DIY rainbow loom musical instruments

At just about every store I walk into, I am constantly finding these brightly rainbow colored rubber bands designed to use on a kid’s loom.  How can a teacher resist picking up a set for the classroom? I couldn’t so now that I have oodles of these awesome rubber bands,  I have been looking for ideas to put them into good use…

DIY Rainbow Loom Musical Instruments by Teach Preschool

Of course, I could break down and buy a kids loom to use with the rubber bands but I prefer to find other ways to use them in my classroom. So my first use was to invite my class to make their own rainbow rubber band colored musical instruments….

DIY Rainbow Loom Musical Instruments by Teach Preschool

Inspired by all the recent explorations we have been having with a xylophone, this was a way of making our own version of a xylophone only instead of tapping the keys to make a sound, we talked about how we had to strum or pluck the bands to make a sound…

DIY Rainbow Loom Musical Instruments by Teach Preschool

In my classroom we also call these strummies based on the book “Red and Yellow’s Noisy Night (The Olive Branch)” by Josh Selig…

DIY Rainbow Loom Musical Instruments by Teach Preschool

“Red and Yellow’s Noisy Night” is a wonderful book that I have written about before and you can read more about our strummies and this book in this post: Making our own Musical Strummies

DIY Rainbow Loom Musical Instruments by Teach Preschool

To make our rainbow loom musical instruments (or strummies) we used gift boxes I had picked up from the Dollar Tree. The children simply placed the rubber bands around an open gift box and they were ready to begin strumming up their own music…

DIY Rainbow Loom Musical Instruments by Teach Preschool

Some of my students spent a long time using lots of rubber bands and rearranging the colors on their boxes until they were happy with their strummies. Whether the children added lots of rubber bands or only a few, the process was a good work out for fine motor skills…

DIY Rainbow Loom Musical Instruments by Teach Preschool

You will notice that one box makes two strummies since the lid or the bottom of the box can be used. The sound of the strummy changes depending on how the rubberbands are sitting on the box. If the band is tighter on top then the sound will be higher, if the band is looser on top then the sound will be lower. So the children learned they can change the pitch of each rubber band by adjusting each one around the box one way or another…

DIY Rainbow Loom Musical Instruments by Teach Preschool

And the best way to listen to a strummy is to put the back side of the box to your ear while strumming the open side (no headphones or legos are necessary:)…

DIY Rainbow Loom Musical Instruments by Teach Preschool

Lots of musical language is introduced through this simple process (pitch, strum, pluck, sound, vibration) and a great way to use up those rainbow loom rubber bands that I have collected. Now to figure out what to do with the rest of them!

DIY Rainbow Loom Musical Instruments by Teach Preschool

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Deborah J Stewart

Deborah J Stewart

Every time I think I know everything I need to know about teaching young children, God says, "Hold on a minute!" and gives me a new challenge.

Let me tell ya...

With each new challenge that you overcome, you will find yourself better equipped and more passionate about teaching young children.

God didn't call wimps to lead, teach, or care for His children. Nope, he has high expectations, so get ready. You will have to give your very best but after teaching for over 30 years, I can tell you that it is a wonderful and rewarding journey.

Whenever your calling feels hard, just remember, 'He who began a good work in you (and in the children you serve) will be faithful to complete it.'

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