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The drum sticks help my son use both of his hands and arms at the same time. He had a stroke in utero and has a weaker, “sleepy” side. -- Mother, Evanston, IL
Approx. Price: $34.99 Box Age Range: 1+ yrs # 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
Tactilely diverse and pleasing, these instruments have a combination of hard, smooth plastic, soft rubbery plastic and large and small bumpy embellishments.
The drum doubles as the storage container. When playtime is done this can help children learn to clean up their toys. This also ensures that the instruments are within reach and easily found for the next jam session. This can also assist when transitioning to another activity.
The strap on the drum attaches in the middle with Velcro closures.
Playing instruments can help children express and release anger and frustration.
The instruments are auditorily stimulating with a variety of sounds that are made by shaking and tapping.
The instruments are tactilely stimulating with a variety of textures on the plastic instruments. Each instrument is shaped very differently from one another.
The instruments are visually stimulating with a variety of colors, patterns and whimsical characters.
Skills
This set can be used to introduce different sounds to children.
Children enhance motor planning skills when playing the instruments,
Play Ideas
Explore different sounds by using the drumsticks on different surfaces. Some surfaces to try are: drum, floor, table, overturned plastic containers of different sizes, carpets, and chairs.
Add different objects in the drum and then play the drum to see how it sounds differently when it has dried beans and rice, small stuffed animals, or other instruments inside.
Children can close their eyes and attempt to identify the instrument that they pick up.
Children can feel the different tactile stimulation each instrument provides.
Adaptation Ideas
Add a cloth on the bottom of the drum. This will help muffle the sound when the instruments are dropped inside.
For children who are visually impaired, attach the instruments to the play space with a short cord to prevent instruments from being dropped or pushed out of reach. Note: Cords should be no longer than 10” and direct supervision is required.
The drum doubles as the storage container. When playtime is done this can help children learn to clean up their toys. This can also assist when transitioning to another activity.
Handing a child an instrument, or him handing an instrument to a friend, is one way to invite interaction without verbalizations.
The strap on the drum attaches in the middle with Velcro closures.
The instruments can be used independently or with others.
There are enough instruments to encourage social play.
The drum and drum sticks allow for purposeful, appropriate banging.
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.
Playing instruments can help children express and release anger and frustration.
Skills
Action words such as go/stop when playing the instruments and in/out when taking the toys from the container can be introduced during play.
There are eight instruments in this set to help encourage parallel, interactive and cooperative play.
Sharing and turn taking can be practiced using this set.
Encourage vocalizations during music time. Have the child make a sound they are working on in speech therapy each time they hit the drum or shake the maraca.
Play Ideas
Accompany a song on your own iPod or radio with these instruments.
Create a marching band and have the children follow the leader while playing their instruments.
Sing a familiar song such as, “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” or “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” while playing these instruments.
Tap or shake an instrument for each word in a sentence. For instance, “My name is Bobby.”
Play “hide and go seek” with friends. Have each friend hold an instrument and shake it to give a clue to where they are hiding.
Children at different ages and developmental levels can play with this set simultaneously.
The drum and drum sticks allow for purposeful, appropriate banging.
The strap on the drum attaches in the middle with Velcro closures.
The instruments are whimsical and visually appealing.
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.
Children who do not yet understand object permanence may enjoy that the storage drum is clear. They can see where their instruments have gone when they place them inside.
The drum doubles as the storage container. When playtime is done this can help children learn to clean up their toys. This can also assist when transitioning to another activity.
Playing instruments can help children express and release anger and frustration.
Skills
The physical nature of playing instruments can help a child learn about the relationship of cause and effect actions.
Math concepts can be explored by playing beats and rhythms with the instruments.
Memory and recall skills can be used as children engage in sound imitation by another child or adult.
Object permanence can be explored with the bee maraca. When turned upside down, the beads fall into an opaque body, then right-side up and the beads are visible again.
Play Ideas
Count out beats by hitting the two drum sticks together.
Use the drum for other creative activities such as a bucket for a tossing game, to sell pretend hotdogs at a baseball game or to carry your stuffed animals from room to room.
To encourage listening, memory and recall skills, drum a simple beat and have the child copy that beat. Take turns so the child has an opportunity to create the beat for you.
Have the child close his eyes and try to guess what instrument is being played.
Tap or shake an instrument for each syllable in a sentence. For instance, “My name is Bob-by.”
The Jingle Bell Ant, Cute Caterpillar Tambourine and the Busy Bee Maraca & Clacker all have cutouts in them, enabling them to be attached to a wheelchair, stroller, highchair or activity arch with your own connector rings.
The two egg shakers included in this set are a good size to help children maintain an open hand grasp.
The drum doubles as the storage container. When playtime is done this can help children learn to clean up their toys. This also ensures that the instruments are within reach and for the next jam session. This can also assist when transitioning to another activity.
The drum has an attached strap so children can wear the drum over their shoulder or neck. The strap can also be used to attach the drum to a wheelchair tray.
This set enables children to make music manually, rather than pushing electronic buttons. This encourages body movement and helps develop an understanding of cause and effect actions.
The drum sticks are thin to grasp.
The strap on the drum attaches in the middle with Velcro closures.
Playing instruments can help children express and release anger and frustration.
The instruments are durable for strong, unrefined movements.
The instruments are a variety of sizes and shapes. They are lightweight and easy to grasp and hold.
The instruments in the Parum Pum Pum set provide for a large margin of error as children can be successful making music with any voluntary or involuntary movement.
Skills
Two-handed play can be encouraged by giving the child an egg shaker to hold in each hand to shake and bang together. If the child has a weaker side, have him hold an egg shaker in the stronger hand and then encourage moving, banging and shaking the other instruments with the weaker hand.
Hand grasp is used to hold on to each of the instruments.
Playing instruments and moving to the rhythm can encourage large muscle movements.
Eye-hand coordination is used to hold the drumsticks and hit the drum. The drum can also be played using hands directly on the drum.
Reaching and arm extension are promoted as children can reach into the drum to select an instrument to play.
Play Ideas
Rub the nub-lined drum sticks together to hear a different sound. This action can help children move their arms back and forth to increase range of motion.
A caregiver can tap the instruments lightly on a child for him to feel the beat.
Place the two egg shakers in the drum and close the top. Then place the drum on its side and roll the drum back and forth to create the rattling sound.
A child’s small hand can fit through the hole in the Cute Caterpillar Tambourine. This allows children to shake the tambourine without needing to grasp and hold it.
Adaptation Ideas
Add self-adhesive Velcro to the maraca, egg shakers, bells and tambourine. 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.
