Creating Music and Art

There are lots of ways for you and your child to make music and art together. All children are naturally creative, and the possibilities for self-expression and learning through the arts are unlimited. The important thing is to provide lots of opportunities for them to express themselves as artists. Below are some ideas and activities that combine different forms of music and art.

Follow the beat

Ask your child to repeat simple rhythmic patterns using a drum or by clapping. Encourage her to use different parts of her body to stamp her feet, nod her head, or blink her eyes. Explore loud and soft, and fast and slow rhythms, and allow your child to create her own patterns for the group to enjoy.

Move to the music

Try whole body movements to different kinds of music. Talk with your child about using high and low space, making big and small movements, and moving fast and slow as the music changes.

Sing everyday

Include a variety of chants, songs with finger-play, songs with silly sounds, naming songs, songs with movements, and quiet relaxing songs. Write down the words to your child’s favorite songs on charts and copy them so you can sing them together with his friends.

Rhythm and sound drawings

Play different kinds of music, rhythms, and sounds and ask your child to draw the music any way she likes. Try different materials such as crayons, watercolors, or easel paints and see how the artwork changes.

Paper plate masks

Look at pictures of masks from different cultures and then ask your child to create his own mask. Provide strong paper plates, materials such as material scraps, yarn, cotton balls, glitter, markers or paint, glue, and scissors. Encourage your child to make masks of favorite characters or to represent different emotions. Use the masks to play out a favorite or new story, or dance away to music.

Finger-painting feelings

Invite your child to talk about different kinds of feelings she has then encourage some finger-painting of those feelings. Talk about the feelings of characters in favorite stories or shows and ask your child to try finger-painting those feelings too!

Clay creatures

Encourage your child to create any creature he wants out of clay. Have your child choose a favorite character or make up a creature. Talk about the colors, shapes, and methods he used. Then, introduce the creature, and demonstrate what sounds or movements it might make.

Paper sculptures

Provide paper towel tubes, construction paper strips of various widths and lengths, glue, scissors, and cardboard squares to use as sculptural bases. Talk about the different ways you can fold, fringe, curl, tear, and attach the strips and tubes together. Encourage your child to create any kind of sculpture she wants. Name the creation together when it is finished.

Wild puppets

Gather paper lunch bags, and collage materials such as fabric, feathers, yarn, shiny paper, cotton balls, natural objects, etc. and ask your child to create the wildest, funniest, prettiest, or scariest puppet possible. Help create a puppet show using sounds, voices, or songs to match each puppet’s personality.

Singing scarves, dancing scarves

Cut and tear an old, plain-colored bed sheet into strips about 6 inches wide and 3 feet long. Tape the strips to a table or the floor so they are stretched out flat. Ask your child to decorate the strips using markers and crayons to make colorful scarves. Find some beautiful, “flowery” music and create your own color dance with the scarves.

Story scenery

Have your child and friends paint a mural of a scene and/or some characters from a favorite book or show. Plan together what will go into the mural and what materials and colors are needed. Use the murals as scenery for acting out a story.