Category: Music play

This Is the Way…

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Let’s be honest; taking care of a baby can seem like a series of repetitive steps that you do each day – feeding them, dressing them, bathing them. But don’t forget that everything you do is fascinating for your little one, still. One way to make it fun – not only for Veronika, but also for myself – is to put it to music.

My favorite song to sing as we do daily routines is “This is the Way” (to the tune of Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush. Pretty much anything can fit into this song.

This is the way we take a bath

Take a bath, Take a bath

This is the way we take a bath

Early in the morning

Adapt the lyrics for each thing you do each day!

“This is the way we wash our hands… after having a meal.”

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“This is the way we put on your clothes…early in the morning”

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I also sing the song to her as I go about getting ready for the day, with verses for my shower, for toweling dry, and for getting dresses. You can also enlist baby to be your helper. “This is the way I brush my hair,” I sang to her, and then let her have a turn.

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Musical cues like these can help a baby understand where you are in your daily routine, and also sneaks in language learning.

 

Horsey Ride

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Here’s a fun way to add a sensory element to a favorite nursery rhyme! Using the classic Ride-a-Cock-Horse as inspiration, I threaded small jingle bells onto a silver ribbon for Veronika. Make sure to secure these tightly, either by knotting the ribbon once finished or even sewing the bells on so no bells can come loose. This is especially true if your baby tends to put things in his or her mouth.

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As I recited the rhyme, I jingled the bells for her.

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Touch them to your baby’s fingers on the word “fingers” and toes on the word “toes” as you go through the rhyme:

Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross

to see a fine lady upon a white horse.

With rings on her fingers

and bells on her toes

she shall have music wherever she goes.

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We also turned this into a bouncy lap ride. Have fun playing around with the lyrics as your little once bounces on your knee and listens to the bells. Since Veronika was all in pink today, our horse was a pink horse instead of a white one!

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You can also substitute your baby’s name for the word “lady”.

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Sing in a Silly Voice

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I love musical play with Veronika, but today when I pulled out the songs, it was less about rhythm and more about the giggles!

Sit with your baby and sing a few favorite childhood tunes. Each song you sing, use a different voice. For inspiration, I flipped through a small songbook we have with musical chimes. The chimes definitely held Veronika’s interest, sometimes more so than my voice!

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But she took notice and started giggling when I began singing oddly. Try a high voice.

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Or a low voice. Mom, you sound weird, her look seems to say here.

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I sang in silly accents, like country or French. And of course, I provided Veronika with a few baby instruments to play along.

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If you prefer, stick to only one song but switch up your voice each time. This might even help your baby anticipate the change! Another fun one to try is whispering the song.

Maraca Craft Challenge

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Last month, Travis’s Highlights magazine challenged him to make robots with only a few simple items. This month, the challenge was maracas!

I laid out: empty plastic water bottles, dried beans, tape, and craft sticks. “How would you make these into a maraca?” I asked him.

“Let’s add beans first,” he decided right away.

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He began dropping in the beans one-by-one. When I added a few faster to a second bottle, he admonished, “No, copy the way I do!” My teacher for the day!

Next, he needed to figure out how to use the craft sticks. He requested a piece of tape and soon had a handle.

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Then he decided a double-handle in the shape of an X was sturdier.

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Finally, the caps were reattached, and we could shake up a storm! I loved watching him puzzle through this challenge. What does your child’s maraca look like? Please share in the comments!

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Dance to Different Tunes

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Dancing with baby never gets old, as evinced by the blogs I’ve already posted on the topic. Today, for variation with Veronika, I deliberately selected a few types of music with different rhythms and tempos in order to expose her to a range of sounds.

First up was marching! For this, my go-to music is Sousa marches. Put on some good old Stars and Stripes, and march around.

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For added fun, I gave Veronika some bells to jingle as we marched about the apartment to the beat of the drums and brass instruments.

Next up, a slow song! As the intro chords played, I held her close and we swayed side-to-side. Warning: you might get a little verklempt during this part of the activity.

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Then it was time to bounce around. We put on an exuberant upbeat song (from one of big brother’s favorite TV shows!) and just had some good old dancing fun.

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Try this game with any style music you like, making sure to mix it up, and have fun feeling the rhythm.

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Play the Pots and Pans

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A few days ago, the family formed an impromptu band and entertained Veronika. Today it was her turn to play! Make sure your child is sitting comfortably for this game; if he or she can’t sit unsupported yet, add a pillow so there’s no falling over near the “drums”!

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I set out a few small pots, and gave her a variety of tools with which she could make percussive sounds. We had fun testing the differences between each one.

