Original URL: http://fun.familyeducation.com/activity/family-travel/40068.html

Great Wiper Ensemble

Directions:

Maybe you can't fit a twelve-piece orchestra in your car, but you can certainly enjoy the next-best thing: a set of windshield wipers!

Let the rhythm of the windshield wipers set the pace for a stellar family performance. Each of the passengers chooses a sound: hand clapping, toe tapping, box thumping, or vocalizing a syllable such as "ah," "eee," or "hoo"). You assign each person a time and frequency to make the sound (based on the windshield wipers' rhythm; for example, a "musician" might clap in time to each windshield-wiper beat or tap his or her toe on every other beat).

Each person practices making his or her sound alone; then the whole family performs together. A designated "musician" begins by making a sound. At the signal, the next player jumps in, then the next, and so on, until the entire ensemble is "making music." See how long the family chorus can keep time to the windshield wipers (when players get confused, simply stop the "music" and begin again).

With practice (and a bit of rain), your family members may soon have your car sounding like Symphony Hall!