Today I’m sharing a fun little resource to invite your kids to some vocal play.
What is vocal play? Vocal Play is a term we use to describe playing with the voice–not singing specific songs or making specific noises, but sliding through the child’s range, developing flexibility, ease, and a sense of high/low–the building blocks of intonation and pitch matching, as well as vocal health. Young children need to learn how to use their voice, what it can do, the noises it can make, and the opposite ends of their range.
A lot of vocal play in early childhood is fairly unprompted and extremely natural for a child. They absentmindedly wander through their voice making all kinds of noises as they play and go about their days. It’s pretty fun to notice this once you know what to pay attention to.
As caregivers and educators, we can create invitations to vocal play that just continue on in that natural exploration of a child’s voice. There are so many ways to invite a child to vocal play, and I’ve shared a few ideas on my instagram, check out the vocal play highlight. Today’s invitation to vocal play is a little autumnal scene with a leaf falling from a tree. Match the leaf’s (relative) pitch level as you glide the leaf up and down.
I recently took over music time for the youngest kids in my church group (18 months-3 years old), and believe me when I tell you that this exact activity is their FAVORITE part of music time. They’re all so engaged and excited when it’s time to follow the leaf, and it is absolutely DARLING. We take turns pulling the leaf up and down, and it’s really fun to see them take pride in their little turn. I originally made this set for them and then thought I would share it with you guys after seeing how much fun it was with them!
Make sure to check out the instructions included on the first page, and reach out if you have any questions. This format of a sliding yarn toy is something we’re going to be using a lot. I already have some fun ideas for Christmas vocal play…stay tuned!
I also included a black and white copy of the play set, because I know printing in color is tricky for public teachers (and I really wish it wasn’t! I have lots to say on that…).
