Looking for a music activity for kids? Then try this Montessori inspired rhythm building activity for kids.
As a piano teacher, I have created quite a few music activities for kids over the years, both for my own kids and for my piano students.
I know how powerful a simple hands-on activity like this can be for kids. They're so much more engaging than a theory worksheet will ever be.
This simple Montessori inspired music activity for kids in particular is a great way to explore rhythms, time signatures, bar lines, and more. Or you can use it to have your child create and build their own rhythms.
Music Activity for Kids to Reinforce Rhythms in Music
For this activity, we used:
- Simple rhythm pattern flashcards from this Hal Leonard Music Flashcards Set A
- Toothpicks for bar lines
- DIY music stones - I also made some with the numbers 3 and 4 on them so that the boys could also make the time signatures.
I kept this exploration of rhythms fairly simply since my kids were just shy of ages 5 and 3 at the time that we did this activity. We used simple rhythms in 4/4 and 3/4 time signatures with no rests.
Rhythm Building Music Activity for Kids
The idea with this activity is to recreate the rhythms shown on the flashcards by matching the notes, time signature, and bar line. Then clap the rhythm after you've recreated it.
This music activity was a perfect fit for J. He carefully examined, searched for, and matched the notes to his rhythm flashcard.
He even made sure to add "sticks," as he liked to call them, for the bar lines. I told J that they were called bar lines, as it was his first introduction to them.
Once he completed the rhythm, I clapped and counted the rhythm out loud for him. J then clapped along with me when I repeated the rhythm.
K is still a bit young for this activity, although he did manage to match the numbers of the time signature correctly.
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