Welcome to my Blogging from A to Z April Challenge for 2019! The A to Z Challenge is a blogging event held each April. Bloggers create posts from A to Z beginning on April 1st and ending on April 30th. There is a post scheduled for each day of the month (except for Sundays) with each day corresponding to a sequential letter of the alphabet.
We are getting SOOOO close! Today's letter of the day is X. X is for Xylophone. It's really just my shortcut way of getting to talk about musical instruments to keep the toddler a happy kid.
When the Boy was an itty bitty chunky baby, he loved anything that made sound. Toys that played music were his favorites. His love for music has certainly not diminished as he has grown into toddlerhood.
He still loves toys that play music, but he is taking more to liking toys where he can be the music maker. We started off by just giving him a couple of my stainless steel mixing bowls and wooden spoons. He loved to play on those almost more than playing with any other toy for quite a while.
We moved into actual musical instruments rather than kitchenware with the classic xylophone. We have the xylophone bus that has been repaired innumerable times with crazy glue because the kid drags it everywhere and then crashes it off of chairs and sofas and tables. The poor red bar has fallen off so many dang times. In fact, as I type, the bus is sitting on the kitchen counter waiting for surgery to hopefully make a stronger repair on the red bar. But he loves it.
We also have a Hape xylophone with red, blue, and green balls that can get hammered down into the xylophone. The Boy likes this one okay, but it is more of a Baby favorite. He plays with it daily.
In addition to the xylophone, we have branched the Boy out to try other musical instruments. He has a drum that opens to contain his other small instruments. He has a tambourine, an egg shaker, a slide whistle, a plastic recorder whistle, and two different duck calls (we live on a farm). He used to have a kazoo as well, but that one had an unfortunate accident and needs to be replaced.
He loves to try out new things to make any kind of musical sound he can. I broke out my old Casio keyboard and he was enthralled. The $12 it cost me on Amazon to order a new power cord was more than worth it to see the joy on his face. We keep it in the spare bedroom where he naps during the day and he has to go over and push the keys every. single. day. before he'll lay down.
When he was small, my guitar used to sit in our living room. He used to crawl over to it and strum the strings. When he could walk, he would purposefully head for it. The guitar now sits in the spare bedroom with the keyboard, but he got his very own ukelele for his birthday and he thinks that is just fantastic. He still needs to work a little on being gentle with it, but he loves when he can make it produce sound.
A couple of months ago, I stumbled upon the ultimate musical idea. I had an old Rock Band set in the closet that hadn't been hooked up since I was pregnant with the Boy. (I used to love to use the drum set to work out frustrations.) I pulled that out one morning while the boys ate breakfast. The Boy was in absolute heaven! I put the settings on practice mode, turn the speed way down, and let him pound away. He giggles and giggles. It's been a while since we've done this activity. It's probably time to hook it back up for him again. (Besides...I could sometimes use a little drum therapy myself after a full day with the Boy and the Baby.)
Music is a powerful tool. For us, it has often been the key to calming a kid down in a quick instant. Beyond handing them toys that play music, our kids can often be soothed quickly by starting to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (the Boy) or You Are My Sunshine (the Baby). I started singing these songs to them when they were just newborns and they can still (most of the time) work like a charm. Thank goodness!
Are you an A to Z Blogger too? Leave me a comment so I can repay the visit.
Not an A to Z Blogger, but love the idea? Go here to see what other fun you can find in the challenge.
Miss a prior 2016 A to Z post? Find your missing link down below...
You are giving your kids a wonderful gift. I was raised in a musical family, and yep - we had a little toy xylophone that looked a lot like that. We also had a baby grand piano and a harpsichord in our front room. Music is a lifelong gift!
ReplyDeleteSo glad I found you through AtoZ!
Doesn't Speak Klingon
Thanks so much for visiting! I agree that music is such an important facet of life! I grew up playing musical instruments and enjoying it myself, so it's great to see that my children are developing that same interest. Happy A to Z!
Delete