Shaking Instruments
A bell, maracas, a small tambourine: discovering that a motion makes a sound.
Shaking Instruments is a Montessori activity for a child aged 18 to 24 months. Area: Sensorial. Time: 5-10 min.
What the activity builds
Discover the link between a motion and the sound it makes, and start telling different tones apart. Shaking hard or gently changes the result: your child experiments with their own power to act on the world of sound.
The materials
- Three simple instruments with clearly different sounds: a bell, a maraca, a small tambourine
- A basket to present them, only one instrument out at a time
- A quiet moment, with no background music
How to do it, step by step
- Take one instrument out of the basket, hold it in front of them, and make it sound once, softly.
- Let the sound fade completely before doing it again: the silence between two sounds matters as much as the sound itself.
- Hand them the instrument and let them explore, tapping it on the floor included.
- Put it away before taking out another: one instrument at a time.
- At the end, everything goes back in the basket, and the basket back in its spot, out of reach between sessions.
The parent's role
Show once, then step back. Putting away the last instrument before taking out another changes everything: three instruments scattered around become noise, one at a time becomes listening. Let the silence settle after each sound. The basket goes up high between sessions, otherwise the instrument turns into background noise and loses all its appeal.
Safety
Sturdy instruments with no small removable parts, and a bell that's sealed shut. Keep the volume moderate: a young child's hearing is delicate, don't shake anything near their face.
You remain the sole judge of what is right for your child. These activities are offered for educational and recreational purposes: they do not replace medical advice or the guidance of an early childhood professional.
Ways to adapt the activity
- Easier: one very soft instrument, over several days.
- Harder: copying a simple rhythm, two taps then a pause.
- Extension: sound boxes, around age 3, once the ear can compare.
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