Homeschoolers at the Library
Friday, April 5, 2013 @ 1 PM
The Science of Music
Parent Resource List
What We Did This Month
· This month, we talked about music and sound. We started out by reading Ah, Music! by Aliki. This book gave us an overview of what music is, how it sounds, and more.
· We also read parts of Eyewitness Music by Neil Ardley. This book contains information about different kinds of musical instruments.
· We then put our knowledge of musical instruments to the test and tried the Musical Guessing Game from 101 More Music Games for Children by Jerry Storms. Several instruments were hidden under a sheet and everyone had to guess what each was without seeing the instrument.
· Since music is sound, we talked a little about different sounds and tried two experiments from Experiments with Sound by Chris Oxlade. The first was a simple experiment involving the source of sound. The children were able to make sound using simple objects such as sandpaper and wood, rubber bands, sticks, and beans. The second experiment showed us how sound waves work and how we hear sound by preparing a small drum and watching sugar crystals placed on the drum as sound was made.
· After learning about sound, we moved on to learn about music. We made a bottle xylophone from The Science of Sound by Steve Parker which showed us what pitch is. Glass bottles were filled with water and the children were able to tap the bottles with a wooden spoon. We varied the amount of water in each bottle and observed how the pitch changed. This experiment can also be found at http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/makemusic.html
· Our craft included a shaker made out of beans and decorated paper plates and a harmonica made out of wooden craft sticks and rubber bands. The Shaker idea is taken from Music Makers & Toys: Creative Crafts and Noisy Toys edited by Joanna Callihan and Lindsay Ann Mizer, while the harmonica comes from http://spoonful.com/crafts/jam-wooden-harmonica.
Books Used in the Program
· 101 More Music Games for Children by Jerry Storms
· Ah, Music! by Aliki
· Experiments with Sound by Chris Oxlade
· Eyewitness Music by Neil Ardley
· Music Makers & Toys: Creative Crafts and Noisy Toys edited by Joanna Callihan and Lindsay Ann Mizer
· The Science of Sound by Rennay Craats
· The Science of Sound: Projects and Experiments with Music and Sound Waves by Steve Parker
Additional resources to use at home:
For more musical crafts, check out the following links:
· DIY Rain Stick http://www.inlieuofpreschool.com/diy-sensory-bottles-rain-stick/
· Making Music Kiwi Crate and Rhythm Bells http://www.inlieuofpreschool.com/musical-instrument-crafts/
· DLTK Make a Joyful Noise http://www.dltk-bible.com/make_a_joyful_noise.htm
· Enchanted Learning musical instruments http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/music/
· Many musical instruments to make http://spoonful.com/crafts/educational-crafts/music-instruments
If you are looking for some books to take home, find them under the following call numbers:
· Sound – j534s & j534.078
· Music – j780s