STEADY BEAT - RHYTHM ICE CUBES

For this game, you will need to purchase "Don't Break the Ice" game.  They can be found at Target and Walmart and usually run $5.  When you look at the game, you will see that there is a large blue border that you place white cubes into, filling the frame with "ice cubes."  The object of the game is to tap on an individual ice cube, knocking it out, while not disturbing other cubes that are held into place due to the tightness of the frame.  The "loser" of the game is the person that taps an ice cube an causes all of the cubes to fall out of the frame.  Reset the cubes and play again.

So -- let's make it musical.  I wanted to work on my sixteenth-note patterns, so using a permanent marker or label maker, write sixteenth-note patterns, eighth-note patterns, and even quarter-note and other rhythmic patterns on each cube.  Just remember that you need rhythm patterns that have been presented to the children.  Do NOT include rests -- as each time a cube is knocked out of the frame, that empty space become 1 beat of rest.

Place all of the rhythm cubes into the frame and begin playing.  Start the game by having children in the playing group (you may want to make 4 or 6 of these games so that your playing groups are 4-6 children) say, say/play, play the complete rhythm patterns on the cubes.  After they complete reading the patten, have player 1 tap out a cube, that player will then have to read/play the new pattern as a rest was created when the cube fell out of the frame.  Keep going around the circle, as each player taps out a cube and reads/performs the new pattern.  The game continues until someone taps a cube causing the entire frame of ice cubes to fall out.  Reset the cubes and the game starts again.

Extension:  The game could be extended to lower or higher levels by purchasing additional sets of the game (as they are only $5) to create different ice cube pattern sets.