide your finger back off the tip. As the pin bounces back to its original position it will vibrate and make a sound. Try putting the plywood on different things to make it louder (something called a resonator). The best things are big cardboard and styrofoam boxes, but try any thin rigid flat surface to see what works best! http://www.home.earthlink.net/~jbertles/index.html |
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| Make finger bells Take a glove and some jingle bells from the crafts section. Sew a bell on each finger and the thumb of the glove. Now wiggle your fingers. Emily |
| Sandpaper Blocks Cover one side of two blocks with coarse sandpaper. Have the children hold the blocks in their hands with the sandpaper sides facing. Rub the blocks together to the music. Cheryl |
| Rhythm Sticks Have your child pick out 2 nice, thick dowels. Have them sand them lightly. Then they can either paint them or color them with markers. Spray them with clear acrylic. Then the can beat them together while you march and/or play music. The pagan and wiccan page |
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