Giant Chalk Keyboard {Music Activities for Kids}

Awesome outdoor music and movement activity for kids that makes a perfect music activity for toddlers and preschoolers.

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I have two very active boys who know their alphabet and I have learned that by simply adding letters or numbers to any craft or activity, J and K are more likely to enjoy the activity.  As part of our music theme, I thought it would be fun to draw out a large piano keyboard for them.  I also had four goals in mind: (1) get the boys to blow off some of their energy, (2) help them learn the musical alphabet, (3) help them learn what the different keys on the piano look like, and (4) get outside to enjoy the wonderful warm weather.  Well, this activity does all that, plus more!  J practiced some writing skills, counting skills, and shape identification.

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Music Activities for Kids: Draw a Giant Keyboard Out of Chalk

To recreate this activity, simply draw a large piano keyboard using sidewalk chalk on a driveway or sidewalk.  I drew two full octaves (or the musical alphabet twice for those unfamiliar with music terminology).  The musical alphabet is made simply of seven letters: A-B-C-D-E-F-G.  So if you have a toddler or preschooler just learning their letters, this activity won't overwhelm them with all 26 letters.

The keyboard alone was not enough to hold their attention, just as I figured.  However, once I wrote all the note names on the keyboard, the boys were so excited.  It was like hopscotch, ABCs, and a piano all rolled into one!

There were so many fun ways to play, including:

• Walking along each key and saying the letter names
• Call out a letter name to your child and have them jump on the key that has that letter
• Have your child do patterns by calling out letter names and having them repeat it back by stepping on the keys that have those letters
• Sing the letter names starting at the lowest C all the way up to practice pitch and range (i.e., they should sing higher as they go up or lower as they come down)
• Count the number of keys
• Skip over notes on the keyboard.  Great time to talk about intervals, or distance between notes, but in beginner piano, they are usually called skips.
• Have your child write the letter names on each piano key

And now it's time for the pictures of the cute kids!

J practiced some skips on the keyboard by finding the letters I called out, such as "A to C."

Here's J jumping from one piano key to the next.

J also practiced his counting and writing skills by numbering the piano keys.

This keyboard was such a hit and I think J is really starting to pick up on the keyboard's layout.  Maybe piano lessons (taught by me, of course!) won't be far behind.  

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This post was part of the "Music Fun for Your Little One" series.  Check out all the posts in this series:

Four Music Games for Toddlers & Preschoolers {And Next Comes L}
Homemade Rainbow Xylophone {And Next Comes L}
Music Themed Sensory Bin {And Next Comes L}
Musical Hide and Seek {And Next Comes L}

Piano Quiet Book Page {And Next Comes L}

Creating a Musical Environment for Baby {House of Burke}
Exploring Percussion with Baby and a Musical Sensory Shaker Bottle {House of Burke}
Fun with Music Notes {House of Burke}
Instrument Exploration with Baby: Piano {House of Burke}
Instrument Exploration with Baby: Drums {House of Burke}
ROCK-a-bye: Exploring the Guitar with Baby {House of Burke}