Kids love to make noise! Help them create a variety of instruments and have your own band or parade around the house. Try some of these or invent your own:
- Maracas: In an empty plastic water bottle, put some dry/uncooked rice, beans, or pasta. Tighten the lid (you may want to glue it or wrap with tape), and SHAKE! You can also show your kids how to blow over the top of a bottle (empty or half-full of water) to make a sound.
- Guitar: Cut an oval-shaped hole on top of a shoebox or use an empty baby wipes box with an oval opening on top. Stretch three or more rubberband around the box, over the opening. (Rubberbands should be parallel to each other.) Strum or pick the rubberbands and watch them vibrate. Optional: You can tape a cardboard tube to one end to make a handle.
- Tambourine: Put two plastic or cardboard plates together with a small amount of unpopped popcorn or dry beans in between. Seal the plates together using a hot glue gun or wrapping tightly with packaging tape. Shake the tambourine or pat it with your hand.
- Cymbals: Two metal pot lids—hold the handles and bang them together! (Ear plugs optional.) You can also tie a piece of yarn or string around one metal pot lid. Hold the yarn in one hand and use your other hand to hit the lid with a spoon.
- Drums: Any large plastic or metal container turned upside down. Long-handled wooden spoons make great drumsticks. You can also play as hand drums.
- Kazoo: Decorate a cardboard toilet paper roll with markers, crayons or stickers. Cut a 5-inch square of waxed paper and place it on one end of the tube and secure it with a rubberband. To play, gently hum into the open end.
- Mini-shakers: Fill a plastic film container half-full with salt. Fill another one with 3 or 4 pennies. (Glue or tape the lids if desired.)
- Glass tones: Set up a row of 4-8 glass drinking glasses. (It’s best if they’re all the same size.) Tap them very gently with a metal spoon (or a pencil’s metal end) and listen to the sound. Now put some water in the glasses—a different amount in each one. Tap each one again and listen to the different tones.
