STEP 1: Sit the children at the kitchen table and explain that this is an experiment in sound. Ask them to close their eyes and be absolutely quiet, then try to count and remember the sounds they hear. When we did this, I counted to three and we sat in silence a minute. When the spell was broken, the girls exploded with comments: "I heard nine! I heard the table creak! I heard somebody breathing! I heard a bird!" We talked about where the sounds were coming from and how they hide in everything around us.
STEP 2: Ask your kids if they want to make some noise. When they stop screaming, tell them they are going on a Sound Safari and should make as many sounds as they can (but not hit anything too hard, especially glass). Then let them loose. My group turned on the water, the coffee grinder, the timer and the blender. They discovered shakers in a box of salt and in canisters of dried beans. With chopsticks, a wire whisk and a masher, they tapped on everything in sight. Pots became gongs, cabinet doors became drums and pot lids became cymbals.
STEP 3: With the kids' interest piqued, initiate a guessing game. Begin by closing your eyes while the kids clang different objects and strikers. My girls were exacting examiners--I couldn't just guess, "A pot and a wooden spoon," I had to specify which pot. When this activity has played out, tell the kids you have a song hidden somewhere in the kitchen. They should zero in on the glasses (with your prompting, if necessary).
Bring the glasses together and ping them with a utensil. Next, challenge your kids to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and to make up new songs. My daughters' favorite trick was running their damp fingers around the rims of the glasses to make an ethereal sound. Rachel said to Anna, "Mom's makes a lighter sound, yours is in the middle and mine is making a darker sound." To which Anna responded: "The more air, the lighter the sound."
