Morning game · No. 27
Sound Echo
Make a sound or short sound pattern behind a divider and have your partner copy it by ear on a matching set.
- Ages
- 2+
- Energy
- Low
Helps with
What you need
- A cardboard box or large book to stand up as a divider
- Two matching sets of three or four sound-makers, such as a metal spoon, a scrunched foil ball, a zip-top bag, and an empty tin or jar
- One spoon for each player
Set up
Stand the divider in the middle of a table so neither player can see the other’s side. Lay out one set of sound-makers on each side, in the same order, with a spoon for each player.
How to play
Before you start, tap each sound-maker together where you can both see, so the child knows what each one sounds like.
Then hide behind the divider and make one sound: tap the tin, crinkle the bag, or squish the foil. The child listens, then makes the same sound on their side. Lift the divider or peek over it together to check.
Build up to short patterns, such as “tin, tin, foil” or “bag, spoon, tin, tin.” Let the child finish listening before they start copying.
Swap roles so the child makes patterns for you to copy. Count along out loud if a long one gets tricky.
Make it easier
Use only two sound-makers and leave the divider down for the first few rounds so the child can watch as well as listen.
Make it harder
Make patterns longer, add soft and loud versions of the same sound, or change the rhythm, such as two quick taps and one slow one.