I’ve made many version of the humble music shaker over the years. They are easy to put together and when my kids were young, they loved it! I found the below video the other day of my son when he was about…2 and a half I think, and my heart just melted. It’s sooooo cute! He’s now almost 7! If you haven’t made a music shaker before, below is the materials that I have used in the past to make them.
Video
In the (absolutely adorable video) he sings a bit of Chuggington and finishes off with a touch of Octonauts. Far out I’ve become nostalgic of late! I think it’s knowing I’ve moved on from this stage, and I miss it, just a bit.
Make a Music Shaker
What I used to make music shakers over the years depended on the age of my child at the time, their interests and what I had available to me. Clear plastic bottles work especially well so it doubles as a discovery bottle too!
1. Use
Smaller than 600ml containers works best. I think the 300ml and smaller bottles a particularly wonderful size for children’s hands.
- Empty bottle
- Small plastic container with lid
- Small study cardboard box (like gift boxes)
- Empty cylinder — postal cylinder or something like an empty Pringles chip packet
2. Fill with
- Paper clips
- Small pebbles
- Small twigs
- Cinnamon sticks
- Seed Pods
- Star Anise
- Beads
- Rice
- Coloured Rice
- Pasta
- Lentils
- Sand
- Dirt
- 5 cent coins (or other small change)
- Small shells
- Buttons
- Small plastic figures
- Glitter, Sequins or Confetti (added with something heavy so it looks pretty but still makes a sound)
3. Secure
I find it’s a good idea to secure the lid to the base with a lot of tape so it doesn’t accidentally fall off (and supervise for small children who are still in the higher choking risk age category).
4. Theme it!
A bottle with rice is fabulous. However, sometimes I would theme the shaker according to my child’s interest, just for fun. For example, my third daughter loved (and still loves) everything sparkly and shiny, so I made up a special shaker for her with beads from a broken necklace & heaps of sequins and topped it with a cute lid. She loved it.
Other ideas:
- Sand & Shells — add a few sea animal figurines
- Dirt & Rocks — add a few plastic dinosaur figurines
- Twigs & Seeds – for nature inspired
- Rice & Confetti — for colourful party fun
- Beads & Glitter
I filled this one with beads and sequins and topped with a Lady Bird Lid.
5. Play!
Put on music and play! Or make up your own song.
Pin
Pin these ideas for another day here.
No Comments