This week we had some fun in the preschool classrooms and we brought the magic of the recording studio to them! We had so much fun and it is an activity we suggest for any teacher or parent to do with their kids.
It can be as easy as a tape recorder or something more sophisticated like computer software such as Garage Band which comes standard in a Mac. We used our cellphone, Iphone, has a voice recorder that is actually pretty decent. We recorded All You Need is Love by the Beatles as a Valentine’s song for mom and dad. The children learned the chorus and we separated the kids in two groups. Group A sang ” all you need is love” and group B sang ” ta, ta, ra, ra, ra” between the phrasing. We played the guitar and some light percussion instruments to keep the beat.
The class was a huge success. Kids waited patiently for their turn to sing, they learned hand signals to cue their friends on when to sing and when to keep quiet during recording. It motivated them to follow directions, vocalize loud and clear, take turns and share.
The reward was listening to their sweet little voices and trying to figure out if that was their own voice in the recording ” that is me… I sound good!” One child said proudly.
Using recording, microphones, amplified sound is a wonderful tool to motivate children working on a variety of goals. The instant gratification of technology can be beneficial to achieve social, physical and developmental milestones. Don’t be afraid to try it. It most likely will not be a digitally mastered soundtrack, but it will be much more valuable than that. It will be a memory you can keep forever and an activity that will reach all children with a wide spectrum of benefits!