- Gather all sorts of instruments, and let the children hear them one by one. Then let the children close their eyes. Play one of the instruments and let the children guess which instrument they just heard.
- Sort the instruments by type, percussion, wind or string instrument (there is also a worksheet available, check the downloadspage of this theme).
- Blindfold a child and let them feel an instrument and guess what it is.
- Use a xylophone, preferably one with coloured bars. Hit a couple of bars and ask the child to repeat what you just played.
- Use any percussion instrument, hit it a couple of times and ask the children how many times you’ve hit it.
- Make a cd with different types of music; jazz, hardrock, classical music, rap, popular, blues etc. Play small pieces for the children and ask their opinion. Which piece did they like best. Which piece made them feel happy or sad?
- Ask if a parent who can play an instrument comes to visit and play for the class, maybe the children play an instrument themselves and want to perform in front of the class.
- Use the flashcards, cover half the picture with your hand and ask the children what instrument it is.
- Let the children act that they’re playing an instrument and let the children guess which one it is.
- Use a colour dice and a normal dice. Take 6 different kinds of instruments and give them to 6 children who can count. Give each child a colour matching the dice. Give them a piece of paper with that colour and put it in front of their feet so they can remember more easily. The dice are thrown by the children without an instrument. The colour indicates which instrument will be played, the other dice shows how many times it will be played. You can let another child out count out these times or keep a chart. At the end of the game we can check which instrument has been played the most or the least.