Montessori Christmas: Rhythm & Songs {day 9}

Rhythm & Songs

A fun activity to help teach young ones beginning rhythm is singing with  a simple instrument. This could be done with rhythm sticks or even a wooden spoon and pot. Since it’s Christmas, I made homemade jingle bells (just several bells on a chenille stick wrapped together).

The activity is simple, really, but it works on your child’s social and sensory skills. Sing simple songs together and shake your instrument along with the beat. It probably won’t be perfect, but a toddler may catch on quickly. Pick a song like Deck the Halls or Jingle Bells (maybe Row, Row Your Boat sans holidays), so that there’s an easy rhythm to imitate with the instrument.

Either way it’ll be fun for everyone!

Stringing a Garland

Since the kids are little, I thought it would be fun to have a more child-friendly tree decorated with things that would pretty, but I wouldn’t necessarily cry over if they broke. So I thought making our own garland would be fun.

I cut a piece of yarn about 2.5 feet long and threaded it with a blunt needle. I tied one end and let the other hang loose, so we weren’t doubling up the yarn. We had 3 containers of items Joey could string: apple cinnamon balls, fabric scraps, and stale Cheerios. I let him string them in whatever order he wanted.

It was a fun activity, though I did have to re-thread the needle a couple of times. It’s still a work-in-progress, thus not on our tree just yet. 🙂

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