We know your house is only so big, your patience so long, your eardrums only deep enough for so much cotton. Oh, but imagine your heart’s joy as you listen to your children learning
and making music in the next room. The chance to express themselves creatively and physically, to work on their coordination and develop a sense of rhythm is a gift you can give them at a young age by bringing musical toys and instruments into the home as early as possible. For preschool musical toys, Discount School Supply has page upon page of rhythm instruments such as a Guiro tone block ($5), a Chilean rainstick ($17), beginner bongo drums ($5.49), and 15-piece rhythm set ($50) that includes jingle clogs, cluster bell, tone block, triangles, cymbals, shakers and a tom-tom. As their brains and bodies develop, consider a toy baby grand piano ($70), available in black, white, or pink for ages three and up. Or perhaps a miniature tartan cover chalice bagpipe ($142) for the same age group? Sitar anyone? A mini is $50, half size $194, three-quarter size with case $254, and all ship free from Musical Instruments for Children, where you can also find drum sets, accordions, and more. You say your four-year-old wants to be a rock star? Get him/her a half-size Les Paul-style electric guitar outfit ($140), although for acoustic guitars THE female guitar company claims to be Luna Aurora. Check out the mini Aurora ($120), the body of which is a blank slate your kid can draw on with damp erase markers. Another instrument for future pop stars is the Casio portable keyboard (pictured; on sale for $70) from Music for Little People. They’ve got a whole page of instruments on sale. Think of it this way: The kids won’t be staring into a computer screen.













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