--- title: "Kitchen band: pot drums, shakers and a song" published: "2026-10-15" updated: "2026-10-15" author: "Dad Field Manual editors (drafted with AI help)" time: "45 min" cost: "$0" ages: "2 to 8" where: "A patch of kitchen or living-room floor, with a rug or towel under the pots to take the edge off the noise." topics: ["indoor"] print: "https://dadfieldmanual.com/print?p=kitchen-instrument-band" url: "https://dadfieldmanual.com/plans/kitchen-instrument-band/" --- # Kitchen band: pot drums, shakers and a song > Every kitchen is a drum kit waiting to happen. In about 45 minutes you build three instruments from things you already own, learn one beat, and record a song you can play back or send to family. ## What you need - Two or three pots, pans or plastic bowls, upside down (have) - Wooden spoons for drumsticks (have) - Small plastic bottles or containers with lids, plus a little dry rice or beans (have) - Strong tape (duct or packing tape) (have) - An empty tissue box or small open box and four rubber bands (have) - A phone to record (have) ## Before you start - **Tape every shaker shut.** Loose rice, beans and lids are small items babies and toddlers put in their mouths. You fill them, tape them, and check the tape before handing one over. - **Rubber bands are a grown-up job.** Put them on the box guitar yourself, and keep spares in your pocket, away from little ones. - **Too loud, too close, too long.** Drum with spoons, not metal on metal near ears, and take quiet breaks. If you have to shout over it, ease off. ## Steps 1. **Raid the kitchen** (Together) Five minutes. Lay out pots, bowls and spoons upside down on a towel. Let them tap each one and pick the drums: "Which one sounds like thunder? Which one sounds like rain?" 2. **Make the shakers** (Dad) Pour a spoonful of rice into one container and a few dry beans into another. Screw the lids on tight and wrap tape around the seams twice. Let them shake both and hear the difference. 3. **Build the box guitar** (Dad shows, Kid copies) Stretch four rubber bands of different thickness around an open tissue box, across the hole. You stretch, they pluck. Ask, "Which one is low? Which one is high?" 4. **Learn one beat** (Together) Clap a simple pattern and say it: "Boom, boom, clap. Boom, boom, clap." Then play it: two hits on the big pot, one shake. Do it slow, then faster, then freeze when you say stop. 5. **Pick a song and assign parts** (Kid) Pick a song everyone knows, like "Twinkle, Twinkle" or "Old MacDonald," or make one up about the dog. They choose who plays what. Rehearse it twice. 6. **Record the song** (Together) Name the band. Prop the phone on a counter, count "One, two, three, four," and record one take. Play it back right away and let them decide if you need a second take. ## If it stalls - If they only want to bang as hard as they can, give them the big pot for one minute of all-out drumming, then switch to quiet mode: fingers only. - If the beat falls apart, drop the instruments and just clap it together, then add them back one at a time. - If a sibling fights over the drum, rotate instruments every song. - If the box guitar is too quiet, try a sturdier box or tighter bands. It's meant to be the soft one. ## Variations - **Ages 2–3:** One pot drum and one shaker, five minutes of play at a time. Sing a song they know while they bang along. Check the shaker tape every few minutes. - **Ages 4–6:** Add the box guitar and the stop-and-freeze game. Let them be the conductor who points at who plays. - **Ages 7–8:** Make up an original song with a verse and a chorus, write the words down, and record a music video. ## Sources - **Songs, rhythm and music.** The AAP suggests singing songs and playing rhythms with 1- to 3-year-olds and encouraging them to move to the beat, and says music and art activities support thinking, social-emotional and sensory skills in 4- to 6-year-olds. (checked 2026-10-15) - **Small objects and young children.** The AAP advises keeping small household items and toys with small parts out of reach of infants and young children, and lists pieces of toys and small round objects among the top causes of choking deaths. (checked 2026-10-15) - **Noise and hearing.** NIDCD says noise-induced hearing loss can affect people of any age, including children, that playing in a band is one risk, and that a good rule is to avoid noises that are too loud, too close or last too long. (checked 2026-10-15)