Jamari's Drum - Activities for Kids

We made our own drum after reading Jamari's Drum by Eboni Bynum.

Jamari's Drum is a picture book that tells the story of how a boy maintains balance in his African village by playing his drum.  When the volcano erupts, Jamari knows just what to do to restore order. (Ages 4-10).

This is a perfect book to read in conjunction with doing hands-on activities. Volcanoes, geography, music, and language are all covered.

Make Your Own Drum
Materials:
Balloon
Tape
Empty Container

To make a simple drum, a large balloon (white in the picture above) was stretched over an empty food container and the ends were secured with tape.

Additional Activities
This story is perfectly suited for any volcano activities. Here are a few activities we have done in the past.

Lava Viscosity Activity
Pompeii (for older kids)
Volcano Model

Coloring Africa on the world map is simple and fun.

The story contains onomatopoeia words in association with the sounds the drum makes which provides the perfect introduction to poetry, or making other words that represent sound.

One particular rhythm is repeated throughout the story while the drum is being played. Discussing these words is fun to do along with clapping, echoing and repeating games.




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