I loved music in the classroom. What I don't love is the price tag. Instruments are expensive! One year I used a chunk of my budget to buy percussion pieces. Within six months they were missing or destroyed! I started using CDs and singing but it wasn't the same. The children didn't seem as invested as they did when they created their own sound. So one day I decided to take matters into my own hands and went on a music hunt. A few minutes in the art closet and I struck instrument gold!
A paper tube, a roll of wax paper, and a bag of rubber bands. Like that, I had enough material to make instruments for the entire class for pennies...pennies! And yes, I know that a kazoo is not as sophisticated as a flute, but it's fun, and anyone can play regardless of age or skill. So here are the step-by-step instructions to making beautiful music.
1) Cut the wax paper into medium size circles. You want it long enough to cover the hole and be secured by the rubber-band. This is a great place to talk about shapes and work on fine motor skills!
2) Secure the wax paper with a rubber band to one side of the tube...yep that's it.
3) The final step is to make a hole on the tube itself. You can do this with a pencil. If you are making the kazoos with super little ones you may want to make the holes for them as the tubes are flimsy.
And with that you are done!
You can add to this lesson by having them use markers to decorate their own instruments. That way there is no confusion when it comes to whose is whose.
Do you have a low cost music idea? I would love to hear all about it! Put your ideas in the comments below.