New Year’s Eve is children’s idea of great fun; just imagine being able to use all different kinds of noise makers and it’s okay to be enthusiastic! For adults though, it’s better if kids make all those sounds way early in the evening.
Before getting into ideas for homemade music makers, here’s some reasons why they encourage kindergarten readiness and early learning.
–Shaking, tapping, drumming, clapping, tootling, and other actions are ways that kids can explore and play with both noise and rhythm. Did you know that rhythm is important for brain development? The brain connections and pathways formed through rhythmic activities help the brain prepare for learning language.
–The ear has to learn to listen to all different kinds of sounds, especially because words can sound almost the same. For example, mat and mitt are very close, but putting shoes on a mat is okay while putting them on a mitt is not.
–Making music together is one way of belonging to a group. Not every neighborhood or community will be celebrating with music and noise tonight but some will.
What are some easy homemade instruments or noise makers?
- Wrap some elastic bands around a tissue box, shoe box, or sandwich container.
- Dried beans in an empty tin with a lid make a great shaker.
- Two aluminum pie plates or two paper plates with plastic spoons and forks or something else rattly are a sort of tambourine.
- Cover the end of a cardboard tube with waxed paper. Wrap an elastic band around it, hold tightly to the face and blow-hum for a kazoo. Grownups need to poke a hole in the tube with something pointy. See the video below for a how-to.
For any of these, kids can decorate with stickers, coloring, drawing, and covering with paper. How will your family celebrate New Year’s Eve?