How to Create Musical Play Instruments for Children From Items in Your Kitchen

Kitchen items can make music and entertain children

When the kids are bored and looking for something to do while stuck inside on a rainy or snowy or otherwise bad-weather day, have them create their own musical instruments from everyday items found in the kitchen. Making kitchen instruments is an entertaining way for them to burn off a little steam--as long as the rest of the family can stand the noise.

Things You'll Need

• Pot lids
• Plastic mixing bowls
• Wooden bowls
• Wooden spoons
• Sauce pans or pots
• Empty boxes
• Empty cans
• Metal spoons
• Cooking utensils
• Cutting board
• Straws
• Empty glass jars
• Drinking cups
• Water
• Ticking timer
• Empty paper towel roll

Instructions

How to Create Musical Play Instruments for Children from Items in Your Kitchen

1. Use two pot lids to make cymbals.

2. Make drums using the bottom of metal, wooden or plastic mixing bowls, the bottom of a sauce pan, or empty boxes and tin cans. Use wooden mixing spoons or large metal spoons for drum sticks.

3. Try a variety of utensils to beat against different surfaces: pots, bowls, cutting boards, cardboard food boxes.

4. Tell children to test out different sounds that result from rubbing things like potato mashers and a spoon together or a whisk beater whirled around the inside of a metal or plastic bowl or a sauce pan.

5. Blow through plastic straws and into empty raisin boxes or empty glass jars to make wind instruments.

6. Fill non-breakable drinking glasses with water and use utensils to make water sounds. Kids can slap a spoon on the surface of the water or stir the water around in circles in the glass. They can also blow into the water with a straw.

7. Put the timer on for a metronome or turn on music as background to the kids' musical kitchen instruments. Designate each one to take turns being the lead performer.

8. Make a pretend microphone out of an empty paper towel roll and have the kids take turns singing.

Tips & Warnings

• This is an activity to let loose and have fun. Make sure you supervise it so the kids don’t get too wound up and start making play instruments out of kitchen items they shouldn’t be touching--or beating on each other.

• Suggest the kids try different speeds and volume levels. It can be a lesson in concepts like quiet and loud, soft and hard.

• When children are done playing, wash the "musical instruments."