• Use homemade rhythm instruments (pots and pans for drums, wooden or metal spoons for mallets and sticks…) or real rhythm instruments.
• Decide what words best describe the sounds of your child’s instrument (e.g. “boom, boom” for drums, “rattle, rattle” for maracas, “click,click” for sticks, “ring, ring” for bells, “clang, clang” for a metal spoon on a pot…).
• Sing the following words to “Old MacDonald” while your child plays the rhythm instrument throughout the entire verse. Substitute the name of your child’s instrument and its sound for the words in parentheses. Old MacDonald had a band,

E-I-E-I-O,
And in this band, he had a drum,
E-I-E-I-O,
With a “boom, boom” here, and a “boom, boom” there,
Here a “boom,” there a “boom,” everywhere a “boom, boom,”
Old MacDonald had a band,
E-I-E-I-O.

• For the next verses, sing about other instruments you may have available (e.g. wooden or metal spoons make good rhythm sticks). …And in this band he had some sticks, E-I-E-I-O, With a “click, click” here…
• Others in the family can join in the band and play their instruments for more verses.

• Each child chooses a rhythm instrument.
• Have the children sit in groups according to their instruments (sticks together, drums together, maracas and other shakers together, bells…).
• Decide what words best describe the sounds of the different instruments (e.g. “boom, boom” for drums, “rattle, rattle” for maracas, “click, click” for sticks, “ring, ring” for bells,…).
• Sing the following words to “Old MacDonald” while all play their instruments. Where the X’s are written, children sing the sound of their own instrument.

Old MacDonald had a band,
E-I-E-I-O,
And in this band, he had some instruments,
E-I-E-I-O,
With a “XX” here, and “XX” there,
Here a “X,” there a “X,” everywhere a “XX,”
Old MacDonald had a band,
E-I-E-I-O.

• For the next verses, have individual groups of instruments featured (…And in this band he had some sticks, E-I-E-I-O. With a “click, click” here, and a “click, click” there…) while just members of that group play their instruments.
• Each time a new instrument is featured, go back and play the previous instruments in the same format as when singing the original Old MacDonald.
• When all instruments have been featured, end with everyone playing together and singing the last two lines of the verse above.