Ready, Set, Create a Kit: Ideas for Making Music Kits for at Home Use

We’re all being faced with new, different, tightened restrictions and challenges this school year, but there’s no reason the music-making has to stop altogether. To ensure your students continue to have access to instruments and other manipulatives, consider creating individual music kits!

One of the biggest challenges you may face in creating individual music kits is the number of students you work with. Presumably with little-to-no budget, you’re probably wondering how you might be able to create so many music kits and do it as economically as possible. First you will need to decide what you absolutely want in your kits, and then put on your creative thinking cap and start researching so you can determine how much it will all cost.

SingtoKids has a number of wonderful, resourceful suggestions on how to inexpensively create Music Kits. Below are a few items you may want to include in your kit, as well as some DIY ideas for potential cost savings:

• Bag : large ziploc, paper bag, plastic bag, cinch backpack
• Rhythm sticks : corn dog sticks, wooden dowel rods, popsicle sticks, pencils
  • Need activity ideas?: About Time ; About Time to Celebrate
• Shakers : plastic eggs, empty prescription bottles or seasoning jars, plastic bottles + rice or popcorn kernels
  • Shakin' It Up!
• Hand drums : buckets, cups, coffee cans, oatmeal container
  • The Bucket Book , Sound Shape Playbook
• Jingle bells : bells attached on empty TP or paper towel rolls; bells attached on bracelets or rubber bands
  • Celebrate with Sound
• Tambourine : bells attached to paper plates (glue, zip-tied, tied with yarn or string)
  • Sound Stories Round the Year
• Sand blocks : pool noodles
  • Let's Have a Musical Rhythm Band
• Castanets : bottle caps glued to cardboard and folded in half; buttons with string to go over fingers
  • Rhythm Band Sing-Along
• Scarves (for movement activities)
  • Farm Songs and the Sounds of Moo-sic! , Kids Can Listen, Kids Can Move
• Puppet Templates/Supplies
  • Music Class Puppets
• Instrument Making Supplies
  • Make and Play , S.O.S. Songs of the Sea
• Printed and laminated music staff; flash cards; beat chart
• Manipulatives : printed cards, bingo chips, chenille stems, etc. to accompany lessons
  • Music Manipulatives Workbook
• A note about your class this year, describing the intent of the music kit, the contents, and the expectations

No matter what your music kits end up looking like, your students will love having these at their fingertips to keep the music-making going from wherever they’re learning!