The song Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells is a favorite of kids everywhere and inspired a Christmas sense of hearing activity for fun, learning, and kindergarten readiness. Thanks to Alison at Oopsey Daisy for this great idea!
At this time of year, there are wonderful activities for the senses. Sensory input is tremendously important for learning. Brains use the information to interact with and interpret the world. When it comes to the sense of hearing, it often takes a backseat to the sense of sight but a sound can condense a lot of meaning. Think of the doorbell. Just one ding-dong triggers a flurry of activity as kids and grownups hurry to open the door.
There are sounds that only happen this season, like bells, deep Ho Ho Hos, Christmas music, and more. Bells are not a loud sound but certainly appeal to kids and these jingle bell circles are easy to make. Small bells are usually available at dollar or craft stores. Of course, many stores are now sold out of little bells but we found some big ones. We only needed 2 big bells and one pipe cleaner, just twisting it loosely around each of the two bells so there was room to move but not slide around. Twist the ends together to make a circle that will fit on a child’s wrist or ankle.
Kids can use these on arms and wave, conduct, shake, and jiggle to make the bells ring. They can also use them on ankles and hop, jump, shake, and jiggle. There are many ways that kids can explore movement and sound. There’s a great temptation to run, which may be okay if you have a long hallway or big space. Two or three jingle circles double and triple the fun, either one child wearing them or two or three children that each have one.
They can be saved for New Year’s or any time of the year. Would your child like to play with a jingle circle and tickle the sense of hearing with this activity?