Ask Ollie
Ollie's Body Band Echo
Here's one to try together!
Stomp, pat, clap, click! Copy the beat back and become a band made of just you.
Reviewed by our team.
Safety first
- Stomping may be loud or disturb people below, so use a suitable space
- Allow enough room between children to avoid bumping
- Finger snapping or tongue clicking may be hard for younger children, so offer easier sounds
What you need
- Phone, 1, to play a favorite song (optional)
How to do it
Grown-up prep: Clear a roomy space where everyone can stand an arm's length apart. Pick a spot where stomping won't bother neighbors below, or play on a rug or in socks.
- Spread out so everyone has room to stomp and swing.
- Learn your four body sounds: stomp, knee pat, clap, and click.
- Warm up by trying each sound four times in a row.
- The leader makes a short four-beat pattern, like clap, clap, stomp, pat.
- Echo it back right away, just like a canyon!
- Make it trickier: longer patterns, faster patterns, and a silent rest beat.
- Take turns being the leader so everyone gets to invent a pattern. Ask: What pattern could you make that is really hard to copy?
- Hold a body band show: each person plays a different sound at once!
- Now teach your pattern to a friend, or invent a brand new band! What will you play next? Ask: What new body sound could we add to our band?
Play it again
- Freeze echo: play along to a song and stop on the leader's signal.
- Whisper band: do the whole pattern as quietly as you can.
- Pass it on: each person adds one new beat to the pattern.
Kids loved this? There are more where it came from.
Get 3 free ideas a dayTurn "I'm bored" into "let's do something together!" 3 free ideas a day, picked for your kids.