Tag Archives: green musical crafts

New Year’s Eve Noisemakers – Recycled Rattles!

recycled new years eve rattlesRing in the New Year – with recycled rattles!

While you’re wrapping up one year and preparing for a new one, here’s our second post in a series of fun and easy noise-makers for enjoying New Year’s Eve with children.

I often call these “everything except the kitchen sink” rattles, because you get to use whatever supplies that are left over from the holidays or from craft projects during the year gone by.

Start With A Clear Container

Check your recycling bin for nice sturdy clear plastic containers, such as bottles from iced tea or liter sodas. Rinse them then set them up side down to dry. Meanwhile, go on a treasure hunt for rattle fillings.

Loud Rattles, Quiet Rattles

Here are some of our favorite supplies for making truly loud rattles: large dried pasta, dried beans, buttons, large beads, or pebbles. For quieter rattles, look for smaller objects such as birdseed, rice, Q-tips, cut-up straws, paper clips, small buttons or beads and tiny pasta such as acini de pepe.

Add Some Color And Bling!

If you have extra holiday supplies on hand you can add jingle bells, glitter, confetti or colorful paper shreds to give a festive look to your New Years Eve rattles. You can also reuse ribbon and wrapping for colorful handles.

Seal The Rattle

Always remember to be child-safe and seal the completed rattles with a sturdy tape such as electrical or washi tape. That way, they can be lots of fun without presenting a hazard from the smaller contents inside the rattle.

Stay Tuned For Monkey Drums And Stadium Horns!

Our next post will be a fun variation on the Chinese bolang gu or monkey drum, plus a DIY vuvuzela stadium horn.

Honk if you’re hoping for a happy New Year!

vuvu brazil Links and Resources

Recycle Holiday Supplies Into Noise-makers http://www.tinytappingtoes.com/babies-and-music/noisemakers-new-years-eve-craft/

Bolang Gu – Chinese Monkey Drum Craft https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Monkey-Drum-Chinese-New-Year-Drum-Craft-1748044

Make Your Own Vuvuzela Stadium Horn https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Vuvuzela-Make-Play-Your-Own-South-African-Stadium-Horn-1242716

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Posted in Early Learning With Music, Family Fun, First Instruments, Homeschool Musical Fun, Musical Crafts, Simple Instruments

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Noisemakers New Years Eve Craft!

Octopus rattle on greenHow will you celebrate New Year’s Eve?

It’s almost impossible to think of New Year’s Eve without some kind of noise-makers! Many adults have fond memories of banging on pots and pans, blowing toy horns and generally marking the arrival of a New Year with lots of sound and merriment!

Over the next few days, we’re sharing some simple, recycled crafts you can make with your children to ring in the New Year with joyful noise!

Crazy Octopus Rattles

These recycled rattles are easy to make and hold for even the youngest of Octopus rattle supplieschildren. They’re fun to shake without being overly loud. The supplies are found around any home and include wrapping paper (or toilet paper rolls), tape, colorful tape and ribbon or yarn.

How To Make It

Cut the wrapping paper rolls (or toilet paper rolls) into smalls sections. If you like, add stickers to the little sections or you can even paint them, if you have the extra time!

When the sections are ready, reserve two sections for the handle. Cut lengths of yarn or ribbon about 12 – 18” long, making each one slightly different in length. Then, the child can string each of the remaining sections onto a length of yarn or ribbon. The adult can help thread the yarn through one remaining section and octopus rattle halfway throughtape it into place. Although this might look a bit messy during the process, it will be covered up by the handle when the project is complete.

When you’ve strung a number of sections (8 for an octopus) you can add the handle. Cut the last section and slip it over the section where the yarn or ribbon is taped to form a sturdy handle. Cover the handle with colorful electrical tape, fancy duct tape or washi tape to look more decorative for the New Year!

How To Play

Shake it up… shake it down. Shake it all around. Especially at midnight or the hour you’re marking as New Years Eve! Make several with different colors or materials. Add some extra jingle bells, if you like.

And have a merry, musical New Year’s Eve!

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Posted in Babies and Music, Early Learning With Music, Family Fun, First Instruments, Homeschool Musical Fun, Musical Crafts

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Shake Them Rattles… And Bones!

real and homemade quijadaSo many kids love Halloween and this particular holiday invites you to explore things that are fantastic, creepy or even a bit scary!  So why not add some musical rattles to your slightly spooky fun?  And this recycled project is doubly scary, because it’s based on an actual set of bones – a jawbone to be exact!

What is a Quijada?

