The Music One-to-One project is developing ways of working in music with parents and carers and their under-twos, with an emphasis on playful, communicative activities. Here are some popular activities using an ocean drum.
For those who may not have come across an ocean drum, it is a wide, shallow drum with a clear plastic skin on one side and many ball bearings inside which swish to and fro as the drum is tipped back and forth. For playing with babies and toddlers we have found the largest sized ocean drums to be the most useful.
With babies, the parent/carer holds the drum in front of the baby or on their laps. The babies are captivated by the sound and sight of the swirling ball bearings, and enjoy tapping it. With toddlers who can grip one side of the drum, the activity develops into interesting seesaw games, tipping the drum this way and that to observe the effects. Adult partners must sense what the toddler wants to do and be supportive in helping them manage the big drums.
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