Rainbow Sensory Shaker

Lesson Plan:

Activity:

Lesson plan developed by Ms. Erika Geelhoed, BA Ed

Age Group:

Mobile Infants

* Lesson plan objective and assessment can be adapted to use this activity with toddlers.

Objectives:

Child will:

react to the new sounds/music using their entire body (moving arms, kicking feet, and/or rocking)

CDA Competency Standard:

II.7.2a

Activities and materials encourage children to develop their senses
- a) Sight, sound, smell, taste and touch experiences are encouraged through a variety of developmentally appropriate materials and activities

Rainbow Sensory Shaker

Materials:

Empty water bottle
rice
pom poms
ribbon
screw driver

Procedure:

To make sensory shaker, put different colored/sized pom poms and a handful of rice into the empty water bottle. Use a screw driver to punch a hole into the bottle cap. Thread the different colored ribbons through the hole and tie the end into a knot. Screw the cap back onto the bottle and present it to the child. While they are playing, put on music. You can play any color/rainbow songs you desire. During the songs, you can sing to the child, explore rhythm using the shaker, or dance with them.

Assessment:

Observe and record how the child reacts to the sounds/music.

Online Early Childhood Education

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The Benefits of Music and Movement

Like all the best learning experiences in early childhood, music activities simultaneously promote development in multiple domains. Singing a lullaby while rocking a baby stimulates early language development, promotes attachment, and supports an infant’s growing spatial awareness as the child experiences her body moving in space. It is very important to help young children develop musical awareness. The key is to start exposing young children to the joys of music early in life. In addition, don’t be afraid to sing and dance with the children. The more enthusiastic you are, the more the children will enjoy learning about music. Through experience with different instruments and types of music, children slowly become aware of differences in pitch, tone, and volume.

Even young babies will look surprised when one egg shaker makes a different sound from all the others. Music plays a powerful role in the lives of young children. Through music, babies and toddlers can come to better understand themselves and their feelings, learn to decipher patterns and solve problems, and discover the world around them in rich, complex ways. Most important, sharing music experiences with the people they love makes very young children feel cherished and important.