By Age: Enjoy Music with Instrument Play! Plus DIY Instrument Ideas

[For 1-year-olds] Let’s try playing various musical instruments

[Age 1] Enjoy Sounds! Play with Musical Instruments♪

Let’s try playing with instruments with one-year-olds using bells, tambourines, and castanets.

Since all of these instruments make sound just by being touched, they’re perfect for one-year-olds who want to enjoy making sounds.

Start by letting them touch the instruments and get used to them.

Once they’re comfortable, have them play the instruments along with the teacher’s singing or piano.

The key point is to feel and enjoy the sounds.

It’s ideal to choose songs that make it fun to participate.

Watch over the children so they can get familiar with the instruments in their own way.

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[For 2-year-olds] Let’s play with handmade instruments

"Let's create beautiful tones with handmade instruments!" [2-year-olds] | Torikai Yuuikuen [Nursery/Kindergarten]

How about playing with handmade instruments with your two-year-olds? The materials include plastic bottles, empty shoe boxes, empty tissue boxes, straws, and more.

For scraps you can’t buy at the store, let the teachers work together to gather them.

If you cover an empty tissue box with construction paper and stretch rubber bands across it lengthwise, you’ve got a guitar.

Fill a plastic bottle with cut-up straws and it turns into a maraca.

A shoe box can be enjoyed as a drum just by tapping the top with your hands.

Don’t forget to decorate them cutely with stickers and markers.

Have lots of fun playing!

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[Craft] Let’s play with a handmade tambourine

[Upcycled Craft] Easy! Make a Tambourine with Plastic Bottle Caps (Playable Craft & Handmade Toy) [Paper Plate & Bottle Caps] Musical Instrument Craft

Let’s make a tambourine using a paper plate and plastic bottle caps.

Instruments you make yourself feel special, so you’ll have even more fun playing.

First, fold the paper plate in half and cut it with scissors.

Next, put a small amount of rice into a plastic bottle cap, place another cap on top, and tape around the edges so the rice won’t spill out.

Make three of these rice-filled cap pairs, then secure them in the gaps of the folded-and-taped paper plate.

Enjoy playing with your homemade tambourine, which makes a beautiful, shimmering sound.

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[Craft] Making clappers (naruko) from milk cartons

Handmade Instrument [Click-clack Naruko]

Would you like to make a clapper (naruko) with a charming click-clack sound? Cut the corners of one panel of a milk carton into rounded shapes, fold the panel in half, and make a slit at the center of the crease.

Next, fold two panels of the milk carton so each becomes one-quarter of the original width to form a handle.

Insert this handle into the slit you made and secure it with tape.

Then freely decorate the milk carton with drawings, and attach four plastic bottle caps so they overlap on the inside of the folded section and on the upper part of the inserted handle.

That’s it! Simply shake it side to side to make a click-clack sound, so even small children can easily and enjoyably join in musical play.

[Ages 3] Drive! Tambourine

Drive! Tambourine (Instrument Rhythm Play)

“Drive! Tambourine” is an instrument play activity where you enjoy various movements with a tambourine while listening to music.

You can sing while shaking the tambourine, or pretend the tambourine is a steering wheel and move it around.

Getting children familiar with the tambourine through instrument play makes it easier to introduce it for concerts and recitals.

The song selection is a bit simple for three-year-olds, but it’s a great choice for a first instrument play activity.

Once the children start to remember it, you might try having them perform without the teacher’s demonstration.

Let’s all get excited together!

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[For 0-year-olds] Let’s enjoy sounds

Koguma Class (0-year-olds) enjoyed playing with musical instruments. Hachiman Kodomoen (Tsukimi, Fukui City)

Let’s enjoy sounds with infants.

You can make maracas using empty lactic acid drink containers, and if the teacher can closely supervise, you can involve the children from the making stage.

Since fillings like azuki beans or beads could be put in mouths, consider whether to work on this together while carefully observing the children.

Secure the lids firmly with glue or vinyl tape.

Have the children stick stickers around the outside.

Once the maracas are ready, try shaking them to the music and have fun!

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[For 1-year-olds] Cha-cha-cha Snowman with Bells

Musical Play: “The Snowman Cha-Cha-Cha” ... for 0- and 1-year-olds

Would you like to perform “Yukidaruma no Cha Cha Cha” with one-year-olds? With bells, even one-year-olds can enjoy making sounds.

Start by practicing how to hold the instrument and have fun making sounds.

Gradually, they can also learn to play along with the music.

What matters most is that each child can participate with enjoyment.

If you’re arranging the instrument play for a recital, simple choreography—like raising their arms while ringing the bells—works well.

The sight of children ringing their bells with all their might is absolutely adorable.

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