Section off an area for the music area. Arrange two small, sturdy bookshelves in a corner of the room with the shelves perpendicular to the walls, leaving an opening between the shelves for entering and exiting.
Make simple instruments for preschoolers to use. Tape oatmeal containers and clean plastic containers closed to make simple drums. Remove the tops from shoe boxes and wrap rubber bands around them to make simple string instruments for preschoolers to pluck. Fill plastic eggs with dry rice and tape the seams closed to make shakers. Place the instruments in a box or line them up on a shelf.
Type up the words to songs that preschoolers know. Print or draw pictures at the top of each sheet so children will be able to identify which song it is. For instance, print a picture of a spider at the top of the lyrics to “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” Tape these pictures to the walls in the music center.
Buy books about music to place on the shelves. Buy musical books that play instrument sounds when you push certain buttons, or books about animals joining together to make a band. Pictures showing images of instruments from around the world will also interest preschoolers. Stack these books on the shelves in the music center or arrange them in a plastic bin.
Bring in a battery-operated CD player and a selection of children’s CDs. With preschoolers playing, there’s always a chance that CDs can get broken, so copy CDs onto your computer and then burn them onto blank discs. You’ll easily be able to make more copies if necessary. To prevent children from turning the music up too loudly, place a piece of red tape next to the volume control at the maximum volume you want children to use. Explain they’re not allowed to turn the volume dial past this point. Place the player in the center.