Ideas for Musical Play Dates
Music activities are perfect to get the kids up and moving! Because, let’s face it, there’s only so many times you can watch Trolls or play Candy Land. Try one of these during your next play date or family gathering.
Turn on your child’s favorite playlist, get everyone dancing, and tell them to “Freeze!” when the music stops. Start and stop the music at different intervals. Older children will love being in charge of turning the music on and off!
Write down the names of some well-known songs on slips of paper and put them into a container. When it’s their turn, each person pulls a piece of paper and acts out the song so others can guess what it is. Try different groups of songs: Christmas carols, patriotic songs, Music Together tunes. This game is great for older children and mixed-age groups.
Dance in a Conga line to a favorite song. Try the Music Together song “Everybody Loves Saturday Night” or a popular song like “Shake Señora” (Harry Belafonte). After each refrain, choose a new leader and ask them to share a new way to dance during the verse.
Watch a “Shake Señora” Video
For this game, use scarves or shaker eggs if you have them—or pass balls, tissues, or small stuffed toys or figurines. Sit in a circle, put on some music (or start singing!), and pass the object around the circle on the beat. Start with the song’s “big beat” (macrobeat), then try to divide it into the “small beat” (microbeat) and pass twice as many times per song measure. Changing directions is a fun development!
A variation, especially for older children? Try to throw and catch a ball on the beat! If the music you're playing speeds up, it's a lot of fun—so choose wisely.