Update: Our Outdoor Music Area

For those of you who have been following the development of our outdoor area, this is the most recent update.

The giant xylophone is now reinforced with 2x2s but needs to be connected to a post in the ground. It seems as though using the 2x2s is a much better option than the string. The sound is great, and the structure is more secure.

We have also added a few sets of chimes. One is made from bamboo that we found at the Dollar Store and cut into various lengths. (I think the longest one is 30 inches and each smaller one is 2 inches shorter than the last.). The other one is made from metal pipes that we recycled from broken clothes racks. Again, we used the same method, however with this one, we went all the way down to a 2 inch piece. (We had a lot of metal pipe!).

We have also made some homemade "tambourines." We took a bunch of lids from canned foods, nailed holes in them and strung them with beads on a wire coat hanger that we cut into pieces. (We have a great can opener from Tupperware that cuts the cans safely and allows us to use the lids for craft projects).

We also hung a mini "yooper scooper" from the fence. It makes great music too!

We're getting closer to finishing up this area. We have some copper conduit pipes that we have cut into chimes, and some that we found the exact lengths to make a musical scale. (The directions for this can be found here.) We were also able to get a large piece of plexi-glass donated that we are having cut into a drum head. We will place that in the center of the huge tractor tire. A friend of ours has a cow bell to add, and we will continue to add smaller pieces as we find them!

For our previous blogs on the Music Area: Making the Xylophone, Making Music in the Yard Part II.

A Few Ideas With Marker Caps (As Promised)

Yesterday, I hope I convinced you not to throw away your markers that "don't work." Today, I will share with you a few ideas for what to do with all of the caps. The possibilities are nearly endless, but here are a few of our recent creations: 1) A Leprechaun/Fairy Ladder/Rope Ladder: 2) #1 if not permanently secured can also double as a rope bridge: 3) #1/#2 can also be made into a train track for your homemade trains :). (No photo available) 4) You can use them as beads for a necklace: 5) You could make them into a wind chime. (No photo available). 6. You can use them as small manipulatives to count, sort, and make patterns with. (No photo available). 7) You could use them as playing pieces in your own homemade board game. (No photo available). 8) You could put them on a wire and glue them in place to make a twirling whirly-gig. 9) You could top them with a lid from a milk jug to make tiny tables or toadstools. 10) You could make them...

Easter Egg Caterpillars!

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"The Markers Don't Work!"

How may times have you heard, "Ms. (fill your name in here), this marker doesn't work!" I know I hear it all the time. Sometimes it is because our little friends forget to replace the caps, and sometimes the markers have just been "all used up!" What do you do with all those markers that just don't work? Please don't tell me that you throw them out, try this instead: First, sort your markers out. Put the caps in one container ( save those too, I'll show you what you can do with them in tomorrow's post) and the markers in another. I have a box for the markers that "don't work" for the children to place them into every time they run across one. You can also have the children help you test the markers periodically to sort out the ones that need to be removed from the "working set." When it comes time to use "the markers that don't work," we use a small sponge paint roller to roll water onto our card...

Ms. Amy's Blog @Child Central Station

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