Seriously, I gotta have more cowbell!

I have had some time to think about the topic after writing my previous post on encouraging your kids to develop their musical talent and appreciation. I have also found a few other cool and inexpensive instruments for them to bang and/or play on.

I briefly mentioned that music is very mathematical and playing and learning music can have an effect on a child's intellect. I didn't reference any specific literature on this subject, but in case you are interested, there is a good roundup of relevant info here.

One bit of more practical advice is for the other non-musically inclined parents out there. While pounding on a drum or cymbal or guiro, etc... may keep your kid entertained briefly, it is not likely to keep them interested for long, and it is also not likely to develop into anything beyond noise making all by itself. My guitar teacher used to play a "jam track" sometimes while we practiced. A jam track is a song played by an ensemble/band, except one of the instruments has been removed. In our case it was the lead guitar part, so I could jam along and solo while the backup band kept the base of the song moving along. Commercial karaoke songs do essentially the same thing with the vocals removed. This is a valuable tool to use after you have mastered the basic mechanics of the instrument and allows you to understand how the music you create as an individual fits into the music created by a group. Since the basic mechanics of most percussion instruments are pretty simple (in most cases it involves hitting them with a stick - which our baby mastered at 6 months) a jam track can be used almost immediately for kids. I suggest playing one of their (or your) favorite songs on the stereo and playing along with it. Keeping a beat and having fun are the two most important goals here. Singing along and getting fancy are secondary, and add not only a level of complexity but make it even more fun.

For some extra music, I suggest getting some free kids mp3's at: freekidsmusic.com. Just in case you are looking for one, the first song in their catalog - The Pancake Song by Abby and the Pipsqueaks has a guiro part. Don't worry if you can't find a real jam track for a particular song, you are just playing along and trying to have fun.

There may come a point at which you are so impressed with your kids progress that you are ready to try another instrument. What instrument that is depends on a lot of factors, such as the age, size and personality of the child. If there is a piano in the house it may be good place to start training your child's "ear" for pitch. Beyond that, if you have a musical sponge or prodigy on your hands, I suggest you begin looking for a professional music teacher. Recommendations from friends, music stores, and schools are a good place to start. After you've gone through all of this, don't forget that they have to understand that to get better they have to practice!

If you made it this far you must be a true music lover, and someday your child will thank you sharing your love for music with them. In the meantime, get out the pots and pans (or buy one of the inexpensive instruments below) turn on the stereo, and start making some noise!

If you have something that you are particularly proud of, send me a recording! I'd like to hear it and if it's OK with you I might share it with everyone else too.

Single 5" High Cage Bell, Assorted Colors
Remo 1 x 8" Lollipop Drum
Basic Beat Egg Shaker
Plastic Finger-Size Castanet

More Cowbell! - Encouraging kids to be noisy

As much as I love peace and quiet, I realize that I won't have any ever again as long as there are kids in the house. It is a trade off that I'm willing to make, in fact sometimes I even help make a little noise myself. Kids are little noise factories, and they will find a way to make noise out of just about anything. One thing I have often pondered is at what point does noise become music? Obviously the answer to this is different for everyone. It is entirely possible that the noise your baby/toddler/child makes IS music to him even though it sounds like noise to you. Maybe we developed into the sophisticated music makers and music lovers that we are today after banging on pots and pans/the wall/the back of the airline seat in front of us when we were children ourselves. With that in mind, we should encourage our kids to make as much noise as possible, maybe with enough sophistication there won't be a Britney in our kids' generation.

There are lots of children's music sets out there, with a smattering of different instruments. We've bought and received several over the years. There is one thing that they never have, and it is the one thing that I remember always fighting for back in grade school music class to get to play. I'm talking about the "guiro", or as we always called it back in the day, "the scratchy fish":

Recognize it now don't you? In case you don't, the little stick is rubbed quickly back and forth across the "ribs" of the fish to make a unique sound. When it comes to percussion instruments, the guiro is actually pretty harmless and, most importantly, relatively quiet. There is also a younger kids version of the instrument, made out of plastic so they can gnaw on it as well as make noise, preferably not at the same time.

Happy noise making!

12" Wood Fish-Shaped Guiro
8" Multi-Colored Plastic Guiro

Huge sale at Land of Nod

Land of Nod is having a sale, up to 80% off lots of merchandise. To go to the sale page click here:




My favorite is the doctor and nurse costume set:

Chemistry Card Game "Elementeo"

14-year-old Anshul Samar has developed a card game (it looks similar to Magic: The Gathering) that is intended to help teach kids chemistry. He is still seeking funding to develop and market his idea, so it is not available yet. I'm not sure if it will catch on or not, but it is a great idea:

“Our aim is to combine fun, excitement, education, and chemistry, all in one grand concoction,” says Samar. “We don't want to create a fantasy wizard world or create a boring education textbook world, but combine the two where fun and learning come together without clashing!”

link

Iron Man Action Figure #1

The other day Cole and I were watching cartoons when an Iron Man movie trailer came on. Both of us froze completely still (a rare thing for him) and were silent for the entire two minutes or so (even rarer). The movie looks like it will be a popcorn fueled blast. I have been looking for good Iron Man toys for the last month, and unless you want to shell out $50 for some collectible type stuff there hasn't been much, or if there has been, it has been buried and hard to find. Not anymore, there is finally #1 in a series(?) of Iron Man action figures available. Get one while you can...

