The greatest thing about being creative with music is how much fun it is. "It’s immediate, the response kids have," says Mike Whitla, director of Rainbow Songs, a preschool music program. Encourage your child to sing (and make up their own words or use funny voices), dance and try their hand at various instruments. And remember that the more children learn about music — how it works, how to play an instrument — the more they’ll be able to creatively experiment with it.

For ages 3-9

• Expose them. World music is structured differently from western music, so playing it for your children opens their minds to music’s endless possibilities.
• Get into it. When you’re listening to world music, encourage your child to move to the music. Certain pieces are actually inspired by animals, so suggest your child move or make sounds like the animals they hear. (Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to move or sound like a lion, and what sounds like an elephant to you might be a duck to her.)

For ages 9-11

• Invent your own. Set up your children to fashion a guitar from a shoebox or tissue box. Cut an oval hole in the middle of the shoebox lid or the top of the tissue box. Pull a few different thickness of rubber bands across the box and put a pencil under the bands on one side. Decorate it if you like, or just play it.