March is Music in our Schools Month. You don't have to wait for your children to reach school age to start teaching them music, in fact, the earlier they start listening to and playing music the better!
Music can help kids in many ways -
- it sharpens their memory and increases brainpower
- it helps with creativity, emotional development, and artistic expression
- It fosters discipline and patience
- it's a great confidence builder and can help kids in social development
How can you help develop your child's love of music?
Listen to music - take any chance you can get and turn on the tunes.
Play - learning to play a musical instrument is great for kids, and it can become a life long endeavor. Another fun way to play music is to make your own instruments!
Go to Concerts - there is nothing better than live music. If you're worried about rambunctious kids, take them to an outdoor parks concert - there is an opportunity to be active, and you don't have to worry about them being so quiet.
Sing - don't be afraid...sing in the car, or have a karaoke contest at home. Use YouTube videos or streaming services to find your jam!
Dance - this is another way to feel the music, moving helps kids pick up the beat.
Record - you have a music studio in your pocket! Take videos of your kids singing. Listening to themselves sing helps them experience music from a different perspective.
Here are two easy instruments you can make at home
Paper Plate Tambourine
- Two heavy duty paper plates
- Hole Punch
- Ribbon or Yarn
- Jingle Bells
- Hold two paper plates face to face and punch holes around the perimeter
- Take your length of yarn and weave it up through a hole, around the outside and back up the same hole again and tie a knot to secure the plates together. Then, string a jingle bell through your yarn and continue weaving your plate. Alternate your jingle bells every other hole or more, depending on how many bells you have.
- When you get back to the hole in which you started, tie off your yarn again and let your child decorate his DIY instrument to make it his own.
Spoon Maraca Shakers
- Two plastic spoons
- Plastic egg
- Small legos or beads
- Tape
- Fill your plastic egg with small items that will make noise (I grabbed some tiny legos hanging around)
- Place the two plastic spoons on either side of the egg.
- Tape around the middle of the egg and spoons
- Tape the spoon handles together
