Bang on your flower pots, string your shoebox guitar, and make

Bang on your flower pots, string your shoebox guitar, and make some
bottle maracas with this week's round-up of music-making activities and
printables! Remember that some great learning can come from making
some great music, and that's what this week is all about.
Make Flower Pot Music
Shoebox Guitar
Conduct Your Own Chorus!
Paper Plate Tambourines
Make a Spin Drum
Bottle Maracas!
Drinking Glass Xylophone
Music Memory Game
Music Note Pattenrs
Creative Writing: Music Prompt
Learn to Play Piano!
Fizzy's Lunchlab Tune Box
Clay flower pots
Yarn
Wooden spoon
2 beads
String
Embroidery needle
Notebook rings
2 plastic drink bottles
Place from which to hang
the pots
Rocks
Empty shoe box
5-6 jumbo rubber bands
Pen or pencil
Scissors
2 paper plates
Dried beans
A stapler
Magic markers, stickers,
glitter glue, etc
An empty frozen juice
container with both
metal ends
Dried uncooked pasta
Rice
Masking tape
6 tall glass glasses, bottles,
or jars (preferably the
same shape and size)
Water
Food coloring or colorful soft
drink mix
Metal spoon, wooden spoon,
or wooden popsicle sticks
Jug
Craft knife
White glue
The PBS KIDS logo is a registered mark of the Public Broadcasting Service and is used with permission. All Rights Reserved.
Make Flower Pot Music
Turn flower pots into a unique musical instrument with this inventive activity!
Your child will be a musician in no time and this activity will give him a great
opportunity to learn about music and sound. Your child will be able to hear
and analyze the different sounds he produces with his very own
homemade instrument. Just as importantly, he'll learn that music is
everywhere if you know how to listen.
What You Need:
Clay flower pots
Wooden spoon
String
Notebook rings
Place from which to hang the pots
What to Do:
1. Collect clay flower pots with a hole in each of the pot bottoms. Use four or five different sizes.
2. Thread a piece of string through the bottom of each pot and attach it to a notebook ring placed
inside the pot.
3. Hang the pots upside-down at different lengths, so that when they are struck with the wooden
spoon, they will not swing and hit each other.
4. Invite your child to hit the pots with the wooden spoon to make music. Talk about the different
sounds the different-sized pots make. Older children can try to imitate a tune they know or make
their own.
If your child would like to show off his newfound musical talent, gather friends and family members for a
concert!
Adapted with permission from "Squish, Sort, Paint & Build: Over 200 Easy Learning Center Activities."
Copyright 1996 by Sharon MacDonald. Used by Permission of Gryphon House, Inc., Maryland. All Rights
Reserved.
Downloaded from Education.com
Make a Shoe Box Guitar
This is just one of many ways that you can reuse household items and
make neat crafts from them: make this guitar out of an old shoebox for
some musical fun, while saving room in the landfill.
What You Need:
Empty shoe box
5-6 jumbo rubber bands
Pen or pencil
Scissors
What You Do:
1. Start by tracing a circle about three or four inches wide on the lid of
the shoe box.
2. Cut out the circle so there is now a hole in the lid of the shoe box.
3. Put the lid back on the box and wrap the rubber bands lengthwise around the box and over the
hole.
4. Put the pen or pencil under the rubber bands on one side.
5. Now strum your guitar!
Excerpted From "Help Your Parents Save the Planet" Copyright 2009 by Gregory Rutty. Used by
Permission of Workman Publishing Co. Inc., New York All Rights Reserved.
Downloaded from Education.com
Make Paper Plate Tambourines
Looking for a noisemaker that's more musical than your typical
preschooler's banging and clanging? Try this quick arts and crafts activity
that will produce a homemade paper plate tambourine! It’s easy to make
with supplies you probably have on hand, and it makes a great toy. No
wonder it’s a classic!
