Note
* While clapping comes naturally to children, it is hard for them to clap a rhythm. Start with someone tapping a pulse/beat and have the children copy you clapping some simple rhythms.
Rhythm exercises
* Divide the children into groups.
* During the exercises, include a leader drum or ask an adult to point at the pictures of instruments so the children have to play in time.
* Start with untuned instruments to produce purely rhythmic patterns. Give each child an instrument and ask them to draw a shape that represents it, say a circle for a drum.
* Have each group make a recurring pattern of shapes, then play their instruments when the corresponding shape occurs in the pattern. You may need to write down the sequence.
* Now introduce tuned instruments to produce pitched rhythms. When using chime bars, limit the number to three or four, or else the pattern will become too difficult for children to follow. Colour-coding the bars helps the children tell them apart.
* Repeat again using a mix of tuned and untuned instruments. Keeping the rhythms simple will be more effective, and easier to remember.
* Let the groups swap their sounds. You may need to re-distribute the instruments.
* The sound patterns look great displayed on display boards.
