Shaker Making
Make three shakers with different fillings, then work out which is which by ear.
- Ages
- 3–9 yrs
- Play
- 15–35 min
- Prep
- 10 min
- Mess
- some
- Energy
- lively
- Where
- at the table
You’ll need
Things you probably have at home.
- small bottles or tubs with lidsGet it on Amazon
- rice, beans or pastaGet it on Amazon
- tape to seal the lidsGet it on Amazon
Optional
- a funnelGet it on Amazon
- stickers and pens to decorateGet it on Amazon
- a tube to make a rain stick
How to play
Before you start: Line up three clean, dry bottles and three bowls of different filling: rice, dried beans, pasta.
Fill each bottle about a third full, using a funnel if the neck is narrow. Filling it is half the activity.
Screw each lid on and tape it shut properly — this is the adult's job and it is not optional.
Shake each one and listen. Rice hisses, beans rattle, pasta clatters.
Decorate them so they can tell them apart by sight too.
Close your eyes and have them shake one — guess which from the sound alone.
What it helps with
Keep it safe
- Tape the lids shut thoroughly. Loose rice and dried beans are a serious choking and inhalation hazard for under-3s.
- Do not make these with a younger sibling in the room, and check the seals before every future use.
Make it different next time
- Add a fourth with water in it for a completely different sound.
- Make a rain stick: a sealed cardboard tube with rice and a few cocktail sticks pushed through.
Cleanup: They keep. Put them in the music basket.
Three more like this
- Good for siblings
