When was the last time you had a wiggly piano student on your bench? I’m guessing it was… yesterday afternoon! Kids are born to move and, in fact, moving actually helps them to process information more efficiently.
Working with a young student’s need to move (rather than against it) is a teaching strategy that I employ frequently with my piano students. In fact, we’re constantly “hopping” away from the bench to use manipulatives, games, and movement to reinforce important concepts at every lesson.
The other day all of this “hopping” back and forth (coupled with the never-ending parade of gum boots into my studio… it’s spring in Canada after all…) got me thinking about frogs and puddles and… well… piano teaching fun!
So today we’re sharing 4 “pond-hopping” activities you can use in your piano lessons to get your littles up and moving, and improving their ear training and theory skills to boot!
4 Pond-Hopping Piano Exercises To Get Littles Off The Bench
I love watching my students play each of the four games below. Their imaginations amaze me as they get lost in a world where friendly little frogs need helping getting back to their ponds. The setup for the games is simple. All you need is some blue construction paper, a few green pom-poms and a wiggly child.
Game #1 – Stepping, Skipping and Swimming
In this game the student should be seated on the floor beside three ponds arranged in a line. Six frogs (pom-poms) should be placed in the first pond. When the student is ready, the teacher plays two notes that represent a step or a skip. The student listens to the sounds played by the teacher and moves a frog from the first pond according to the sounds played by the teacher. If the student heard the teacher play a step, he moves any frog from the first pond next door to the second pond. If the student heard the teacher play a skip, he moves any frog from the first pond to the third pond, skipping over the second pond. The teacher continues to play steps or skips until all frogs have been removed from the first pond.
Game #2 – Hop To The Rhythm
In this game, four ponds should be arranged in a line with the student sitting close by on the floor. A bunch of frogs (pom-poms) should be placed in front of the student. When the student is ready, the teacher starts the metronome and plays four measures of whole notes, half notes, or quarter notes. The student listens to the sounds played by the teacher and places a number of frogs in the first pond according to the note values played by the teacher. For example, If the student heard the teacher play whole notes, he moves four frogs into the first pond, or if the student heard the teacher play quarter notes, he moves one frog into the pond. The student and teacher repeat the process above three more times so that frogs are placed in the final three ponds.
Game #3 – The Sorting Swamp
In this game the student should be seated on the floor beside two ponds. One pond should be labeled “Major” and one pond should be labeled “Minor”. A bunch of frogs (pom-poms) should be placed in front of the student. When the student is ready, the teacher plays a minor chord or a major chord. The student listens to the sounds played by the teacher and places a frog in the pond labeled with the word that corresponds with the sound played by the teacher. For example, If the student heard the teacher play a minor chord, the student places a frog in the pond labeled “Minor”. The student and teacher repeat the process until 10 frogs have been placed in the ponds.
Game #4 – High Dive Hoppers
In this game five ponds labelled C, D, E, F, and G should be placed on the floor. To begin the game, the student closes his eyes while the teacher places one frog on any C on the piano, one frog on any D on the piano, one frog on any E on the piano, one frog on any F on the piano, and one frog on any G on the piano. When the frogs are all resting on their keys, the student opens his eyes and the moves each frog, one at a time, from its key on the piano to its corresponding pond.
More Fun For Wiggly Little Ones!
If you’re looking for more great ways to get wiggly piano students off the bench, be sure to check out TeachPianoToday’s PianoGameClub. Now that it’s May, our subscribers are receiving four new games to pump up the fun in their studios. If you are looking rock game-based learning in your studio, check out PianoGameClub where our members get four new piano games each and every month for just $8!
Amy says
What fun; thanks!
Andrea says
You’re welcome Amy! Hope you have fun with it 🙂
Kate H. says
So simple and so fun!! I can’t wait to try this.
Andrea says
Hi Kate – we’d love to hear how your piano students like it!
Sheila says
Thank you Andrea. With such wet, grey weather in Southern Ontario, these clever games are just what these little “wiggly’s” need!
Andrea says
Hi Sheila – hopefully our Canadian summer will be a warm one to dry up all those puddles! In the meantime – enjoy the games 🙂 Thanks for reading our blog!
carmen says
What great ideas! Thank you Andrea! I know two young students who would LOVE these games.
Andrea says
Hi Carmen – wonderful! Hope you have a great time with them 🙂
Roshinee says
Great games!Thank You!
Connie says
I can’t wait to try these out! Thank you!
Clara says
How do you keep all of these games organized? You have shared so many fantastic ideas, but I can’t imagine being able to keep track of all the pieces and resources that you must use. Please, what is your secret?!
Andrea says
Hi Clara – my printed piano games are organized as shown in this facebook post (link here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/teachpianotoday/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1326045324108686)
For “special” games like this I prep on Sunday night, put it all into a large ziploc freezer bag to have handy in my studio. When we’re done with it I put it in a bin labelled by season and it goes into storage for a future year (spring, winter, summer, fall).
Susan says
Could you make your blog posts printable? It would be nice to be able to print the instructions to go along with the game.
Jennifer says
Hi Andrea! I found some cute frog erasers at Target today – the perfect incentive to FINALLY try the pond hopping game this afternoon with a brother and sister. Great ear training, for sure! We also used Serving up fun with steps, skips, and repeats. They are not really reading yet so I thought this would be a different way to introduce simple notation. We decided to double the eggs and use a bigger pan next week so they can take turns!! Lots of fun!!! Thank you so much for your hard work and creative resources… I turn to them often! Blessings! – Jennifer Faulkner
Andrea says
Oh now I’m jealous and on the hunt for frog erasers! 🙂 So glad you are using the off-the-bench ideas we share!