17 Sense of Hearing Activities for Preschoolers

1. Listening Walk

Go on a walk in the playground, garden or neighbourhood.

Challenge the children to listen for and name the sounds they hear: birds singing, cars driving past, an airplane moving across the sky, a fire engine in the distance, or a train chugging along the tracks. 

Encourage children to describe the sounds they hear, especially when they cannot see what is making them.

2. Loud and Soft

Make a variety of sounds using objects around the classroom, such as tapping a pencil, closing a door, jingling keys or beating a drum.

Have children listen carefully and decide whether each sound is loud or soft.

Then, let children find objects and experiment with making their own loud and soft sounds.

3. Science of Sound

Explain that sounds are made by vibrations. Have children gently place their fingers on their throats while humming or singing. Can they feel the vibrations?

Experiment with different sounds, such as humming quietly, humming loudly or changing the pitch, and encourage children to notice how the vibrations feel.

Follow up with Sounds All Around: The Science of How Sound Works by Susan Hughes, which introduces children to the science of sound and hearing.

You can watch the read-aloud below.

4. High & Low Sounds

Introduce children to high and low sounds by making or playing sounds with noticeably different pitches.

Try using musical instruments or your voice to make contrasting sounds. Have children listen carefully and decide whether each sound is high or low.

Then, let children experiment with making their own high and low sounds using their voices or instruments.

Auditory Perception & Listening Games

Build careful listening, auditory memory and sound discrimination through simple games.

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5. Match the Sounds

Fill pairs of small, securely sealed containers with items such as dry rice, pasta, coins, paperclips or cotton balls.

Let children shake the containers, listen carefully and try to find the pairs that make matching sounds.

Once they have matched them, challenge children to guess what might be inside each pair.

6. Noise Detectives

Make various sounds using objects around the house or classroom, and have the children guess what is making the noise.

Ideas include:

• Pouring water
• Zipping a jacket
• Opening and closing a door
• Placing toys in baskets
• Jingling keys
• Closing the window blinds

7. Guess the Animal Sound

Make one animal sound at a time and challenge children to listen carefully and guess which animal makes it.

Include a variety of familiar animals, such as pets, farm animals, birds and wild animals. Let children take turns making their own animal sounds for the group to identify.

8. I Hear with My Little Ear

Play a listening version of I Spy by choosing a sound that children can hear and giving them a clue:

“I hear with my little ear something that sounds…”

Use clues such as loud, soft, high, low, near or far, and have children listen carefully to identify the sound.

Take turns choosing sounds and giving clues.

9. Copy the Rhythm

Clap or beat out a simple rhythm pattern and challenge children to listen carefully and copy it.

The kids can then take turns being “the leader” for the other kids to copy.

10. Telephone

Have children sit in a circle or line. Whisper a simple word or short phrase into the first child’s ear, who then whispers the message to the next child.

Continue until the message reaches the last child, who says aloud what they heard. Compare it with the original message — it may have changed along the way!

Start with short, familiar phrases for younger children.

Here are 100 Telephone Game phrases to try.

12. Drum Parade

Give children toy drums or make simple drums from empty containers. Let them experiment with using wooden spoons, cardboard tubes, plastic spoons or their hands to create different sounds.

Compare the sounds they make. Which are loud or soft? Do the different materials produce different kinds of sounds?

Then, put on some music and have a drum parade, encouraging children to experiment with fast and slow beats as they march.

13. Dance to the Beat

Play different pieces of music and encourage children to listen carefully to the beat and mood.

Have them respond with movements that match what they hear. They could march, tiptoe, stomp, sway, jump, spin or clap, moving fast, slowly, energetically, gently or sleepily.

Try changing the music and see how quickly children can adjust their movements to match.

14. Make Musical Instruments

Provide a variety of recycled and craft materials for children to make simple musical instruments, such as shakers, drums or rain sticks.

Once the instruments are finished, experiment with the different sounds they make. Compare which are louder or softer, and encourage children to describe how the sounds are different.

Use the instruments together to create rhythms or accompany a favourite song.

Literacy & Language

Explore hearing, communication and sound through stories and discussion.

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15. Learn About Sign Language and Deaf Communication