Nothing says fun like making some noise! Music activities are a wonderful way to engage young learners. Music provides children an outlet through which they explore the world around them, develop their coordination, and build social emotional skills—all while having fun. A cereal box guitar is one of the easiest music crafts you can try, and it helps you explore creative learning opportunities with your preschoolers—at home and in the classroom.
Check out The GIANT Encyclopedia of Preschool Activities for 3-Year-Olds for easy instructions to make your very own homemade guitar!
Making String Instuments
Materials:
- String instrument or triangle
- Styrofoam trays
- Rubber bands
- Cereal boxes, pasta boxes
What to do:
- Explain to the children that not all artists create artwork to look at and that some artists are musicians.
- First, demonstrate how vibration causes sound. Strum strings on any string instrument or tap a musical triangle, but HOLD each instrument to prevent it from vibrating. (There are many things you can use to demonstrate this, such as symbols, a xylophone, a glass, and so on.)
- Now release the strings or triangle so they are able to vibrate and make a sound.
- Show the children how they can make a string instrument of their own by wrapping rubber bands around a Styrofoam tray. The rubber bands vibrate to cause sound.
- Ask them to predict whether or not the sound will be higher or lower if you make a rubber band tighter. This is similar to what a musician must do to tune his string instrument.
- Give the children rubber bands and Styrofoam trays and encourage them to create their own string instrument.
More to do:
- Put on marching music and encourage the children to dance or march with their instruments.
- Make various string instruments by cutting out sections from cereal or pasta boxes, attaching a paper towel tube to one end, and adding rubber bands.