What You Need:
2 paper plates
A handful of dried beans
A stapler
Magic markers, stickers, glitter glue, etc
What You Do:
1. Set one paper plate on the table and have your child drop a good handful of beans on it.
2. Top with the other plate, face side down, and staple the edges of the plates together. Make sure
the staples are close enough together that no beans can escape!
3. When the tambourine is fully constructed, hand your child the art supplies and let him go crazy with
the decorations! Stickers, finger paint, even feathers and ribbons will give this quick craft a touch of
flair to last through many musical numbers!
© Copyright 2006-2012 Education.com All Rights Reserved.
Spin Drum
Rhythm masters and percussion artists in training, have some fun holding
a beat with some homemade drums! Help your child craft a spin drum like
those found in both Peru and Japan. Instead of being played with hands or
sticks, this unique drum has to be twisted and turned to play. This
drummer’s activity is sure to spark an interest in learning about musical
instruments from other cultures.
What You Need:
An empty frozen juice container with both metal ends
Scissors
Craft knife
A pencil
White glue
Yarn
2 beads
Embroidery needle
Stickers
What You Do:
1. Explain to your daughter that she is making a spin drum. Show her pictures of these drums both
from Japan and Peru. The beads strike the drum heads when the drum is turned.
2. Cut the juice container down so it is approximately two inches tall.
3. Use a craft knife to make a hole in the side of the container. It should be in the center, one inch
from each side. Push the eraser end of the pencil through the hole and into the drum. Stop pushing
when the eraser presses into the opposite side of the drum. Glue in place.
4. Lay the drum flat on the table so the pencil hole is at 6 o’clock. Use the craft knife to poke two
small holes at 3 and 9 o-clock. Using the embroidery needle, thread a 13-inch piece of yarn
through these holes. Tie a bead onto each end.
5. Close the drum with the missing metal lid. Glue into place.
6. Decorate the drum with stickers.
Your daughter can play her drum by twisting the pencil back and forth so the beads bounce off the drum
heads. Soon she will be keeping time to the music as she twists and turns to the beat. © Copyright 2006-2012 Education.com All Rights Reserved.
How to Make Maracas
Cinco de Mayo celebrates an important battle in Mexican history. Although
the battle took place across the border, the holiday is widely celebrated in
America by people of Mexican heritage. Why not take part in the festivities?
These maracas make a racket, and they couldn’t be easier to make…
What You Need:
2 plastic drink bottles
Rocks
Dried uncooked pasta
Beans
Rice
Masking tape
Markers
What You Do:
1. Rinse out the plastic bottles. Talk to your child about the fact that each of the materials on the table
(rocks, pasta, beans, and rice) can be used to fill the maracas. Discuss the qualities of each of the
filler materials and ask her to make some predictions about what each material would sound like
and what it would do if it filled a bottle (for example, “The rocks are big, so they’d be hard to shake”
or “The rice is light so the bottle wouldn’t feel very heavy”).
2. Allow your child to fill the plastic bottle with the fill material of her choice. Close the bottle, let her
shake it, and tell her she can exchange it for something else if she’d like. This is a great time to
allow your child to experiment with different fill materials. How is the sound made by rocks in the
bottle different than the sound made by rice?
3. Once your child has settled on the perfect fill materials, place a lid on each bottle and secure with
masking tape. Cover the entire bottle with layers of masking tape and give your child the markers
so she can decorate them. Strike up the music and shake!
© Copyright 2006-2012 Education.com All Rights Reserved.
Design a Great Glass Xylophone!
This amusing activity incorporates music into an educational science
experiment! Your child will love learning about sound waves as he makes
and plays sweet-sounding melodies on his very own glass xylophone. He’ll
delight in exploring the effect of varying amounts of water in each glass,
and will get to make up some enchanting tunes at the same time!
What You Need:
6 tall glass glasses, bottles, or jars (preferably the same shape and
size)
Water
Food coloring or colorful soft drink mix
Metal spoon, wooden spoon, or wooden popsicle sticks
Jug
What You Do:
1. Get your child to line up the bottles or glasses in a row.
2. Ask your child to tap gently on each of the glasses. What sort of sound is created? Do the glasses
all make the same sound?
