Play and Creativity Using Music: What Can Become an Instrument
How can music activities at home encourage play and creativity in children?
Play is one of the most important parts of early childhood. When a child is engaging in play they are building their brains to develop skills in math, reading, and social skills. Trial and error discoveries in play are what lead to imagination and creativity. There are many ways that parents can promote play and creativity through music at home.
What Can Become an Instrument
Children love to make their own music. There are musical instruments all around them.
- Get out your pots, pans, and kitchen utensils and let your child create music. They can play along to a recorded piece of music and/or create their own beats. How does the small pot sound different from the bigger pan? Can you play soft and loud? You are encouraging their listening skills as well as the ability to distinguish between contrasts in music.
- Save a paper towel tube and promote vocal exploration when singing or making sounds inside the tube. What sound does a cow make? How does your voice change when you sing inside of the tube? For additional fun, let your child decorate the tube with stickers or markers.
- Recycle a plastic water bottle to make a musical shaker. If you have two, you can fill one with salt for a soft sound and fill one with beans for a loud sound. You can use new vocabulary like forte (loud) and piano (soft) to describe the sounds.
Play and Creativity Using Music Series
Additional Resource for how MacPhail Center for Music promotes creativity in their classrooms
Resources for Information on Play
Playing with Music at Home
Play in Early Childhood: The Role of Play in Any Setting
Center for Inclusive Child Care