Christmas music activities to try with children facing challenging circumstances

Written by Ryan Humphrey - Updated 2nd December 2022  

 

 

This article explores three different ideas for making music with children facing challenging circumstances during the festive period. I will begin by addressing what is meant by a child facing challenging circumstances to contextualise this article. Kathryn Deane and Phil Mullen (2018), 'Scholars in community music' describe a child facing challenging circumstances, as:


  1. Young people with a challenge that is a permanent life condition, such as a disability, impairment, or a condition such as Asperger's syndrome.
  2. Young people with a challenge that is related to where they live. This could be about such issues as rural isolation or living in areas of social and economic deprivation. 
  3. Young people with a challenge in their current life circumstances. This includes those who bully or are being bullied, who live in state or foster care, refugees—to name but some. 
  4. Young people with Behavioural, Emotional, and Social Difficulties (BESD) who become excluded from mainstream school. 

(Mullen & Deane, 2018 p.181)


Understanding the broad nature of challenges that young people face, we must deliver music sessions over the festive period that can be inclusive and support children's engagement no matter their backgrounds. Below, I provide three activities that I believe may be used over the festive period to create inclusive music-making environments. 



Activity 1: Junk Instrument Making 


One of the biggest challenges that young people can often face is a lack of access to instruments. The cost of a guitar, drum kit or ukulele can often be too high and can be one of the main areas that prevent children from engaging in musical activity. In the past few months, I have been asked to deliver several sessions for children as part of the 'Holiday Hunger' work that organisations have set up, where children engage in activity and have access to food whilst attending the activity during school holidays. 


One of the main sessions that I have found most useful to do with participants is that of junk instrument making, where the children and young people make instruments out of bottles, tins and boxes or any other household objects they have access to. They then fill these with lentils, rice, or beans to make different sounds. With older children, you can make tin drums or scraping instruments, and there are a variety of websites you can look towards for ideas (see the end of the article). You can even get some different paints, gels, or Christmas stickers that the children could use to help decorate their instruments.


It is a great way to let the children's imagination run wild, and as an activity, you can take as little or as long as you would like. You could split it, so every child makes an instrument that shakes, one that scrapes and one that taps if you have enough time to cover all of the percussion elements, or if you do not have time, then just one will do. I have seen children developing little ukuleles and guitars out of cardboard boxes and elastic bands that are so creative and can be played. One of the other things that I love about these activities is that it is lovely for the children to have something to take home at the end of the session. It also can lead quite nicely to the next activity I will outline. 



Activity 2: A Christmas Sing along 


Singing is part of human nature; everyone can sing (Camlin 2020; Mallorch & Trevarthen, 2010); individuals can always engage in some form of collective expression, whether through spoken word or sign. Hence, when working with children facing challenging circumstances, engaging in group singing opportunities can be a critical way of supporting children's engagement in music-making. I often find that a mixed repertoire approach of traditional Christmas songs, such as jingle bells or Rudolph, can be enough to get any group of children or young people singing before you start engaging in the classics, such as 'All I Want for Christmas' or 'Step Into Christmas'. 


If you want to heighten their engagement in the session, then providing opportunities for the children and young people to decide on the songs they sing may go a long way to supporting their sense of ownership and interest in the session. It always brings the session alive when the children or young people decide to sing the latest pop Christmas track- even if it is just singing along to YouTube recordings. These moments will no doubt stand out as Christmas memories that will help bring the magic of Christmas alive for children and young people of all ages. Choosing what they want to sing will also support the children and young people to feel ownership over the space, which then can support opportunities for growth in self-confidence and self-esteem (Mullen & Deane, 2018). Both of which can be critical for children facing challenging circumstances. 


If the children or young people have been engaging in instrument making, then invite them to use their instruments to play along with the track. Alternatively, why not use their instruments to make the music for their chosen Christmas song. It does not matter if it feels or sounds abstract; songs like 'Must be Santa', 'Let it Snow' or 'Jingle Bells' are so well known that some steady shakers will keep the beat, and the singing will carry the song forward. Again, it adds another element to the experience that is more than perhaps what they would do if they had not come to the session. 



