Games for Toddlers: Music Games

Perhaps the most common toddler music game is a musical parade. A music teacher might bring in several instruments such as triangles, cymbals, drums, and horns and let the toddlers march around while playing the instruments. But, what if you don’t have musical instruments to spare? The solution is to help the kids to make their own!

You can make maracas or shakers by filling containers halfway with beans or grains and then sealing the containers well. Hole-punched toilet paper tubes make great flutes (played by “tooting” into one end), and hole-punched paper towel rolls make great clarinets. You can buy a bag full of jingle bells at a craft store and attach them to any object to give it a fun noise. Metallic objects such as lids from baby food jars are fun for kids to bang together. You can even glue two pieces of sandpaper to some old blocks so that a kid can rub them together and make a fun noise. Then, line up the kids, and let them march and play!

If your toddlers is just learning their letters, this music game will be perfect for them. On the floor, use masking tape to make the shape of the letter that you’re working on. Make it as large as possible. Then turn on some music and have your toddlers dance around, making sure to stay on the lines of tape. This game will help kinesthetic toddlers (as well as most run-of-the-mill toddlers) “learn” the letter with their bodies!

Give each child a blank paper and crayons or an easel and paints. Play some high-quality classical music for the kids, and ask them to draw what they hear. You might be surprised with what they come up with!

Toddlers don’t appreciate getting “out” in musical chairs. This variation fixes that. Have each child write his or her name on a notecard. Place one notecard on each chair, and arrange the chairs as in a normal game of musical chairs. Then start the music and let the children start the circle the chairs. When the music stops, tell children to run and sit down on the chair with their name on it. After each round, quickly switch the order of the notecards.

These toddler music games can reach musically inclined kids when nothing else can, and they’re great fun for other toddlers as well. Slide out your favorite CDs, and let the fun begin! Read more about interactive musical games for toddler, right here on Bright Hub!