I’m always on the look-out for ways to keep my busy students engaged during their piano lesson time… and when I pulled out this new game, the eyes of my wigglers absolutely lit up!
Playing piano games is one of my favorite ways of really getting to know my students. It gives me the opportunity to get a glimpse into “who they are” outside of piano lessons and therefore allows me to really connect with them in new ways. My students had a great time making all kinds of revving, beeping, screeching and crashing sounds as they played. Who knew theory could be so fun?!
How To Play Musical Micro Cars With Your Piano Students
Materials:
1 large piece of paper
Several colored markers
3 micro cars
(It doesn’t get much simpler!)
Playing the Game:
Draw “parking lots” around the edge of your paper. Inside each parking lot, write a theory concept you want to reinforce. I did bars of rhythm, notes on the staff and musical terms.
To play the game, all you need to do is ask for a specific car (i.e. the “red car”) to be parked in a specific parking space (i.e. “the parking spot with the rhythm that sounds like this…” or “the parking spot with a G”). Once you’ve asked them to change parking spots 3 times, switch and you become the “driver” while they direct you.
This game works great with the props too! As a special treat for my not-so-car-crazy students, I also created a “horse barn” page and let them put small plastic horse figurines to bed in stalls instead of parking lots. The possibilities are endless! I keep my eye on crafting websites for great ideas and this one was modified from Ideas and Inspiration for Crafty Parents’s idea for a reading game.
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