Another Fun Listening Game!




Where am I?  A Fun Listening Game

I am always looking for new listening games in the hope that some of it will rub off on my girls and they will clean up their toys the first time I ask them!  :)  Not really, but I do think listening is an extremely important skill for learning music and for life in general and it is always important for children to have fun while learning.

I wrote about this listening game for Dandelion Magazine, a free quarterly magazine that serves as a resource for Bay Area and Sacramento families of children with special needs.  You can read my post, Where am I? A Fun Listening Game at godandelion.com.

Enjoy!

Water & Music

Water & Music

This summer we have played a lot with water while the weather is hot.  Besides cooling us off, water is a natural source of music!  It makes the prettiest sounds when it splashes and trickles.


Water Music
One of my favorite pieces of music is Water Music by George Frideric Handel.   Handel wrote Water Music in 1717 for 50 musicians to play for King George I and guests while floating down the River Thames.  It is a lovely piece.  I like to watch it performed by the English Baroque Festival as performers dressed in the style of the day dance in Baroque style.

Water Wall
A fun way to experiment with water and sound is to make a water wall.

Water Wall

We made holes in a bunch of plastic containers and bottles and zip tied them to an old piece of frame we had left over.  We also used funnels and swimming noodles to make curves.  It took some time to line up the holes and containers so that the water would drip into the bottom container instead of onto the ground.

We loved how the water flowed through one container into another.  And it made the most beautiful sounds!





This is my favorite part of the the water wall.  We put a bunch of holes in the lid of a plastic jar and it would flow into another container. 
This activity taught about the sounds water made plus a lot of engineering principles!

Water Xylophone
A great way to play with water is to make a water xylophone.  Fill a bunch of glasses with varying amounts of water.  We put food coloring in ours to make it pretty.

Take a metal spoon and tap on the glasses.  The different levels of water will make the glasses have a different tone.  You can keep them all mixed up or you can put them in order from highest to lowest.  The girls made up all kinds of songs with the xylophone.  It is a really interesting and absorbing experiment.

Relaxation

There is nothing as relaxing as the sound of water. 





Just imagine the ocean's waves crashing on the beach or a mountain stream trickling through the forest.  It is natural music made by water!

Enjoy!



Another Fun Week of Music Camp - July 30-Aug. 4

Explore Music Camp July 30- Aug 4, 2012

We had another fantastic week of Explore Music Camp. Each day we exlored a different instrument and did fun experiments and games.

Everyone used bee finger puppets to act out the "Here is the Beehive" finger play.

Having fun acting out "In a Cabin in the Woods".

Singing the call and response song "Who Are You?"

Making music with the guitar and maracas.

More music making with guitar, rhythm sticks and bells.

We did a fun experiment with drums, rice and beans.  We hit the drums to see the rice and beans jump and move just like sound waves. 

I got the idea and directions for this experiment from Kids Activities Blog.  Check it out for the supplies you will need.  It really is easy and the children enjoy bouncing rice and beans all over the table and floor!

We also played the Egg Sound Game.  The children shake the eggs and try to match the two eggs that have the same contents. 

To make your own game visit my past post Match the Sounds.

Rachel is explaining the parts of the violin.

The ukulele is a great instrument for little fingers!

Amanda did a great job introducing the students to strumming and playing chords on the ukulele.

Guitar is a very popular instrument.  Everyone wants to be a rock star!

This week allowed the children to try out different instruments: piano, violin, ukulele, guitar and voice.  It was a great experience for them to hold each instrument and try to make sounds with it.  We also had fun playing games and doing experiments.  I am already getting ideas for next summer's camp!

Check out our other week of music camp!

Explore Music Camp July 16 - 20, 2012