Although my son did some of the steps in this project, I did far too much of it for me to really say he did it. However school age children would be able to every step so I am posting it as a Naptime Creation, which for those new here are projects for school age kids. Activities like this help to explore the basics of music and can be a way to see if your child is interested in exploring the subject further .
- Gather your materials. You will need a cereal box, marker, 2 pieces of construction paper, paint , glue , a ruler and scissors. * You may also want some sheet music where you can show your child that musicians use this to tell them what to play, depending on your child’s age and knowledge you can go into notes, clefs etc… I grabbed some and showed my son explaining it very simply.
- Have your older child use the ruler to make the staff – they need to draw 5 lines in total, cut out when you are done.
- Next grab the cereal box and cut it open. Have your child draw some notes , we chose 2 eighth notes and a quater note. I didn’t even try to explain those to my son, he simply pointed to ones he wanted to make in a song book. With older children you can explain the basics .
- Time to paint. All ages can do this no problem! We are using a pastry brush but any brush will do. Let dry.
- Glue your staff
onto the other piece of construciton paper.
- Cut out your notes.
- Glue on.
Here I just let my son glue them on where he wanted, but with older children you can have them specifically choose notes.
For the musically un inclined ( or totally deficient like me!) here is a link that teaches the very basics so you can introduce these concepts. I couldn’t remember much from my jr. high band days and had to look up some terms. The site isn’t child focused but will bring parents who need it up to being able to explain the very basics.
Beverly says
very cute
MoziEsmé says
I had my daughter do something similar to this a while back – I cut out printed notes and backed them with double-sided tape, then let her put them wherever she wanted on a printed staff. Basically just a sticker project, but it worked for her age…
Now I’m brainstorming – how about drawing the staff on a magnetized whiteboard and taping magnets on the backs of the notes? Or drawing a staff on felt and making felt notes? And then playing the “composition” for her afterwards – I have a flute, so this is easy to do…
Allie says
My son would die if I had a flute he pretends to play instruments all day.
I love the felt board idea, let me know if you make one , they are great for this age.