Using this little tape recorder has been the favorite activity for a few weeks now, ever since we made a short radio show. Pete got this in college, I think. I'm not even sure. We still have a box of tapes and the girls got busy right away.
We got the idea to do a radio show from this book, World War II Days: Discover the Past with Exciting Projects, Games, Activities, and Recipes 
There are so many books and resources we have been using for the WW II theme we are working on, I have been snapping photos of book covers as a quick way to keep track. I will try to list some favorites at some point. This topic is huge and can also be sad and depressing so we mix it up with fun stuff—like learning the jitterbug, listening to big band, planting a victory garden, and learning about radio shows from the 1940s and making your own show, like we did here, with the emphasis on sound effects. There are a ton of amazing shows and music from Old Radio World that we listen to—it's an amazing resource. We laugh hard at The Baby Snooks Show (but you might want to listen first before the kids do). The Benny Goodman show is great to teach swing dancing to.
We wrote a quick script, the oldest child was a natural at the telling. The middle child was the sound maker, and was all business, and the wee one got her one scream in, although not without some micro-managing from the oldest sister. There were bowls filled with water, empty cups, rulers, metal cans and all sorts of random items all spread out. It was so fun and reminded me so much of recording when I was little.
Now they keep the recorder in their top bunk, or hide with it under the bed, whispering secrets and singing softly into and playing it back. It's so sweet.
Here's one of the shows we did. (Here's the direct YouTube link if the video below is busted.)