3. Put the water in the jug and get your child to mix in the food coloring or drink mix.
4. With your child, carefully pour the water into the glasses, making sure there is a different level of
water in each glass.
5. Get your child to tap the glasses again. What sort of noise do they make now? Do all of the
glasses make the same sound now?
6. Encourage your child to vary the tones by changing the amounts of water.
7. Invite your child to play a tune! Adjust the musical notes that are created by adding more or less
water to each glass.
What's Going On?
When your child taps the glasses, he generates sound waves that travel through the water. When there
is water in the glasses, the sound waves are altered as they need to travel through water. The more
water is present in a glass, the lower the sound note.
Variation:
If you are using bottles for this activity, get your child to blow into the bottle and to listen to the sound
produced. Are they the same or different from the sound he gets when he taps the bottles? He might be
surprised, as the result is the opposite. The more water in the bottle, the higher the note. This is because
the sound waves created when the bottle is blown travel through the air rather than the water. The less
water present in the bottle, the more air there is!
© Copyright 2006-2012 Education.com All Rights Reserved.
Let’s Make Music!
Which music note comes next? Help finish the pattern by cutting out the
missing notes and gluing them on the correct row.
All musical instruments, including
the piano, use SEVEN basic notes: A, B, C,
D, E, F, G.
A piano has a total of 88 keys. These
seven notes are played on the white keys,
repeated over and over, but the pitch gets
higher as they go from left to right.
Cut out these markers and tape them to the correct keys on your piano as a guide!
OCTAVE: An octave is a series of 8 notes
in order. All notes can be played at many
different octaves; it is the same note, but
with a higher or lower pitch. The keys
highlighted in yellow represent an octave.
FLAT (b): This symbol “flat” means that the
note is played one half-step below (on the
black keys).
SHARP (#): This symbol “sharp” means that the note
is played one half-stop above (on the black keys).
CHORD: A chord is many notes played
together, at the same time to create a
harmony.
Go on a Hike with George!
Using the compass below, help George decide which direction he should go.
Then circle the correct answer in the bubble.
1. To visit the moose,
George should travel:
or
2. To see the lake,
George should go:
or
®
Weekdays on PBS KIDS
pbskids.org/curiousgeorge
Find more games and activities
at pbskids.org/read.
PBS
andis isused
usedwith
withpermission.
permission.Curious
• TM & ©George
2011 The
Henson Company.
AllWGBH
Rights and
Reserved.
Sid the
Science
Kid airs
The PBS
PBSKIDS
KIDSlogo
logoisisaaregistered
registeredmark
markofofthe
PBS
and
is aJim
production
of Imagine,
Universal.
Curious
George
and related characters, created by
daily on PBS
with are
funding
provided
bytrademarked
The Boeing Company
and The
Corporation
for Public
Broadcasting.
Additional
provided
MetLifeLLC.
Foundation,
Margret
and KIDS
H.A. Rey,
copyrighted
and
by Houghton
Mifflin
Harcourt and
used under
license. Licensed
byfunding
Universal
Studios by
Licensing
Television Series: © 2013. Universal Studios.
The Rose Hills Foundation, the S.D. Bechtel., Jr. Foundation, the Johnny Carson Foundation and The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.
All Rights Reserved. Proud Sponsors of Curious George® on PBS KIDS® are Stride Rite Children's Group, LLC., and ABCmouse.com. FOR PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY.
Card-Matching Game
Playing games can be a great way to help your child practice words.
In this card-matching game they will learn to say and recognize different animals.
Instructions:
An adult should print out this page twice, so there are two sets of cards. Cut out the cards and deal them to the
players face-down. Have each player take a turn asking for a card (e.g. “do you have a snake?”). If they get a match,
they lay the pair down. Once all of the cards have been laid, have each player recite their pairs and then count the
number of pairs they have. The player with the most pairs wins the game.
