Classroom Close-Up
Learning to label the pitch of an instrument or a rubber band as “high” or “low” was very challenging for my kids. To build a solid foundation, we spent a lot
of time playing with our own voices: talking in high, squeaky voices like mice or mosquitoes or little baby birds, and in deep, low voices like giants or big heavy trucks.
—Jazmine, preschool teacher
I wanted to take some materials outside with us to explore making sounds, so I asked the kids for their recommendations.
“We can take a plastic box to make a sound like boom, boom,” said Kohl.
“We can use a ball to make sound,” said Jeron.
“We can use paper like this,” Jai’lysa pretended to wave a sheet of paper in the air.
“And the wind can play with the paper and see if it makes sound.”
“Maybe the water table,” suggested Jordan. “When you splash, it makes a sound.”
“When my little brother was washing his hands, it made a big sound,” said Elyssa.
“Soap doesn’t make a sound,” objected Kohl.
“But if you wash it off, it makes a bubbling sound,” Terell said.
“Those are all great ideas,” I said, writing them down. “When we go out this afternoon, we will take a plastic box, a ball, some paper, and the water table and some soap. And we’ll see what sort of sounds we can make.”
—Jazmine, preschool teacher