Ring, Ring! Music Activities with Hand Bells

The bells can be used in several ways. I have used them when teaching nursery rhymes to extend the learning. I have written some lessons using nursery rhymes Mary Had a Little Lamb and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. These two nursery songs are included in the musical hand bells kit.

Teach with the bells in this order: 

• teach the nursery rhyme
• do a shared reading lesson plan with the nursery rhyme
• do a rhyming word lesson plan
• sing the song again while pointing to the words
• teach the students how to use the bells (teach the color and letter codes)
• copy the sheet music and enlarge it using a poster maker
• show the students how to "read" the sheet music with you (the musical letter is above the word)
• pick several students to come forward and play when their turn (or musical key) comes

Other activities:

• Use Old MacDonald Had a Farm when teaching about a farm and cardinal directions.
• Use the bells during holiday time to teach students how to play the song, Jingle Bells for a Christmas musical or just for fun.
• Use at a music center- but teach proper use of the bells before letting the student use them independently. Also, laminate the music sheets.
• Double the fun by getting the Learning Resources, Melody Express Musical Train. This is also made to teach children coordination between music notes and colors.

This is advice from personal experience; get these bells, because your Kindergarten or Preschool students will love this activity. It will especially benefit the musical learners. I also found that students with special needs really enjoyed this musical experience. It took some tension away from the instruction and just brought enjoyment to the lessons, which actually promoted the learning.

Photo is of the actual product.