Instrument Sharing

[Elizabeth Schwartz]

What kind and brand of instruments are you using in your groups with children of this developmental level?

[Laura Montesano]

Right now the percussion I use are mostly REMO kids percussion, hand drums and gathering drums. I don’t have any of the jumbo chicita maracas right now, but I’m thinking I need to get few of those. I do have quite a few shaker eggs, but yes, they do tend to go for the mouth.

[Wei Ming Loi]

I use mostly REMO drums too. I love the sound of the gathering drums and the tubano but the bongos sometimes is a little difficult for the younger ones as they tend to find it difficult to make a big sound.

I prefer plastic maraca more than wood maraca at this age due to the ease of washing them. We usually pop a chlorine pill into the water and soak the entire maraca in. The wooden ones take a long time to dry…. Some plastic shakers come in the shape of giraffes that children sometimes do hold at the neck of it.

I sometimes use handle castanets because they are easy to hold as compared to castanets but I find their sound a little too loud.

I tend to avoid bells as I don’t know how to clean them properly without running the risk of them rusting.

[Angie Carter]

I’m a maraca junkie…..lots of maracas, little consistency. I use plastic all the time. I found some light weight ones with jack-o-lantern faces years ago that are preferred by almost everyone. I gave up putting them away after Halloween. I have not bought many recently, so I’m not sure the brands,but I prefer ones with a little weight to them, little Chiquita types. This seems so obvious, but I love the idea of dividing all the instruments by age level. I’ve been grouping them by instrument. I do not have any of the infant maracas with the circle handles. On the list.

I too would love insight into cleaning bells as the kids really enjoy them.

I need more drums! I have all remo as well. Sparkle drum, ocean drum, 1 hand held, 2 bongos and a lollipop drum. I love the large gathering drum and need to get one!

[Alyssa Kereki]

Angie – I LOVE that you have jack-o-lantern maracas and that you use them year-round. That made my day.

Ugh, instruments! Right now I am in the long, drawn out process of purchasing instruments for the schools where I am working. I had a very small budget to work with and currently do not have the funds to purchase my own instruments because I can barely afford to pay rent. Basically, I feel stuck and frustrated. With that said, I have worked very hard to order instruments that I could use with a variety of age groups while ordering designated “children’s instruments” as well. I think size and shape are extremely important because you want your clients to be successful and begin to comprehend that they are in charge of making the sound that the instrument is producing. As for other preferences, for the time being I’m working with whatever I can get my hands on and trying to make adaptations. This discussion will definitely come in handy though when I can actually afford to buy what I want. 🙂

[Amy DiLabio]

I don’t have a specific brand that I lean toward. But I do like REMO drums. I use plastic maracas and jungle bells. I wipe off jingle bells with rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball. I usually wash the scarves in between classes. (I have a lot of scarves) I love scarves and use them to pretend to be many different things..leaves, super hero capes, hats….whatever the kids think up, but that is usually kids a little bit older than Sprouting Melodies II kids. I also like rain-sticks with this age group too.

[Cindy Humphreys]

I use a variety of plastic maracas and chickitas. I am always thinking of durability, child safety and cleaning when I order instruments. We have to use a particular disinfectant at our school and it can be hard on drum heads. I do have several Remo drums of various sizes, but do not yet have the hand drums. I also like the small bean shaped tambourines that fit well in small hands. Ialso use bells on the velcro bands for particular songs where I want them on the child’s ankle. I have the large gathering drum, but I find it is sometimes too much for this age group, and the size and sound can be overwhelming.

[Lisa Spall]

I love westmusic.com

You can get different types of maracas that are sturdy, plastic for easy cleaning, and big enough to eliminate the choking hazard. I love to search amazon and such for good prices on drums. It’s a great place to order your scarves for about $20 too (if you want a scarf canopy/parachute, I recommend a local fabric store visit!). I use REMO drums, as I’ve seen many of the other ladies here do as well – they’re the most durable. Remember to wax the drumhead every now and then or you’ll end up with a very cracked and sad shiny drum from all the disinfecting.

