Age
⚙ 2 years and up
Time and Place
⚙ Any time of day
⚙ Any time of year
⚙ Indoors or outdoors
Materials
⚙ Pots and pans
⚙ Objects to tap the pots and pans (e.g., hand, wooden spoon, stick) • recording device (e.g., smartphone)
Safety
⚙ Supervise children at all times
Instructions
When children demonstrate an interest in clapping, tapping on surfaces, or listening to sounds, invite them to explore sounds and patterns by tapping on pots and pans with a variety of objects. Use a smartphone or similar device to record and play back sounds and patterns. Challenge children to repeat the sounds and patterns that they have recorded.
Questions You May Ask
⚙ How can you make sounds with these pots and pans?
⚙ What can you use to tap the pots and pans?
⚙ How can you make different sounds with your pots and pans?
⚙ What happens when you tap [harder, softer, faster, slower] on your pots and pans?
⚙ What sound patterns can you make (e.g., two fast taps, three slow taps, two fast taps)?
⚙ What [sound, pattern] do you hear and how can you repeat it?
Play-based Context
Most young children enjoy tapping on all kinds of surfaces and making different sounds and patterns.
Related Children's Books
⚙ Meeow and the Pots and Pans by Sebastien Brown
⚙ Pots and Pans by Patricia Hubbell
⚙ Pots and Pans by Anne Rockwell
