Children enjoy making musical instruments from collecting
the materials to performing in a homemade band. Go 'green' with recycled
materials for your projects.
The homemade instruments below fall into the category of
idiophones and with a few recycled materials, children can make creative rhythm
instruments to experiment with sounds and contribute to a classroom rhythm
band. The best part of these homemade instruments is that when playtime is over
or the child tires of the project, most materials can go back into the recycle
bin for a greener Earth.
Coconut Clappers
Those who live in the tropics can pick up a coconut, if not
this fruit can be found in markets.
·
An adult needs to cut the coconut in half, drain
the milk and take out the meat.
·
Help the children sand the outside of the
coconut shell until all surfaces becomes somewhat smooth.
·
Children can paint the coconut shell with poster
paint and decorate the outside as they wish.
To play this primal instrument, children need to hold a half
in each hand. Tap the cut edges together to create unique, hollow-wood sounds.
Challenge the kids to guess which animal makes a sound like a coconut clapper.
The correct answer is horse and have the children use these clappers to make
sounds like a horse is walking and a faster pace like galloping.
Bongos
Simple bongo drums can be made from empty gallon or
half-gallon plastic containers, such as bleach containers.
·
To prepare the containers, cut the tops off and
make sure both bottles have been cut to the same size.
·
Tape the cut edges with a heavy duct or vinyl
tape to protect the fingers.
·
Have an adult staple two containers together
side by side for each child.
·
The kids can decorate the plastic bongos with
adhesive stickers and/or permanent colored markers.
To play these drums, turn the containers upside down and
children can tap the bottoms with their hands. To be authentic, sit on the
floor and place the bongos between the knees.
And more ideas to come...
The ideas above have come from "Shake, Tap and Play a Merry Tune" by Tania K. Cowling (available on Amazon.com and from the author on http://www.taniacowling.com)
Visit often to see more crafts and theme ideas. Why not subscribe to this blog and receive emails when a new post is published?
See you next week,
Tania
