Wrist Bells Are A Fun Christmas Music Therapy Prop
Now that Maddie is 21 months old, she is playing with her bean bags, egg shakers, and bells from Bear Paw Creek more and more often. Winter and Christmas make me think of bells so today I will share my bells playlist with you.
“Jingle Bells and Stop” from Miss Carole’s Season Sings! album is one of my favorite year round bells songs. As the children listen to the song and shake their bells they are developing listening skills, learning to follow directions, and learning the opposites- high, low, fast and slow. I taught my preschool students the ASL sign for “Stop” and when Carole sang “Stop” they quietly held their bells as they signed “stop.”
Just as I always did with my preschool students as the song plays I sing along with Carole and model the actions for Maddie. We have done the song so many times Maddie now knows exactly what we are going to do next. Music truly does help develop listening skills.
Jingle Bells Favorites
We also love Miss Carole’s “Ring Those Bells” from her HUM album. Maddie doesn’t know how to jump yet, but she can follow my lead as I ring my bells, turn around, stamp my feet and touch my toes when directed in the song.
“Shake!” by We Kids Rock on their Everybody Clap Your Hands album is meant to be a song to use with shaker eggs, but I have also always used it with bells. The pace of this song is faster than the pace of Miss Carole’s songs, but my preschoolers loved it. Like my preschoolers always did, Maddie gets a little “excited” when I play this song.
It’s a great song for learning body parts and I think it helped Maddie learn where her shoulders are.
The traditional versions of “Jingle Bells” that I use include “Jingle Bells” from Tom Paxton’s A Child’s Christmas with Tom Paxton album, “Jingle Bells” from Kids Songs’ We Wish You a Merry Christmas album, and “Jingle Bells” from Kimbo’s Where is Thumbkin? album. Dogs bark to the tune of “Jingle Bells” on the Singing Dogs Ultimate Christmas Album, Volume 3. My preschoolers loved barking along with the dogs.
The Jingle Bells on Wrist Scrunchie from Bear Paw Creek makes the perfect Christmas music therapy prop for fun wrist bells.
When Maddie and I are playing with her bells she loves to wear them on her arms and legs. She also puts them around the necks of some of her stuffed animals. Sometimes I lay the bells out on the table to use as sorting rings. I place a small bowl of jumbo farm counters on the table and Maddie matches them to the color of the bands on the wrist bells.
Some Jingle Bells books you may want to add to your library include:
Jingle Bells by Nicola Slater (a board book for young children)
Jingle Bells by Iza Trapani
If you are having family over for the holidays and are planning to sing carols you may want to get some Wrist bells from Bear Paw Creek for them to jingle as they sing. They’d also make a great favor for the kids to take home with them.
