Sound Box : Musical Listening Game

The Sound Box Listening Game is marvellous for toddlers and small children because they are insatiably curious and simply can’t resist having a go and a guess!

This game is perfect for encouraging the shyest children to come forward and speak up, and the more confidant ones to listen carefully before just calling out the answer. It can be played with just one child, or in a group and also comes in handy at parties as a quieter activity for calming things down.

Sound Box Musical Listening Game Song

 Here’s a box,   here’s a lid,  can you guess, inside what’s hid?

Can you guess?  Can you hear?  If you listen with your ear?

Loud or soft, let’s see what, might be hiding in the pot?

Can you guess, can you hear, If you listen with your ear?

(Sung to the tune of Little Brown Jug)

What you need:

• A number of small containers that are not see-through (I use old camera film canisters, but plastic eggs/kinder eggs would work well)
• Collected items that make a distinctive sound for example : pennies, shells, sugar, rice, bells etc.
• A larger box to hide them all in

How to Play The Sound Box Musical Listening Game

• 1. Sing the little song, which is very easy to learn and sung to the tune of Little Brown Jug.

2. At the end of the song you produce one of the sound pots and offer it to the child to shake and listen to. Even really young toddlers love playing this listening game, and if they need a little help you can prompt them with easy clues like ‘something you find on the beach’ for shells or something that begins with a “sh” sound. They are usually desperate to see the contents, and you will have to be quick to supervise this in order to avoid showers of rice or the threat of small objects.

3. Ask the children to help you count how many pennies or shells there are inside and encourage them to do this on their own if they want to. Repeat The Sound Box song before you bring out each new sound, and line up all the pots.

4. Finally, let the child shake each one in turn and see if they remember it’s contents.

Children love routine and order, and this repeated sequence of singing, shaking, guessing, counting and then remembering at the end appeals to them. They love the reasoning and predicting element and and are reassured by the repetitive pattern of the game. Older children really enjoy playing it too as it becomes a memory game. They will anticipate the sounds, listen carefully, and always love to demonstrate how clever they are!

Follow Sara @ Let’s Play Music’s board Listening Games on Pinterest.