Make Music With Everyday Objects

Together with your child, search for items around your home that can be used as musical instruments. They can be pots, pans, utensils, oatmeal boxes, even a muffin tin! As you choose your items, ask your child what they think the items might sound like when they play them. Will a pot sound the same as a bowl? Might some items make louder sounds than others?

Once you have the items gathered, line them up on a table or on the floor. Ask your child to secretly choose two or three items to play. Tell them that you’re going to hide your eyes so they can play their chosen “instruments” and you can guess what the instruments might be just by listening. When you’re done, switch places so your child has a chance to hide their eyes and listen to guess which instruments you’re playing. Do this as many times as you like! As you play, encourage your child to think about the different sounds each object makes. Did any of the objects sound low? Did some sound high? What sounds do you like best?

When you’re done playing your musical guessing game, gather all of the instruments you and your child would like to include in your band, and start playing them together. Play around with different rhythms. You can help your child by starting a rhythm that they can copy and follow. As you get into a rhythm, encourage your child to come up with a fun song that you can sing together as you play. To help get them to get started, ask them what they would like to sing about — their favorite animal or all of the activities they did that day or how they’re feeling in the moment? The possibilities are endless!

As you get into the rhythm and sing your song, try dancing together, too. Hop around, wiggle, shake and roll! Encourage your child to express themselves freely and have fun! While you dance, ask your child how dancing makes them feel. Are they excited? Do they feel happy? Maybe they want to make up some dance moves?

After your dance party, ask your child to explore more sounds around your home. For example, you can ask, "What does the shower curtain or shower door sound like when you open it? What does a kitchen cabinet sound like when you close it? Do you hear anything when you open your closet or walk up or down the stairs or down the hallway?" Encourage your child to draw a map that shows the locations of all of the fun sounds they've discovered. Help your child to think of words to describe the sounds they hear to add to their map, too.