I Spy Owl Mask and Owl Song

This week we've been learning all about owls. Today we made an owl mask. This was a very simple project that even younger kids can make.
We had a template from a Mailbox magazine that I had copied, but it would be simple to draw out one of your own.
Bekah colored the owl mask. You could also add feathers if you would like.

I cut it out and glued it to the back of a cereal box (to make it more sturdy).

Then I let it dry a bit and cut it out from the cereal box. Next I taped on two popcicle sticks for the handle. Here's Pooh Bear playing with the owl mask. He liked it!

We played I spy with this mask. Whoever was holding the mask would be the one to spy things. We had a lot of fun with this.

We also sang a really fun song to the tune of Are You Sleeping.

Are you sleeping? (put hand out the side like asking a question)
Are you sleeping?
Mr. Owl, Mr. Owl,(put your thumb and index finger together and up to eyes-like an owl)
You sleep in the daytime, (pretend to be sleeping)
And fly in the nighttime, (pretend to fly)
When you see, perfectly. (make owl eyes again with index finger and thumb together)

Mr. Bassman

As I've mentioned in a previous post, we absolutely LOVE Laurie Berkner. We recently got the CD Rocketship Run and are constantly singing those songs. Bekah's new favorite song from that cd is Mr. Bassman. She asks for it again and again. The other day I was trying to figure out a craft to make with her and after the 10th time of listening to Mr. Bassman it hit me....let's make a string bass. We talked about the string bass and she was very excited to find out that her Daddy teaches kids at school to play the String Bass. We also looked at pictures of the string bass and this is the craft what we came up with.


First draw a bass on a large piece of construction paper. It doesn't have to be perfect!



Next have your child paint their bass. We used brown paint to make it look authentic.


After it dries have your child add strings to it. Basses have 4 strings. We used twine I had on hand and double sided tape to attach it on the top and bottom of the bass.


Cut your bass out and enjoy. You could also use cardboard to make the bass hold up better. We think Mr. Bassman would enjoy it!

Love for Music

Daddy and Bekah "practicing" violin.

Since my husband and I are both professional musicians we really wanted to instill a love of music into our daughter. We won't push her to become a musician herself, but want her to at least appreciate and enjoy it. Bekah has been around music since she was in the womb. I was a K-5 music teacher when I was pregnant. We really work to introduce different styles of music to her. I wanted to share some of our favorite cd's and dvd's which help us do this.

We LOVE Laurie Berkner cd's. Our favorite right now is Buzz Buzz. Bekah goes around the house singing songs like "The Pretzel Song", "These Are My Glasses", and "Chocolate Ice Cream". What's even better, I like the songs too. There's something about Laurie Berkner's voice - it's so easy to listen to.

We also love classical music. My husband and I are classically trained, so we listen to it quite a bit. The best way to introduce classical music is through Baby Einstein dvd's. Bekah is going to be 3 and still watches them! We recently went to my husbands orchestra concert and when a song by Mozart started she exclaimed, "Baby Kangaroo!" She was so excited! We love all of them, she really doesn't have a favorite.

If your child likes Sesame Street, they also have wonderful music products. Our favorite kid's classical cd is Elmo and the Orchestra and our favorite musical dvd is Elmo's Musical Adventure: Peter and the Wolf.



Here's Bekah listening to a Vivaldi cello concerto on my husband's IPod. (Note - it's turned down almost all the way)

A great way to try new cd's is to visit your local library. Ours has a great children's section and we've tried many cd's this way. One winner we've found was this cd, Jazz For Kids. It's a cd of great jazz musicians singing children's songs (Ella Fitzgerald sings Old MacDonald Had a Farm). It was a hit right from the first song.

Anyway you go about doing it, it's so important to introduce your child to different styles of music. It will give them a lifetime of musical enjoyment. What's your child's favorite music?