Looking for some fresh ideas for music activities in your classroom? Check out a list of our top 10 preschool music activities! We have narrowed down some of our favorites for you to try all month long – including our Best Instruments and Songbooks for Preschoolers!
For starters, you’re going to want to check out our Preschool music lessons inside our music curriculum streaming app, Prodigies!
Your kids will receive meaningful exposure to all the notes of the C Major Scale inside our music lessons. They will also be introduced to reading colorful sheet music, build their confidence playing their first instrument, learn to perform basic rhythms, read music on the treble clef and so much more! Learn more about Prodigies here
1. Try Colorful Sheet Music & Printables for Kids
Colorful sheet music is accessible for all learners and color coded to match Boomwhackers & Prodigies Bells, which makes music easier and faster to learn, even for kids as young as two!
Download your FREE Ultimate Music Room Pack Here!
2. Classical Music Painting
Pull out your classroom easels and paintbrushes and turn on some classical music! Allow your students to paint while listening to each piece. Play slow and fast-paced pieces for them to paint along with and see what each piece pulls from their imagination! Feel free to use crayons and markers if you’re not ready for the extra mess of paint that day. Check out our blog Top 10 Classical Pieces for Kids for some songs to get you started!
3. Lego Chord Building
One of the best ways to understand the concept of chords is to practice building chords! Write the note names on blank dot stickers and place them on the Lego pieces. Print out this FREE PRINTABLE to go along with your lesson! Students will match their chord Legos to the chord combination on the page. Try to match the Lego colors to our color coded notes! If you have access to a piano or desk bells, play the chord combination for your class to hear.
4. Glow Stick Drumming
For your next rhythm lesson, try this glow stick drumming activity from AndNextComesL! Give your students some glow sticks, turn off the lights, and get ready for a music lesson they’ll never forget! For the glow sticks, try using the short, fat kind that are designed to go on a string like a necklace. These kind are sturdy and are great for drumming practice!
5. Song Cube
Using a song cube is a great way to teach simple tunes and beats! In this activity, you’ll create two cubes. One cube will have a different song on each side, and the second cube will have various ways of expressing the beat. Have a child throw the first cube to see the song that’s chosen. Then, have another child throw the second cube to see what movements you’ll use to express the beat! Check out Pre-K Pages for complete instructions!
If you like this one, you’ll want to try out the Music Cubes activity inside the FREE Ultimate Music Room Download.
6. DIY Instruments
Looking for a way to incorporate some art projects into your classroom? Students will love making their very own musical instruments! Check out Meaningful Mama for some great instrument ideas!
7. Music Song Board
If you’re stuck singing the same handful of songs week after week, you might want to consider creating a music song board via Pinterest for your class! A music song board has multiple preschool songs ready to be selected and sung as a group. Just have a child pick a song to sing and get ready for an engaging Circle Time activity!
Check out My First Songbook Volume I and My First Songbook Volume II if you need ideas for songs to add to your board! With a collection of easy-to-play songs written in big, colorful and easy-to-read music notation, you’ll be able to sing AND PLAY with your preschoolers every day!
8. Muffin Tin Note Matching
This muffin tin activity is perfect for your preschool Circle Time! Place dot stickers on muffin liners in your muffin tin. Write the note names on the label and color each label to match the note color. Next, place a second muffin liner in each hole so that the notes cannot be seen. Choose one child to uncover a note. Once the note is revealed, play that note on your desk bells and leave the muffin hole uncovered. Next, choose another child to uncover a note and then play that note on your bells. Also, ask students if they remember the previous note that was revealed before. Play the new note as well as the old note. Then, one by one have children reveal each note hidden in the muffin tin while playing them on the desk bells. After all the notes have been revealed, review each note and then give each child a muffin to eat!
Follow up with playing and singing the Muffin Man song to finish your lesson on a high note! Use the Video Lesson inside Prodigies or this Sheet Music to make it easier for your students!
9. Play a Colorful Instrument
Why are these bells so special?? They’re durable, well tuned and easy to play, which makes them perfect for giving young kids meaningful play with the musical notes during early childhood. Using a colorful instrument & colorful sheet music allows your preschooler to recall the notes of the musical scale.
You can learn more about the bells in this fast and fun explainer video, or drop by the shop to pick up your set of Deskbells or Resonators!
10. What Note Is It?
Prodigies members can take advantage of our pitch recognition review games! Play these in your classroom to have your students guess the correct note! Follow along with Mr. Tyrannosaurs Rex and Mr. Rob for some pitch recognition fun. Not a member? You can see these here for free but we have loads more in the playground! Grab a membership and head right in!
BONUS: Extra Fun Ahead!
1. Storybooks
For a seamless transition after a high-energy activity or to wind down at the end of a lesson, there’s nothing like diving into a captivating story! Check out this list of Books You Need in Your Music Classroom and spark imagination and learning in your students!
2. Dancing Day
Follow True Aim Education’s and HSES Music Room‘s footsteps and choose a dancing day each month to play all kinds of movement and dancing games! The Tissue Game they found on Circle Time Activities is simple and easy, here is how to play:
First off, have everyone place a tissue on their head. Then, when the music starts, it’s time to start dancing! Make sure that tissue stays up, though. If it starts falling, anyone can grab it and put it back on their head. But if it hits the ground, they’re out! The last person with their tissue still on wins!
3. Out of Ideas?
We’ve all been there… Those moments when the clock seems to slow down, and you’re left with a few extra minutes at the end of class, or those days when your lesson plan falls short or the students aren’t quite feeling it.
Don’t worry, Prodigies has you covered! Check out this 60 minute collection of our best lessons to teach all about music and singing with solfege with Mr Rob!
If you’re loving these, why not dive deeper? Check out our Monthly or Yearly Membership options, complete with a 7-day Free trial! With over 800 lessons waiting for you, there’s a whole musical world to explore!