Encourage your future rock stars with a customized mic. Bonus: It doesn’t actually make them louder!
It is no surprise that childrens' television shows that feature music and an educational message, such as The Doodlebops on Kids' CBC, are a hit with both children and their parents. Whether it is banging on kitchen pots and pans, singing along in the car, or playing a toy piano, kids are naturally drawn to music, and music has been shown to have a significant positive impact on kids. Amongst other things, music has been shown to enhance language development, creativity, concentration, and coordination, foster perseverance and boost information retention.
If you have ever watched The Doodlebops with your kids, the chances are good that at some point they have hopped up, grabbed an imaginary microphone, and rocked along to the music. With this easy microphone craft, kids can make their own personal microphones to use at their next living room concert.
To make your own microphone, you will need:
- a paper tube roll
- aluminum foil
- liquid glue
- tape
- black paint
- stickers, metallic markers, glitter or other decorations, if desired
- scissors
1. Trim paper tube roll to desired size (we used a tube from a paper towel roll, and cut approximately 1/3 off the end)
2. Cut a vertical slit in the bottom 1/4 of the tube. Overlap cut portions of tube, creating a slight cone shape, and secure with tape on the inside of the roll.
3. Paint tube black (alternately, colour with markers, crayons etc.)
4. While paint is drying, form the top of your microphone by taking a large piece of aluminum foil, and scrunching it into a ball.
5. Once tube is dry, use liquid glue to attach the top of your microphone to the paper tube base. If desired, decorate the base with stickers, metallic pens, glitter, or other embellishments.
6. Sing along to your favourite songs, or make up some music that is all your own!
