Teach Kids Simple Rhythm With This Drum Shaker 2 in 1 Toy

PLUS Music By KB Whirly To Play Along To!

I was sent the brand new album by KB Whirly recently, Now That We're Home, and immediately fell in love with the beautiful calming, soothing beats. It's perfect for quiet time or if you want to play background music during a child's nap time. I wanted to create a quiet down activity that would go along with the music and came up with this drum / shaker in one. The quiet concentration needed to follow along to a beat will encourage children to slow down. There are also other benefits; rhythm and language are connected and children who have the ability to keep a beat are often found to also have superior language and reading abilities. Scientists say this phenomenon reflects a link between the brain's ability to encode auditory signals - or sounds - and other brain processes that control for movement, language and reading skills. If all this is true then why not spend some time working on simple rhythmic beats? This music is ideal because the beat is slow and the music is not overcomplicated so young children will have a good chance to follow.

How To Make The Drum/Shaker

I used a large, circular, clear tub. You could use a yoghurt pot or something similar. Take the lid and cut it so that it is a little larger than the base of the tub. Pour some rice into the base and use a glue gun to place the lid inside the tub so that it sits about an inch above the base. Use the glue gun to make sure that there are no gaps and that the lid is fixed tightly. Give it a shake to make sure it makes a nice sound!

To make the drum, I used an old rubber glove. You can also use a balloon if you don't have a rubber glove. Cut the rubber you are using so that it fits round the top of the tub. I attached using a glue gun. Start by glueing about 2 inches and going round an inch at a time pulling the rubber tight as you go so that the drum is as tight as possible across the tub. I wrapped yarn round the edge of the drum to make it look a little neater. I painted the tub (using fluorescent paints from Michaels) and used washi tape to decorate.

Here is a video of my five year old enjoying the music and playing our drum shaker:

https://vimeo.com/320550666

Just The Three Of Us By KB Whirly

If you would like to hear the whole song click here

Now That We're Home -Lullabies & Love Songs 

Released February 23, 2019

The album "explores the emotions that come from the intimacy of family life. From holding your newborn and feeling the heart swell of joy to the challenge of communicating complex ideas to young minds, Now That We’re Home is full of feelings and experiences that all families will connect with". Certainly, you can feel the love emanating from each song. It's a beautiful album that any family will find beneficial - because we all need to slow down and breathe more deeply more often than we actually do.

Whirly imagines these songs as a companion for afternoon quiet time, a mellow drive or accompanying children to sleep.

The album was produced by the Grammy-winning Dean Jones Now That We’re Home is available at iTunes, Amazon and CDBaby. To find out more about KB Whirly click here.

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