Music and rhythm activities stimulate all kinds of brain connections and that helps develop readiness for kindergarten. New Year’s Eve is the perfect time to make noise…er, I mean music…to make music and explore different rhythms. The kitchen has lots of treasures for creating instruments. Little ones like things they can shake or drum. A wooden spoon banging on a metal saucepan makes a most satisfying sound–as long as everybody else is wearing earplugs. These two shakers are some empty tins with a few small bottle lids inside.
When thinking about rhythm, it’s pretty basic. Heartbeat, breaths, walking, running, language all have rhythms so it’s natural for children to explore and create rhythm. Even just shaking and drumming use the musical concepts of fast, slow, loud and soft. If you and your child each have a shaker or drum, you can play a very simple rhythm and see if your child can copy it, like an echo. This is great for kindergarten readiness, because it encourages careful listening.
A little bit of noise goes a long way and and it is not exactly welcome on New Year’s morning. Then we need to practice very, very soft sounds. Are there some things in your kitchen to use for soft music?