These colorful little castanets are perfect for little fingers to explore. Not only will your child experiment with rhythm, but he'll also work on developing his fine motor skills!

Materials:
Sturdy Paper like poster board or a manila folder
Pairs of Buttons
Hot Glue Gun or Elmer's School Glue

Cut the paper into rectangles that measure anywhere from 4 to 6 inches long and 1/2 to 1 inch wide. Fold each rectangle in half so there's a crease in the middle. Next, choose two buttons and glue one on each end of the rectangle. The buttons will need to be the same size, and if your child is like my son, they'll have to be the same color too! Allow the glue to dry.

Let the fun begin! What types of rhythms can you create with your new instrument? Can you click the buttons together fast and slow? Can you make a steady beat? How about tapping the rhythm of your favorite song with your castanets? Turn on some music and experiment with all different types of rhythm!

***If doing this craft with young children or with young children present, do be careful to keep an eye on the buttons. Don't let young children put them in their mouths!***

My boys and I love to play with playdough - The only problem we run into is that I like to keep the colors separate and they like to mix them together. Oh well!!!

In early childhood education and elementary school - including piano lessons - playdough provides some wonderful benefits for youngsters: creative thinking, eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, etc.

You probably watch each week as I point out a wide variety of musical symbols to your child! We talk about how "a quarter note gets ONE count," "a rest means that we have to be quiet," "the treble clef means we use our right hand to play," etc, etc, etc! Occasionally we use crayons to color these symbols, or we search for them on a page filled with musical notation.

Playdough is just one more way to review these important theory symbols with your budding musician - whether they like to mix colors or not! Have them fashion a green bass clef followed by pink quarter notes, and complete the rhythm pattern by adding bar lines - don't forget the double bar line at the end. They can even make those quarter notes go up and down on the table as they sing the melody of a song!

A little person's creativity is boundless - and they aren't bothered with how things are "supposed to be done." They're learning and discovering new things everyday!

So, pull out that playdough and spend some time creating music with your child. You'll probably be amazed at how many musical symbols they remember from their lessons!