Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou

Award-winning children’s performer, Daria (Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou), has five CDs that have won national honors. She has the most awesome job of traveling the world to sing for kids and peace. Her website, located at dariamusic.com, was given a 2009 Parents Choice Award for its musical and cultural content.

Ivan and grandpa

Music Play

Using Music to Connect the Generations

Grandparents love to sing to their grandkids. Aside from being a wonderful way to bond with your young child, music is a great tool to connect the generations and help...

A real and a homemade quijada

Holiday Crafts and Ideas

A Silly Sensory Rattle for Halloween

A quijada is a rattle that's made from a donkey's jawbone and the sound of the instrument is created by the teeth rattling in the sockets. Perfect for Halloween, right?...

Bolang gu craft

Holiday Crafts and Ideas, Music Play, Tactile Arts and Crafts

Make Your Own Chinese New Year Drum!

Although it's often seen as a children's toy or a fun sound effect at Chinese New Year, the Bolang Gu is actually an instrument that dates back to ancient China....

morris bells

Music Play

Make Your Own Morris Bells!

Daria shows you how to make morris bells, a folk music tradition from England and the British Isles. Making the bells is easy and dancing with them is fun!

Little gourd shekere

Music Play

Grow Your Own Musical Instrument in Your Garden!

Daria shows us how to grow gourds and turn them into musical instruments like shekeres and guiros! Plant your seeds in the spring and you'll have your own home-grown instruments...

Gong

Music Play

Make Your Own Gong!

Learn how to make your own Chinese gong using simple objects you probably have in your kitchen. Decorate your gong with tactile crafts and make lots of noise!

A Sistrum

Music Play

Make Your Own Sistrum, an Egyptian Rattle

Daria shows you how to make your own Sistrum, an ancient Egyptian instrument, out of a wire coat hanger, electrical tape and buttons!

jingle bells

Holiday Crafts and Ideas

Make Your Own Jingle Bells

Don't you just love the sound of jingle bells at Christmas? This easy holiday craft will show you how to make your own jingle bell bracelets, anklets and jingle sticks!

Cajita

Music Play

The Cajita: A Little Box that is an Instrument

Daria tells you about the history of a fun instrument called a cajita and how to make one yourself out of simple materials.

box

Music Play

The Cajon: A Box That’s a Drum That’s a Box!

Learn how to make your own Cajon, a box that's a drum that's a box!

babies at music time

Music Play

Babies & Music: How to introduce your infant or young child to music

Learn how to introduce music to even the youngest infant, including those with special needs. All babies benefit from having music in their lives!

old plastic bottles

Music Play

These old plastic bottles can become musical instruments!

Daria shows you how to make rattles using recycled bottles. She gives you ideas for things you can put in the bottles and different games you can play!

An ocean drum

Music Play

A Drum That Sounds Like the Sea

Find out how to make your own ocean drum and how to have fun playing with it, too.