The whisk was soft but very metallic.

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The wooden spoon made a fun boom boom.

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You can even hit the pans with a baby rattle or plastic spoon! And of course I demonstrated simply drumming with my hand.

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In all honesty, Veronika had way more fun putting each item in her mouth than drumming with them.

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But she looked so pleased every time she made a sound by accident.

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Drum drum drum!

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Form an Impromptu Band

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I love musical play with babies – they take to it so readily! Today, we struck up a band for Veronika as a family, using two types of instruments: real ones that we’ve accumulated over the years, and some improvised ones, too.

Because what is a pot and spoon if not a drum?

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Or a rolled piece of paper if not a horn? Big brother Travis loved the way this one sounded.

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We got jamming and handed Veronika instruments to play, too.

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Travis found a new way to play on this pot – with a kazoo as the mallet!

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Then we shifted our focus from playing the instruments to dancing to some tunes.

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Wiggling is such a funny thing for babies both to see and feel. Set your music player to Music Together’s “Wiggle” and, well, wiggle! I wiggled my fingers, my arms, my legs.

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Travis got into the moves wiggling his whole body.

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By the time we wiggled Veronika’s own toes and fingers, she was giggling with delight. Wiggle your hands all over baby’s body, too, for more giggles.

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Don’t forget to just pick up your baby and get your whole bodies into the rhythm. We danced from room to room.

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Now that she’s older, the dance moves can be more active than those with a newborn; we went up and down, spun around, stepped back and forth, you name it. Dance it up!

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Easter Egg Maracas

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Here’s a great use for any extra plastic Easter eggs you have lying around this time of year! You can make the maracas after the hunt on the holiday, or set aside a few and make them beforehand; they look beautiful among other Easter decorations.

First, scoop a little rice into plastic Easter eggs. Good scooping practice!

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Place two plastic spoons around the egg, and secure with decorative washi tape. Any color will do, but I looked specifically for colors and prints that evoked springtime! Whoops – Travis thought it was funny when he taped my thumb in for a moment.

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Now continue wrapping in washi tape until the egg and the spoon handles are completely covered. This step got a big frustrating for Travis, so finishing up became a mama job.

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Turns out little sister Veronika loved the maracas, too!

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In fact, perhaps more so than Travis.

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But they were still great for shaking and grooving to music.

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Add these to your table centertop for an Easter decoration, or just enjoy them during any music play.

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Mirrored Action Song

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I’ve been doing fingerplays and action rhymes with Veronika since she was tiny, but now it’s time to encourage her to get in on the action! As your baby nears his or her sixth month, you’ll find they might be trying to copy all the moves. You can help the process along with this cute game. It’s a great one for big siblings who are eager to interact with a little sib, too.

I sat Veronika down in a chair facing me, and Travis and I acted out a few simple motions. Clapping first.

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Then stomping.

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Then patting your head.

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For each action, we gently moved Veronika’s limbs in imitation. Travis loved helping her hands clap.

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And feet tap.

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She looked very surprised at patting her own head!

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Now we wanted to put it all to music, and we knew just what to sing: If You’re Happy and You Know It, of course! Based on her smile, I think I’m a good performer.

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We sang through the song, doing each motion (“If you’re happy clap your hands… If you’re happy stamp your feet… If you’re happy pat your head… If you’re happy shout hurray…” and so on).

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It’s only a matter of time before she’s doing all the moves right alongside us.

Enjoy Some Downtime Together

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Here is easily the most relaxing suggestion I’ve found for whiling away time with your infant – and one that I hope Veronika and I can include in our everyday routine moving forward. Or at least on the days that big brother is at school!

Try to take a moment (today and each day!) to play soothing music and just have downtime next to your baby. This sounds so simple, but our house is always filled with noise and movement, and I usually have Veronika playing on the living room rug while I get things done. Very rarely do I sit until the kids sleep!

Today, the goal was to take a pause. I set my Spotify list to slow jazz tunes, and we retreated to her nursery.

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She seemed immediately surprised by the switch to her room, but then seemed to like the jazz right away. Aah, time to read the paper while she kicked and played with toys.

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We switched to Celtic meditation music.

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I got to do the crossword and sip a smoothie! She loved playing with a tactile mat in the background.

We switched to piano sonatas (flute sonatas would be pretty too).

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She had a blast doing tummy time in the relaxing location!

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Finally, we tuned in to Indian classical. She was still so busy playing, that I easily could have spent ages in here with her – if there wasn’t more to get done!

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Happy relaxing!

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