Join the band

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Age
3-5 years
Child Development
Playing with sounds (distinguishing, creating, describing); pretending
Equipment
Homemade instruments
CD player (optional)
Physical Activity

Developing movement skills (body and spatial awareness, rhythm, timing); playing actively

How to Play
  1. With the children, experiment with the instruments to find out the different sounds they can make. Play loudly, softly, quickly, slowly.
  2. Encourage the children to play along in time to rhythmic clapping or music (e.g. on CD or tape), moving all around the space. Stop the music or clapping every now and then and change instruments. Vary the rhythm and encourage the children to try to keep the beat.
Change it up / Alternatives / Additional Options
  • Read Nicholas Cricket by Joyce Maxner. Pretend to be a marching band and swing and strut and sashay as you march and play. Step out with heavy steps to strong beats and light ones to soft beats.
  • Model different musical moods: happy sounds; gentle sounds; angry sounds, etc. Invite the children to identify the feelings that fit the sounds created…and to create sounds for you to describe with words. Call out different “moods” (e.g. happy; tired; giggly; angry) and have the children respond with music, varying instruments, rhythm, and volume.
  • Read or sing and enjoy “BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! OOMM – PAH! – PAH!” and play all the imaginary instruments.
    • BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! OOMM – PAH! – PAH!” by Margaret Mayo

      We can play on the big bass drum
      And this is the way we do it:
      BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
      Goes the big bass drum,
      And that is the music to it.

      We can play on the xylophone
      And this is the way we do it:
      PING! PONG! PONG!
      Goes the xylophone,
      And that is the music to it.

      We can play on the silver flute
      And this is the way we do it:
      TOOT! TOOT! TOOT!
      Goes the silver flute,
      And that is the music to it.

      We can play on the big fat tuba
      And this is the way we do it:
      OOMM – PAH! – PAH!
      Goes the big fat tuba,
      And that is the music to it.

      We can play on the tambourine
      And this is the way we do it: 
      JINGLY – JING!
      Goes the tambourine,
      And that is the music to it.

Excerpt from the HOP Early Learning Practitioners Resource (Decoda Literacy Solutions)