®
Weekdays on PBS KIDS
pbskids.org/curiousgeorge
Find more games and activities
at pbskids.org/read.
The PBS KIDS logo is a registered mark of PBS and is used with permission. Curious George is a production of Imagine, WGBH and Universal. Curious George and related characters, created by
Margret and H.A. Rey, are copyrighted and trademarked by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and used under license. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing LLC. Television Series: © 2013. Universal Studios.
All Rights Reserved. Proud Sponsors of Curious George® on PBS KIDS® are Stride Rite Children's Group, LLC., and ABCmouse.com. FOR PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY.
Recipe for fun!
Cooking with your child gives you an opportunity to explore words and ideas together.
If your child is not yet reading or writing, help them figure out the first letter in their favorite foods or
ingredients. If your child is writing, talk with them about their favorite foods and have them write up
their own recipe for a family favorite or create a family cookbook containing all their favorites.
Here is a healthy recipe that your whole family can help make and enjoy.
Chef Pisghetti’s Giardino Burgers
Make giardino burgers just like George did!
Makes about 6 burgers.
INGREDIENTS:
1 15-oz. can garbanzo beans (chick peas)
3 eggs
Salt & pepper
1 cup bread crumbs
6 hamburger buns
Ketchup, mustard, etc.
DIRECTIONS:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Ask a grown-up for help.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Put the garbanzos and eggs in a bowl and mash them together.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add the bread crumbs and mix them in.
Add any veggies you like. Experiment like Chef Pisghetti did to find YOUR perfect burger!
Form the mixture into patties. After washing your hands, take a handful and roll it into a ball.
Then flatten the ball between your hands to make the patty.
8. Put patties on a baking sheet and bake at 350° for 25 minutes.
9. Place cooked burgers on buns and add whatever you would add to a hamburger.
10. EAT AND ENJOY!
®
Weekdays on PBS KIDS
pbskids.org/curiousgeorge
Find more games and activities
at pbskids.org/read.
The PBS KIDS logo is a registered mark of PBS and is used with permission. Curious George is a production of Imagine, WGBH and Universal. Curious George and related characters, created by
Margret and H.A. Rey, are copyrighted and trademarked by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and used under license. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing LLC. Television Series: © 2013. Universal Studios.
All Rights Reserved. Proud Sponsors of Curious George® on PBS KIDS® are Stride Rite Children's Group, LLC., and ABCmouse.com. FOR PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY.
Find the Food Matching Game
George’s friends are hungry! Help the animals find their favorite food.
Draw a line from the animal to its food. Then circle the correct letter each item begins with.
®
Weekdays on PBS KIDS
pbskids.org/curiousgeorge
Find more games and activities
at pbskids.org/read.
PBS
andis isused
usedwith
withpermission.
permission.Curious
• TM & ©George
2011 The
Henson Company.
AllWGBH
Rights and
Reserved.
Sid the
Science
Kid airs
The PBS
PBSKIDS
KIDSlogo
logoisisaaregistered
registeredmark
markofofthe
PBS
and
is aJim
production
of Imagine,
Universal.
Curious
George
and related characters, created by
daily on PBS
with are
funding
provided
bytrademarked
The Boeing Company
and The
Corporation
for Public
Broadcasting.
Additional
provided
MetLifeLLC.
Foundation,
Margret
and KIDS
H.A. Rey,
copyrighted
and
by Houghton
Mifflin
Harcourt and
used under
license. Licensed
byfunding
Universal
Studios by
Licensing
Television Series: © 2013. Universal Studios.
The Rose Hills Foundation, the S.D. Bechtel., Jr. Foundation, the Johnny Carson Foundation and The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.
All Rights Reserved. Proud Sponsors of Curious George® on PBS KIDS® are Stride Rite Children's Group, LLC., and ABCmouse.com. FOR PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY.