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This colorful, unique set of instruments has a jungle theme. Giraffe maracas, tribal hand drum, snake drum sticks, bird and antelope whistles, alligator clapper, and leopard drum with a tambourine top are included. Children can create their own beats and music as they play the instruments together in a group or by playing each instrument individually. Phthalate-free, BPA-free and lead-free.
Approx. Price: $49.99 Box Age Range: None listed # of Pieces: 6-10 Washability: Surface Wipe Storability: Self Storing Directions: None Play Locations: Indoor and Outdoor Adjustability: None Levels of Play: Five or More Levels Batteries: None needed
Inviting Due to Uniqueness
Open-ended
Can Be Used Independently or w/Others
High Quality
Promotes Active Play
Impressive Sound Quality
Portable
Hands-on Approach to Learning
Provides Pretend Play Opportunities
Easy to Grasp/Hold
Familiar Objects/Pictures
Easy to Store
Simple
Fosters Imagination/Promotes Creativity
Visually Stimulating
Tactilely Stimulating
Auditorily Stimulating
High Contrasting Colors
Developmental processes promoted
Cause and Effect
Action Concepts e.g. In/Out, Push/Pull, On/Off, Go/Stop
The instruments are auditorily stimulating with a variety of sounds that are made by shaking, twisting, or blowing into a whistle.
The instruments are tactilely stimulating with a variety of textures on the plastic instruments.
The instruments are visually stimulating with a variety of colors and the hand drum has strings and beads that move when shaken.
The instruments have impressive sound quality, including the bells on the tambourine, the maracas, and the antelope whistle.
Skills
Motor planning skills are used when operating the instruments, particularly shaking the alligator to make its mouth clap and twisting its belly to make ratcheting sounds.
Play Ideas
Children can close their eyes and attempt to identify the instrument that they pick up.
Create a canopied jungle setting for a child who needs reduced sensory stimulation and only gently shake the maracas or lightly tap the drum for a more soothing sound.
A child with oral motor needs could use the whistle for additional stimulation.
Adaptation Ideas
Different types of fabric could be added to certain instruments or the drum container to give the child different tactile experiences.
Add a cloth on the bottom of the container. This will help muffle the sound when the instruments are dropped inside.
The unique design of the instruments and container are very inviting.
The instruments can be used independently or with others.
Some of the instruments in the Jungle Jam are easily identifiable by looking at them.
There are enough instruments to encourage social play.
Playing whistles helps strengthen the facial muscles needed for speech.
Skills
Children can learn action words such as go/stop when playing the instruments; in/out when taking the toys from the container; and push/pull when playing antelope whistle.
Parallel, interactive and cooperative play can all be encouraged when playing these instruments.
Children are encouraged to take turns by sharing the instruments and demonstrating how their instruments sound.
Strategic thinking skills can be used when copying the musical patterns of other children or adults.
Play Ideas
Have children sit in a circle. A caregiver can call out a child’s name to play his instrument. Then have the child say another child’s name or point to another child for him to play.
Ask the children to make an animal sound that corresponds with the instrument they are holding.
Ask a child to identify the colors on the instruments they are playing with.
Ask the child to identify the animal’s eyes, nose, mouth, ears, etc.
Create a marching band and have the children follow the leader while playing their instruments.
Adaptation Ideas
For children who are nonverbal, provide cards with colors or words of colors on them. Ask the children what color an animal is and have them point to one or more picture cards.
For a child who has trouble using the whistles, begin by giving that child a straw to practice blowing bubbles in water or a cotton ball across the table. This can help teach the child what action is needed to blow the whistle.
The instruments have high contrasting colors to recognize and identify.
The instrument set allows for open-ended play; there is no right or wrong way to play.
Play duration can be altered according to a child’s needs.
The Jungle Jam provides a hands-on approach to learning as the child can create sounds with the various instruments.
Skills
Memory and recall skills can be used as children engage in sound imitation by another child or adult.
Children are exposed to cause and effect when shaking the maracas and tambourine, twisting the hand drum and alligator, blowing into the whistles, and using the drum sticks to drum.
Encourage imagination by having children pretend they are in a band or imagine they are a world famous musician.
Incorporate math in play by counting the instruments, bells on the tambourine, and the number of times an instrument is played.
Play Ideas
Children can mimic the beats that another person makes.
Children can be encouraged to pretend that they are in a jungle band or a marching band.
Have the child close his eyes and try to guess what instrument is being played.
Ask children to count the number of teeth on the alligator, stripes on the antelope, stars on the maracas, or bells on the tambourine.
Adaptation Ideas
For a child learning body parts, show pictures of a person’s eyes, ears, mouth, nose, etc. and have them identify that on the animal after looking at the picture to try to associate words with items of the same name, but that look different on different creatures.
The instruments are durable for strong, unrefined movements.
The container that stores the instruments doubles as a drum and has a large opening to easily put the instruments in and take them out.
There are handles on the sides of the container to easily carry the instruments.
The instruments in the Jungle Jam are a variety of sizes and shapes. They are lightweight and easy to grasp and hold.
The Jungle Jam provides for a large margin of error as children make music with any voluntary or involuntary movement.
Skills
Manual dexterity is heightened by operating the slide whistle, grasping the drum sticks, maracas, and hand drum with their hands.
The Jungle Jam promotes active play by moving arms, hands and fingers to play the instruments. Marching bands can also encourage gross motor skills.
Eye-hand coordination is promoted as children bang on the tambourine, or hold and shake the other instruments.
Reaching and arm extension are promoted as children can reach into the deep drum to select an instrument to play.
Coordinated, rhythmic movements can be incorporated into play when multiple children create the same beat, using the same movements on the beat.
Children can increase finger and hand control when reaching into the drum for an instrument or by manipulating each instrument to make its intended sound.
Children are encouraged to use two-hand play when operating the whistles, shaking both maracas or playing with both drum sticks.
Wrist rotation is used when twisting the alligator’s ratcheting belly or twisting the hand drum.
Play Ideas
Allow children to close their eyes and reach deep into the drum to select an instrument.
Children with unrefined hand movements can play the tambourine by swiping the bells with their hand to make music.
Adaptation Ideas
Add Velcro straps to the maracas, hand drum and alligator to make holding the instruments easier.
Place a piece of self-adhesive Velcro onto the handles of the instruments. Then have the child wear a knit mitten or glove. The Velcro will stick to the mitten, assisting a child in grasping the instruments.
Use an elastic cloth hair band around a child’s hand and instrument to help maintain a grasping position for play.
For a child who has trouble using the whistles, begin by giving that child a straw to practice blowing bubbles in water or a cotton ball across the table. This can help teach the child what action is needed to blow the whistle.
