Street Beats

The basic idea

Splashing in puddles, sticks and stones, swishing bunches of leaves or feathers or grass – there are loads of ways to explore rhythm outside! Start with a stick, explore the different noises it makes on different surfaces and go from there.

Over to you, wee one

Small children love puddles and sticks, and you can extend their play by joining in! Count 1,2,3,4 as you tap or splash with them, and add new elements every now and then, like singing a song or adding a new object. Don’t stress if they don’t copy, parallel play is really valuable for wee ones

Cheeky bonuses

• rhythm helps speech and literacy
• numeracy
• gross and fine motor development
• exploration and self expression

Variations

• record the different noises on your phone and have a guessing game back at home
• Have a treasure hunt for lots of different natural objects and explore the variation in noise as they’re dropped on a metal tray

And remember…

Exploring familiar ideas like rhythm in new places (on the street, in the woods) is a great way to develop ‘divergent thinking’ – your wee one is learning the world is full of possibilities.