Iron Man Movie Toy Series 1 Action Figure Iron Man Mark 03 at amazon.com

You can view the trailer here (youtube) the movie premiers May 2nd.

Robert Krampf - science experiments you can do at home

Robert Krampf is a well known science educator that has appeared on television and has an weekly "experiment of the week" that reaches over 180,000 households in more than 95 countries. His web site is of particular use to home schoolers since most of the experiments are fairly simple and can be done at home (or in the backyard), possibly to the amazement of your kids. He has an archive of 325 of his experiments, and don't miss the science videos section of his site also, where he demonstrates important scientific concepts that you can reproduce at home as well.

link

(via the OpenScience Project)

Flashtastic Phun

Okay, it's not Phun, and it's not Crayon Physics, and it's not even Armadillo Run , but it is free and you can play it over the internet without having to download anything (except maybe Flash if you do not already have it). It is called Magic Pen and it is an excellent way to kill your lunch hour. Oh, and the kiddies might like it too!

related posts: Free (but phun) science software and Phun creations


(via Kottke.org)

Take a hike Ugly Dolls, CurlyQCuties are here

Hand-made (and home-made) in the US, CurlyQCuties are a unique alternative to the more and more commonplace Ugly Dolls. The cuties are made of soft fleece with a poly/cotton fill. They are the conception of an Austin designer who makes them out of her home. She can also do custom dolls, so if you want one with a different color, or extra spots, or a belly button you can have whatever you want. This is a good find and is the exact type of thing I like to put on this blog, unique toys with a pinch of weird mixed in. If only I got a commission from this one...

link

for other plush dolls click here

Want to be a Cassini Scientist for Day?

Jet Propulsion Labs (JPL) and Nasa are giving 5th-12th graders a chance to submit essays on what targets to take pictures of with the Cassini's cameras.

Essays will be judged by a panel of Cassini scientists, mission planners, and by the JPL education and outreach team. Winners will be invited to discuss their essays with JPL Cassini scientists via teleconference.

Looks like to great way to get a kid that is maybe a little interested in science a little deeper by doing research and making some real-world decisions based on that research.

link


(Via Aero News Network)

Print your own temporary tatoos

Custom temporary tattoos are a great idea for a child's party, Halloween, or maybe just to be able to make tattoos of your kid's artwork. Here are step by step instructions on how to make your own using an inkjet printer, including where to purchase the special adhesive paper.

(via Swissmiss and Neatorama)

Step 2 Up and Down Roller Coaster

Cole and I were driving home from the mailbox the other day and we saw this set up on the sidewalk in front of a neighbor's house. I think that if Cole had been driving he would have stopped the car in the middle of the road to get a longer look (or maybe get out and take the thing for a ride). I did slow down quite a bit and we got good look at it. It was the Step 2 Up and Down Roller Coaster, or as I prefer to call it, the Toddler Roller Coaster. It is just what it looks like, a modular plastic roller coaster for little ones. The pieces snap together and there are grooves to keep the car from going off track. The total height is only about 12-15 inches, but the track is 10 foot long. The car has a high back, foot rests, and a handrail for safety. This looks like a great toy for a toddler, plus, after a few hundred times back and forth on this thing, I'll bet your toddler will take a good long nap!

Up & Down Roller Coaster at amazon.com

A Fun and funny tantrum cure

This is amazing, I can't wait for the next tantrum to try it:

link

Battlestar Galactica Action Figures

Minimates are similar to Playmobil action figures, with three exceptions. First, where Playmobil avoids comics, movie, television, and video game licensing Minimates welcomes them. In fact, all of their line is based on these sources. Second, Minimate action figures have 14 points of articulation so they are quite a bit more posable than Playmobil. The third difference is that Minimates target a little bit older demographic. The manufacturer recommends the toys for children 5 and up, although some of the sources may be for older kids (Lord of the Rings movie and the tv show 24 for example).

Modern Battlestar Minimates at amazon.com

The movie and television licensing allows you to do something else rather special with these toys, #16 in my "101 things to do when your kid is bored" post is to make a short digital movie. Using lots of editing and/or stop motion pictures, you can make some pretty cool fan movies. Here is one of the better examples:

link (star wars in 3 min.)

Note: Battlestar Galactica season 4 started April 4th.

Related articles: Playmobil Oddities and Playmobil Romans