Here are some activities if you cannot attend face to face classes
Home Based Activities
Play musical charades
Write down the names of some well-known songs on slips of paper and put them into a container. When it’s their turn, each person pulls a piece of paper and acts out the song so others can guess what it is.
Tip: Print out the Music Together song collection cards from the Family Music Zone to use in this game.
Play a prop-passing game
For this game, use scarves or shaker eggs if you have them—or pass balls, tissues, or small stuffed toys or figurines. Sit in a circle, put on some music (or start singing!), and pass the object around the circle on the beat. Start with the song’s “big beat” (macrobeat), then try to divide it into the “small beat” (microbeat) and pass twice as many times per song measure. Changing directions is a fun development!
A variation, especially for older children? Try to throw and catch a ball on the beat! If the music you’re playing speeds up, it’s a lot of fun—so choose wisely.
Form a follow-the-leader Conga line
Dance in a Conga line to a favourite song. Try a Music Together song (check out the Hello Everybody app). After each refrain, choose a new leader and ask them to share a new way to dance during the verse.
Freeze Dance
Enjoy a game of “Freeze Dance” with one of the songs from your collection. Invite children to dance as the music plays. You can press the pause button at any time, and once the music stops, the children get to freeze in dancing positions! Up-tempo songs present different challenges than smooth and slow songs, so use a variety of songs whenever you play!
Tip: “Freezing” also builds inhibitory control, one of a set of important skills known as executive functions that develop rapidly throughout early childhood. (Learn more about how music supports executive function.)
Play Homemade Drums
Children will love playing their very own drum! Ask parents to collect coffee containers, large dairy tubs (yogurt, sour cream, etc.), and oatmeal containers. Clean them thoroughly and glue lids on (if possible). Cut construction paper to fit each container and decorate with yarn, glitter, stickers, markers, and other craft items. Once decorated, adults can affix the paper to the drum for them. Use your newly made drums to play along to any drum song or play-along!
Musical Hot Potato
Play “musical Hot Potato” to help your children share something about themselves to get to know one another! Sitting in a circle, play any song as the children pass an egg shaker, ball, or another prop around the circle to the beat. Pause the music at any point during the song; the student holding the prop gets to answer your question of the day (e.g. What is your favourite animal? Favourite colour? favourite food?). Keep the game going to give multiple students a chance to share.
Musical Drawing
Choose a song or chant with lyrics. Give each child a piece of paper and, using your classroom decorating supplies (crayons, stickers, glitter glue, etc.), ask them to create a picture based on the lyrics of the song. Invite the children to be creative in their choices, giving them free reign to be artistically expressive! You can even send their pictures home to encourage parents to listen to the song and sing along.
Online Videos with great resources
Koo Koo Kangaroo – Great for Kids of all ages, stay active, learn the dance moves, keep the rhythm and follow the pulse to the music. Our favourites are Dinosaur Stomp and Unicorns R Real!
The Musication Youtube Channel has lots of really good videos to use in their Percussion Play-Along Playlist. Get the pots and pans out and get a few children in school or the whole family at home involved!!
A youtube channel that includes lots of useful short videos ranging from how to read notes to the history of rock music.
A youtube channel built by Brian Gossard that includes lots of educational videos explaining how rests work and different dynamics (loud and soft song).
Leeds’ own Tamsyn Durrant has a selection of fantastic videos of activities and songs for you to join in with.
BBC 10 Pieces is a great place to start, they have some suggestions on their website for learning activities.
NYCOS – the National Youth Choir of Scotland are posting regular songs and singing games for various age groups on their facebook page for schools and home educators to follow and use.
Games to help students learn musical terms and note names.
Short videos introducing every instrument of the orchestra and demonstrating how it sounds are available on this site.
For those that have access to an instrument at home this site has lots of resources to help students learn a song. There are also short lessons included in the ‘Take a lesson’ section. In the ‘games’ section students can have a go at drumming and building a beat.
Type ‘Groove pizza’ into google and this website will pop up. It allows students to create different drum beats in different styles. They can change their beats by altering the number of slices, the tempo and other functions by changing the controls in the bottom left corner.
Out of the Ark are adding a new song, warm up or musical activity every day which is available for free on their website
SingUp have made available some free songs and resources organised into different age groups aimed at home educators for the duration of the school closures
Great Interactive Websites
Music Tech Teacher
The site also has music technology links, quizzes, resources and information for all music teachers interested in using technology to enhance music instruction. I hope that the site will serve as a valuable resource for teachers and students.
Making Music Fun
Fun Affordable and free Sheet Music, Worksheets, and Lessons Kids LOVE and Teachers TRUST