Marching Band Parade
What you need
- a saucepan and a wooden spoon for a drum
- a plastic bottle and a handful of dried pasta for a shaker
- masking tape
- a scarf to wave as a flag
How to do it
- Make a shaker together: tip the pasta into the bottle, screw the lid on tight and tape it.
- Lay out the drum and the shaker and let your child choose. You take the other.
- Line up and march round the house or garden, playing as you go: knees up high, feet stamping in time.
- Take turns being the leader. When the leader stops playing, everyone freezes. Play quietly, then loudly.
Why it matters
A parade puts a beat in their feet and their hands at once, and being the leader gives them a turn at calling the shots.
What they're learning
- Keeping a beat
- Stamping and banging in time with the drum.
- Loud and quiet
- Playing softly, then loudly, on purpose.
- Leading and following
- Freezing when the leader stops, and taking a turn at the front.
What to look for
Notice them matching their steps to the drum when you slow it down or speed it up.
A tip
Tape the bottle lid on firmly and check it before each parade, and clear toys out of the parade route.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: you play the drum and let them march and wave the scarf
Harder: make a pattern to march to, like bang, bang, shake, and keep it going all the way round
More like this
Browse
Gross motor activities · Toddler activities with a spoon · Toddler activities with masking tape