Activity 3: Write a Christmas song 


If you have multiple sessions with the children on the run-up to Christmas, then try a 'Battle of the Band' competition or a variety night performance, both of which might be a novel idea to do with the children. It can also be as complex or as simple as you like. For instance, if you are lucky enough to have keyboards, guitars, and drums, you could support the children and young people writing their own Christmas songs. There are plenty of websites that show you how to play simple chords on pianos and guitars (see the end of the article), and with the freedom to be creative, children and young people can create their songs any way they want. A good starting point for lyrical writing is to use large sheets of A5 paper where the children can write down words or phrases they associate with whatever brief you decide. Remember that Christmas will not be a time of presents and joy for some young people, so perhaps going for a broad theme such as 'Winter' might be more fruitful. 


If you do not have access to instruments, you could ask the children to develop a 'Christmas rap' where they use body percussion to keep a nice steady beat. Many YouTube videos demonstrate different body percussion formats that could be used as a starting point for developing a rap. You can even use the same lyrical exercise with the A5 paper as a starting point for developing the lyrics and then asking the children to think about how they could use different parts of their body to develop rhythmic beats to go alongside it. 


With every group making something, you could invite their parents/carers/guardians to see them perform their pieces. Alternatively, you could video and share them via a secure link. It is an excellent opportunity for the children's wider networks to see what they have been working on and are achieving. If you go down the 'battle of the bands' type event, then do not forget that you need to ensure that each child receives some sort of 'award' for their song, whether that is most creative lyrics, most festive performance, or most catchy tune. Each 'band' must be recognised for their contribution. 



Summary 


These are just three examples of activities that you could do with children living in challenging circumstances over the festive period. Although my article is primarily focused on this demographic, these activities could also be used with any children and young people; I believe that the same caution regarding the festive period celebrations and recognising that it will not be a joyous time for all must be taken with any group you are working with. However, I hope this article presents some ways to make Christmas a partly magical or joyful experience through music-making, which may provide some joyful Christmas memories for the future.  



Websites to support: 


Junk Instrument making: 


https://www.sustainablelearning.com/resource/make-your-own-junk-instrument


http://www.creatingmycambridge.com/songs-creative/resources/how-to-make-a-junk-band/


https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/musical-instruments


Simple chords for Piano, Guitar & Ukulele 


https://www.schoolofrock.com/resources/keyboard/piano-chords-for-beginners - Piano chords 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmvwZRwn-j0- Piano Chords 


https://coustii.com/ukulele-chords-beginners/- Ukulele Chords 


https://www.imusic-school.com/en/tools/guitar-chords/beginner/- Guitar chords 

 

If you enjoyed this content or found it helpful please consider signing up for a free account.   Members can access our full library of articles, including those published in our quarterly member magazine, and receive regular updates from our team.  CACHE Alumni members can also watch video episodes of our award-winning podcast, POD-CACHE, attend online conferences and best practice events and receive discounts on a range of lifestyle purchases, such as gym memberships and grocery vouchers through our member benefit scheme, CACHE-Back. 


References


Camlin, D (2020). The Value of Group Singing: Preliminary Insights from a phenomenological approach to understanding a complex cultural activity. Available at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52be7549e4b0697bbec8a1bd/t/5b9bd98d4fa51ab31e4bec0d/1536940437893/Camlin+D+-+The+Value+of+Group+Singing.pdf Accessed 2nd of December 2021.


Malloch, S & Trevarthen, C (2009). Communicative Musicality. New York:Oxford University Press. 

 

Mullen, P. & Deane, K. (2018), ‘Strategic working with young people facing challenging circumstances’ in B.L. Bartleet & L. Higgins (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Community Music, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 177-195. 

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Ryan Humphrey is an Early Years music practitioner, a piano player and teacher, saxophonist and Ukulele player. Ryan graduated from the BA (Hons) Community Music degree at Sage Gateshead, delivered in partnership with the University of Sunderland and is about to embark upon a Masters by Research in Community Music at York St John University, exploring the impact and importance that music making can have for a child facing challenging circumstances. Ryan is currently employed as a Project Musician at Sage Gateshead, where he delivers music classes for children aged 0-5 years of age, as well as having an area of specialism delivering music sessions to foster children and their carers. Community Music although new in the academic field has been around for numerous years. It was particularly popular in the 1980s. The idea of Community Music is that musicians and organisations create accessible music making opportunities for people to come and play, learn and experience music. Ryan chose to study Community Music as he wanted to make a difference within communities where people may not get to experience music and inspire young people to learn more about music. When he was younger, Ryan spent a lot of time in music projects and choirs, so wanted to reciprocate the enjoyment that he had of experiencing music for other young people.