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Instrument Exploration Videos and Experiences
"Rainbow Connection" is a beloved favorite of ours but we took this classic and twisted to incorporate a slow five count rhythm to begin the experience and then had a speed up section to finish it off. Having instruments for this song would be extremely beneficial and engaging for your kiddos!
We love this experience so much because there is a built-in rhythm in the song of spelling out the word 'family,' and because the main message of this song is "I'm so glad you're in my family!" This is a great experience to use during this time of the year with Thanksgiving and holidays coming up next month. We touch on multiple developmental goal areas in this experience, such as cognition, language/communication, gross motor development and cultivating social/emotional skills. By encouraging our kiddos to clap out a rhythm focusing on a specific word (i.e. 'family'), we're working on memory recall, counting, sequencing, lyric anticipation, crossing the median, hand-eye coordination, and visual and auditory letter recognition, while also using this song experience as a self regulation tool (due to the high gross motor impact and repetition) to continue to help the student achieve success.
This would be a great experience focusing on environmental awareness, expressing independent ideas, counting, spelling, picture identification and so much more. We primarily work with 2-5 year old kiddos so we would be focusing on the 'summer' rhythm, when we introduce rhythms we start by counting and clapping (i.e. counting to 6 while playing the appropriate rhythm). As we start the music accompaniment we continue the repetition of the rhythm we shift to the letters of 'summer' and continue to engage/model the clapping. Just wanted to let ya'll know how we do it in person versus the video below. We all know how beneficial music is with memory and cognitive skills (remember how you learned your letters? By singing!) so that's why we love to incorporate spelling in music to further focus on this cognitive and academic skill. Since the lyrics are quick during the verse, we saw this as an excellent opportunity to include visual prompts with this month's resource. Feel free to use these before, during or after the experience or get creative and make your own!
This interactive musical experience focuses on receptive language, cognitive skills, social/emotional skills, and motor skills. We're going to focus on these age-appropriate cognitive skills through "Music In My Heart":
- Following directions (stopping)
- Counting 1 through 5
- Auditory awareness (speed and volume)
- Following patterns
- Processing in real time
This Shake & Stop experience, written by the incomparable Ella Jenkins, offers another chance for our friends to join in on a music game that focuses on motor function and cognitive awareness, all while increasing the tempo with every repetition to create a fun-focused experience for all involved (although our experiences are always fun-focused!)
"Shake, Shake, Shake and Stop" is a short orginial interactive instrument experience that we use in almost every performance and class. Although short, it works on a wide range of goal areas:
- Following directions (stop and go)
- Impulse control
- Self regulation with high affect experience
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