I’ve been really into finding natural ways to disinfect lately. Our kids are putting this stuff in their mouths, it has to be safe! Anyone have any experience with using hydrogen peroxide wipes/spray or vinegar to disinfect? If I use store bought, I always check the label to make sure food surfaces don’t need to be rinsed – assures me a little more that residue will be non-toxic. I’ve been reading though, and hydrogen peroxide is a totally safe disinfectant that kills all the viruses and bacteria any of the other wipes do. I haven’t tried it on drums yet. A vinegar mix won’t harm your drumheads or dry them out, but HP can dry out skin, so I assume it may take a toll on a drumhead. Any takes on what you’re using?

[Tamara Strom]

This is a very timely post, as I have been in the process of building my instrument collection. Alyssa, I can totally relate to your situation, as I desperately need instruments, but can’t afford anything, as I’m just starting out and can’t even afford to support myself at the moment!!! Just spent a fortune on shakers, an ocean drum, puppets, etc. this weekend!

That being said, do any of you know where I can buy small plastic maracas inexpensively perhaps in bulk? I just started a few new groups this week, and one of them is a group of 20 preschoolers! (Too large in my opinion!!!)

As far as other instruments/props that I used with this age group, I use maracas, drums: gathering drum, ocean drum, lollipop drum, scarves, rain sticks, wiggles, (not sure what their official name is)

[Elizabeth Schwartz]

I remember the early years and trying to put together a collection of instruments (at that point I was working will all ages of clients). I do know that all these years later the good quality instruments I bought back then are still in good shape and going strong. It is amazing. So my recommendation is to buy the best quality instruments that you can.
For the little ones now, I love the chichitas.
For those of you in the Northeast…Woodstock Instruments located in upstate New York has a semi annual warehouse clearance sale. It usually runs for 3 days in May and November. People line up early and rush in with shopping carts to fill. I have gotten amazing instruments for 75 to 90 % off retail. Check out their website-http://www.chimes.com/. They also run contests to win free instruments from time to time.

[Meredith Pizzi]

Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to chime in with a couple of links here.
http://www.westmusic.com/1002405-kids/k5020-kids-drums/remo-kids-percussion-frame-drums.htm
These are a great quality and pretty inexpensive. We buy maracas direct from Hohner and West.
Love these ones from Lynn Kleiner, and they are cheap!
http://www.westmusic.com/1002405-kids/k5050-under-age-3/k5050a-bells-shakers/remo-lynn-kleiner-lk-2426-01-maraca.htm
These ones are less than $2 each and sold as a pair – I can’t speak to their sound though. I don’t have any of these.
http://www.westmusic.com/1002405-kids/k5050-under-age-3/k5050a-bells-shakers/basic-beat-bbha01-toddler-maracas.htm

We will also have starter kits available to new Sprouting Melodies Providers of the must haves through Raising Harmony.

About cleaning instruments, I always ask the nurses I’ve worked with in school and hospital settings and have always gone back to household disinfectant wipes because they do work at killing all of the germs. I haven’t heard of the hydrogen peroxide idea, Lisa.

And as far as building up your collection of instruments, slow and steady is fine! It took me a long time, years, before I invested in an ocean drum or other “cool” things! A drum, a tambourine, some shakers and scarves can go a very long way!

[Robin Jacobs]

I also use West Music for buying instruments and especially like the Remo/Lynn Kleiner line for this age group. Maracas, bells and drums are a great size for the kids to handle by themselves and jingle bells are closed in so they can’t get into the mouth. I especially like the drum mallet that has a head on each side.

[Leigh Giglio]

I have not worked with such little ones, so my instrument collection is geared for more adults and older children. I do love West Music, as well as Remo drums. Loved hearing about what you have in your collection and will need to remember for future purchases.

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