It is Ryan's desire to play the guitar like his grandpa!
He practices his instrument often through the day, always with his Angry Bird hat on.
After helping out on the ranch, our grandson steps inside his grandfather's office and learns to hold the guitar properly, how to chord and strum with the strings. Ryan doesn't want to change hats because he likes being a cowboy and a guitar player at the same time! :=)
Fortunately, Ryan's grandpa has played music for the church for over 30 years and has been a worship leader. My husband is very patient with our 5 year old and we're thrilled to be teaching our grandkids how to play a musical instrument. Get 'em started young, I always say...
Do you play an instrument, sing and enjoy music, too?
"Many traditional cultures believed the sound of falling rain that
rainsticks made could produce a storm. Although that belief has faded
from contemporary society, rainsticks are still used to this day. The
instrument is usually made from a long, hollow tube filled with pebbles
or beads. Walls of the tube are stick with iron nails, cactus needles or
something similar. When the stick is turned over, it produces the sound
of falling rain.
Rainsticks may also be made with other common materials like paper
towel rolls instead of cactus, and nails or toothpicks instead of thorns
and are often sold to tourists visiting parts of Latin America,
including the Southern United States."
For instructions on making Rainsticks, visit Kinderart.com
Here are the steps I used in making these fun instruments:
Paper Towel Holder and Duct Tape
1. First seal off one end of the tube. I suppose fancy duct tape would like nice.
2. Take a strip (like 2" wide) of aluminum fol and bend it like a ladder with many steps.
3. Place inside the tube and adjust the fit.
4. Add a scoop of rice. Not too much, not even 1/2 cup.
5. Wrap some type of paper around. I used card stock (what I had) but any type of scrap book paper.
6. Seal off the top with tape and decorate.
7. I used multi-color yarn that I had on hand.
Paper Wrap. Rainforest theme would be nice here.
Secure top to keep rice inside!
With just a little bit of falling beads or rice, making it's way through a piece of folded aluminum foil, will produce the desired effect of gently falling rain.
So, I had all the boys and girls form a circle. They were very gentle with their new instruments. I went to the piano and played "Aloha Oe", Queen Lili'oukalani, while they swayed to the music with their rainsticks.
Children's Book for ages 4-10
We're Roaming in the Rainforest
Three children embark on a day-long trek through the rainforest,
discovering all sorts of exotic creatures in their natural habitats. The
charming, rhyming text highlights an adjective for each creature. The
story is complemented by educational end notes about the creatures in the
story, and the peoples of the rainforest.
Written By: Laurie Krebs Illustrated By: Anne Wilson
This Barefoot Book, along with other jungle themes, goes well with rainsticks. I have wooden ones and have seen them at the Dollar Store, too. Have you ever made them before? I'm so pleased that the kids were gentle with them and loved the sound of falling rain. All in all, it was a very peaceful, soothing time at music class!
This is a very easy craft to make, in no time at all! First, I asked the parents to save empty toilet paper rolls. Then I covered them with scrap bookpaper. I used Zotz instead of glue to hold the seam together. You'll need to use a paper punch for the hole on when end of the tube. You can experiment with the sound and add more, if you like. Then I cut out a circle of wax paper larger than the end of the roll. I found that thin rubber bands work best in securing the wax paper. You'll want to make sure the wax paper is on tight and most important of all, cut the wax paper a little bit over the hole. That way you're creating an airspace.
What is a Kazoo you ask? It's a toy musical instrument with a membrane that produces a buzzing sound when a player hums or sings into the mouthpiece. Back in my day, we used a plastic comb and a piece of wax paper. Now, you can find plastic kazoos at the Dollar Store. This was fun to make for the children. We will have a ball practicing and singing our Patriotic Songs with Kazoos. It will sound just dandy!
At the end of the video, you will hear a demonstration of the audio for a Kazoo. This week we will be working on "This Land Is Your Land," "I've Been Working on the Railroad," and "Erie Canal." These cute songs remind me of another Barefoot Book, available in paperback with CD.
Hop aboard the yellow school bus as it makes its way through town.
Different modes of transportation are each paired with a color in this
educational and fun selection.
Glue tops closed and glue scrapbook paper on outside
I'm having a giveaway for free photo software, stay tuned!
We are so fortunate to live close by the San Diego Safari Park. It is one of our favorite outings. You can easily spend the entire day seeing all the animals and taking in the very informative animal shows. The park is huge and an amazing animal sanctuary for so many varieties of animals and birds.
With Thanksgiving approaching, I decided to share my homemade Safari Shakers with my kindergarten music class. It was a huge success. We placed the shakers in the middle of the room. The boys and girls took turns choosing which one they wanted to take home. Immediately the kids began to shake and twirl around.
Of course, you can make them all the same but have you noticed all the variety of safari scrap booking paper that is available? Plus, there's zebra duct tape! How cool is that?!
Mr. Music Mouse or Miss Music Mouse, if you please!
This week at Anny's Kindergarten, we are learning eighth notes. I thought the children would enjoy shaking their homemade tambourines to the rhythm! Aren't they adorable?! I got the idea from Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas and decided to tweak it a little. I'll be teaching the kids about running notes!
Meet Music Mouse
Music Tambourines
How To
I happened to have some medium size letter templates on hand. I prefer the smaller size plates because of the size of the children's hands. Once I traced the M onto the foam plate, I took off with blue paint. Decorating the mouse was easy and in no time I had created 10 tambourines for music class.
Mice Like Music
Supplies
2 small foam paper plates 2 small eyes 2 foam ears 1 pom pom for nose 2 pipe cleaners for whiskers (I drew whiskers) The letter M Bottle of paint, any color
I added a handful of soybeans to place in the middle of my small foam plate before I would staple down the two plates. I found that the less beans you use, actually the sound gets louder! I have seen others punch holds and lace yarn through the holes to create that cool, tail effect.
Songs For The Mouse
1.Three Blind Mice
Three blind mice,
See how they run!
They all ran after a farmer's wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife.
Did you ever see such a sight in your life,
As three blind mice?
