Today, I learned about a party that Hawaiians have that is called kanikapila. Kanikapila means ‘play music together.’ It is singing that is usually accompanied by a guitar or ukulele. This made me think of an activity that you could do with your grandchildren.

You can go to a local music store and purchase a musical rhythm kit for $30 or less. The nice thing about buying a kit is that you could get things like a tambourine or a triangle.

Or, you could be creative and make your own. To make rhythm sticks, get a dowel stick and cut into 12 inch lengths. Or just use some unsharpened pencils. Children can hit the sticks together to make a rhythmic pattern.

To make an ‘egg shaker’ , get a small plastic container for left over food. Fill it with rice or dried beans and snap on its air tight lid. Your grandchild would then shake it to sound like maracas. I’ve also made an egg shaker by taping one end of the cardboard from an empty toilet paper roll with masking tape, adding some rice inside, and then covering the other end with masking tape. Then, I’ve gotten some fun design paper (paper that had soccer balls, flowers, rainbows, etc. on it) from a scrapbooking store to cover the outside of the cardboard tube to make it look pretty and appeal to little tykes. Here is a picture of some that I’ve made:

With a staple gun, staple a piece of sand paper to two wooden blocks. Rubbing them together makes a nifty sound.

An empty Cool Whip container (with its lid on) can be a drum. Just get more dowel sticks or pencils to use as drumsticks.

A ten-penny nail and a empty glass jar can be used as a triangle by using the nail to tap the jar — gently so the jar doesn’t break!

Go to a craft store and buy some bells. String them on yarn or a shoe string for jingle bells.

A spoon stroked down a cheese grater also makes a fun rhythm instrument.

Be creative and see what delightful instruments you can make! Young grandchildren will probably like almost anything that will make a noise . . . er. . . I mean make a sound.

Once you have your instruments made, invite your grandchildren for a Kanikapila party. Go to a local dollar store and get plastic leis for everyone to wear. Encourage participants to wear Hawaiian clothing. During the Kanikapila, sing songs such as nursery rhymes, Old MacDonald Had a Farm, Bingo, You Are My Sunshine, or any songs that are familiar to your children. (You can even teach them a new song or two to broaden their repertoire!) Use your musical instruments for accompaniment.

Make sure you serve a Hawaiian treat like Hawaiian punch, coconut macaroons, or frappé made out of pineapple sherbet and pineapple juice and Sprite, or chocolate covered macadamia nuts.

There’s something about making music together with a group. Good, wholesome, and fun music uplifts the soul while bonding ‘band’ members together. Remember, the family that makes music together, stays together!

Happy music making!
DigiGram

Diane W. from Irvine, California wrote the following about being a grandmother:

“I look at my mom as the fist example of what one does when grandkids aren’t close. My daughter, Kerilyn, has commented to me how she remembers my mom sending the kids sticks of gum and balloons in her weekly letters to us. The kids looked forward to it. Of course now days stickers are also easy things to slip into an envelope. My own grandson, Jack, enjoys them.

“Thank heavens for cell phones. Jack loves to talk to his “damma”. I can’t understand a lot of what he says over the phone, but that doesn’t matter. I just keep asking questions on things that I know he is interested in. My son, Larry, also puts his son, Creed, on the phone and he will babble away. I love to hear those little voices.

“Emails are also a great way to stay in touch. Jack knew that his mom (my daughter) sent me emails and asked to send me an email. Jack dictated a letter to me through my daughter.

“I think the key to keeping a close relationship to the grandkids is your own child. Your child has to be willing to nurture your relationship with your grandchild for it to work. I’ve tried to let my children know how important it is to me and encouraged them in doing it.”

What great words Diane shares. I was especially touched by her comments of the importance that your own children play in helping you fill your role as a grandmother. This is kinda like a ‘two for the price of one’ deal. As you work at establishing a relationship with your grandchildren, you will be strengthening your relationship with your own children. As your grown child understands how important it is to you, she will hold that phone to her son’s ear so he can chatter away to ‘damma.’ She will make sure she takes time to regularly send e-mails from her son to his grandmother. And, she will (hopefully) have a fun time with her son as she is helping him associate with his beloved grandmother.

The Digi-Gram