Musical activities are a great way for children and parents to bond during free time. On those days when the weather is less than ideal, indoor musical activities can be a great way to keep your little bees having fun while stimulating their creativity, and are also an amazing way to help your kids stay active on rainy days.
We’ve borrowed from Kindermusik these 5 amazing ideas for indoor musical activities, so you and your little bees practice at home some of the lessons they learn at Hive.
#1 – Band in a Basket
Chase away the boredom blues when you pull out your Band in a Basket! All you need is a basket or container that you fill with some simple, age-appropriate instruments, and then you can enjoy some musical fun indoors!
Each person picks their favorite instrument. Turn on your favorite music and have a fabulous and fun family play-along. And don’t forget to switch instruments every time a new song comes on!
Play sound detective. Secretly hide an instrument in a simple paper bag. Shake the bag, and give everyone a chance to guess the sound. Then pull the instrument out and take some time to explore all of the different ways to make a sound with that instrument.
Choose an instrument and form a parade. (We recommend some bright and happy marching music in the background!) March all around the house, changing the leader of the parade every time you go into a different room.
#2 – Fabric Dancing
All you need is some recorded music and some different colors of scarves or strips of fabric – really anything shiny or silky will do. And then try one of these fabric dancing games:
Use your scarves or fabric to bounce, twirl, swish, and wave to the rhythm of the music. A little musical variety makes this really fun if you are dancing to music of different tempi and different moods.
Play a game of peek-a-boo. This one never gets old! (And don’t forget to have your camera handy to record some of those adorable belly laughs!)
A larger scarf or piece of fabric can become like a miniature parachute. Each of you hold one side, and then raise or lower the “parachute” in time with the music.
#3 – Musical Chairs
This is a bit of a twist on this childhood game, but still a classic way to have fun indoors. Have enough chairs for each person playing the game. Move around the room until the music stops, then see who gets back to their original seat first! Again here, varying the musical style makes this game last longer and encourages more musical listening and response.
#4 – Laundry Basket Hayride
All you need is a sturdy laundry basket and a rope or long scarf to loop through as a handle. Set your child inside and have fun zig-zagging and riding all around the house in your “wagon.” Simple, but fun… and maybe even a little reward once the laundry is all done and put away!
#5 – Build a Fort
Nothing is more fun or more magical than building a simple fort. Use boxes, blankets, chairs, pillows, and couch cushions to create an amazing play space sure to entertain your child for hours. And don’t forget to climb inside with them so you can cuddle up and read or sing together!
At Hive we offer music classes for kids from ages 0 to 16. Some of our music programs include Tiny Bees (1 year old), Musical Bees (3-4 years old) and Family Bees (1-4 years old), just to name a few. If your kid is enrolled in our 0 – 5 yr music programs, logon to your home learning centre to find plenty of fun home activities, or re-create your music class at home!