Kitchen Band Jam Session

Wooden spoons (2 is ideal)

Pots and pans in various sizes

Plastic containers with snap-on lids

Dried beans or rice for shakers (seal the lids with tape)

Empty oatmeal canister or coffee can

Flip pots and pans upside down on the kitchen floor.

Fill 1-2 plastic containers with a handful of dried beans or rice and tape the lids shut securely.

Set out wooden spoons as drumsticks.

Arrange everything within your toddler's reach in a semicircle.

Sit down with your toddler and show them how to tap a pot with a wooden spoon.

Tap out a simple rhythm — three slow beats, then pause.

Let them copy you, or just bang away freely.

Pick up a shaker and shake it along with their drumming.

Try singing a familiar song (like "Twinkle Twinkle") while they play along.

Switch instruments — let them try the shaker while you drum.

Different pots and pans make different sounds. A small saucepan has a higher pitch than a big stock pot. Point this out: "Listen, this one sounds different!"

Tape the shaker lids shut with packing tape. Toddlers will try to open them, and dried beans are a choking hazard.

This is a loud activity. Embrace it. The noise only lasts 15 minutes, and the developmental benefits — rhythm recognition, cause and effect, hand-eye coordination — are real.

Play music in the background and encourage them to play along to the beat. Nursery rhymes and simple pop songs with a strong beat work great.

Let them lead. If they want to tap the floor instead of a pot, that's fine. The goal is exploration, not perfection.

For cleanup, make it a game: "Can you put the spoons IN the big pot?" Toddlers love putting things inside other things.