Using our voices, hands, feet and other body parts lets see what sounds we can make together!
For Babies
Making sounds naturally happens with babies they express themselves through sounds, gestures, and body movements. They copy you and your actions, they show their excitement by squealing, giggling and crying. They enjoy clapping hands, patting their knees, blowing raspberries making sounds with their voices. Spend time doing these things with your children, make a sound e.g. clap your hands or pat your knee, encouraging them to copy you. Smile, laugh make eye contact and show your child you are enjoying this activity with them. Once your child is engaged in this you can entertain them for ages.
For Toddlers
Again, this naturally happens with toddlers especially if they are still developing their language and communication skills because they rely on the sounds they can make. You can instigate a game involving clapping hands, patting knees or stamping feet. You can ask them what sounds they can make using only their body parts and voices. You can take it in turns and copy the sound each other makes, changing the tempo doing fast and slow, loud and quiet.
For Preschoolers
As with toddlers you can instigate a game clapping hands, patting knees, stamping feet, changing speed and tempo doing this fast, slow, loud and quiet you can add rhythm and counting for example 3 x hands clap 1 x knee pat 2 x stamp feet. You can encourage children to put a routine together and develop more complex routines for each other to follow. (Think of the game ‘bop it and apply this) but only use body parts and voices.
For all age groups
You can build on this over time and introduce songs or rhymes where children can add the sounds they make -
(Sung to the tune of ‘Here we go round the mulberry bush’)
‘This is the way we clap our hands, clap our hands, clap our hands, this is the way we clap our hands-on a (frosty, rainy, sunny, windy, Tuesday) morning.
This can be changed to, pat our knees or stamp our feet or you can change the tune for example try singing to tune of ‘hokey cokey’
‘Oh, we clap our hands, oh we clap our hands oh we clap our hands, clap, clap, clap clap, clap, clap clap’
The best thing about these activities is you that you don't need any resources and you can do them anywhere! In any room, on the floor, in the garden, in the bath, anywhere….and it inspires your children to be creative and imaginative. There is no right or wrong way to do it!
We guarantee you will laugh and have fun... so go on give it a go!
Tomorrow we will be looking at making music with everyday objects you will find around the house!