The quijada (this word means jawbone in Spanish) is a real musical instrument colorful quijadamade from the jawbone of a donkey.  It’s a part of Afro-Peruvian music and keeps the beat by making the sound of teeth rattling in their sockets- like the teeth you see here (to the left).  Most often it is played by striking it on the side of the jawbone with your fist but you may also see someone running a stick up and down the rows of teeth as seen here: http://multikidsmusicvids.com/?p=1530 .

A Green Version Of This Spooky Instrument

Since most folks won’t have access to jawbone and probably would not want to play one, we’ve created a version of this instrument from a recycled egg carton.  quijada suppliesYou get to pick what take the place of the teeth in each of the 12 spaces of the egg carton.  Try marbles, pebbles, rocks, pine cones, paper clips, beads, erasers buttons or any other object that that fits easily into that space.

Counting, Sorting and Listening Skills

One look at the empty egg carton and it’s easy to see how to incorporate counting and sorting skills into the creation of  this musical rattle.  Don’t rush to complete and close the rattle.  Stay and play at this stage as long as you like.

And since each set of objects will make a distinctly different sound, you can fill the rattle (or several egg cartons) several times and discover the different making a quijada recycledsounds each set of items makes when placed inside.

Will a paper clip egg carton rattle sounds the same as a marble rattle?  No way!

Seal It And Decorate

Last but not least, your rattle will need a great funny face.  The activity pdf below has a series of full color and colorable images that range from scary to super-silly.  Or create your own by outlining the top of the carton and designing away!

And since some egg cartons have holes in them,  we suggest taping the finished rattle up with clear packing tape so none of the small pieces can escape.

Then, all that’s left to do is make some scary noises with the rattle and have lots of Halloween fun!

egg carton rattlesLinks and Resources

Step-By-Step Instructions/Coloring Pages from TeachersPayTeachers
(.99 on TPT)
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/EGG-CARTON-QUIJADA-MUSICAL-RATTLE-1146672

What is a Quijada (Free on TPT)
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/What-is-a-Quijada-Jawbone-Instrument-1406336

World music crafts and coloring pages for kids from DARIA MUSIC
http://www.dariamusic.com/crafts.php

Watch a Real Quijada Be Played on Multicultural Kids Music Vid’s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wmJsBNIh24

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Posted in Classroom Music, Early Learning With Music, Ecology/Nature, First Instruments, Halloween, Musical Crafts, Simple Instruments

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Simple Instruments from Africa For Children

Making music with young children is a great way of combining creativity and fun with learning about global cultures.  Whether you are quietly crafting, reading and researching or drumming and dancing, here are some simple instruments that can be a part of any study of the diverse and beautiful cultures of Africa.

this tongue rattle hereMake It Rattle!

Different types of rattles can be found throughout Africa and the world.  They are easy to hold and play for kids of all ages and almost all abilities.   Here are three very different rattles from Africa – one that even can be seen in hieroglyphics that date back to ancient Egypt!  All of these are perfect to be made and played by small hands!

Tongue Rattle

http://makingmulticulturalmusic.wordpress.com/2012/10/02/make-your-own-african-style-tongue-rattle/

Caxixi Rattle

http://tinytappingtoes.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/make-your-own-woven-caxixi-rattle/

Egyptian Sistrum Rattle – Make It From A Recycled Hanger

the Eco-Egyptian Sistrum

Egyptian Sistrum Rattle – Make It From A Tree Branch

the Natural Egyptian Sistrum

Egyptian Sistrum Coloring Page
the Egyptian Sistrum Coloring Page

South African drummer - farahHands On The Drum!

There are an astounding number of different drums and drumming traditions throughout Africa.  Crafting a simple hand drum from recycled materials is a great place to start an exploration of drumming for very young children.

http://www.dariamusic.com/docs/Make%20Your%20Own%20African%20Drum.pdf

Shake A Shekere

In this unique and beautiful percussion instrument, the rattle is on the outside of the gourd.  It can be shaken back and forth, tossed hand to hand or used like a ball in simple children’s musical games.  To hear or color a shekere or find crafting instructions and simple activities, check out the links below.

shekere iconHear A Shekere

http://www.dariamusic.com/shekere.php

Color A Shekere Online

http://www.dariamusic.com/color_Shekere.php

Make Your Own Shekere

http://www.dariamusic.com/make_Shekere.php

Easy Gourd Shekere For A Kid Or A Classroom

http://tinytappingtoes.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/easy-gourd-shekere-for-a-child-or-a-classroom/

Alphabet Shekere

http://www.trueaimeducation.com/2012/10/guest-post-learning-letters-with.html

 

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Posted in African Music, Classroom Music, Early Learning With Music, Family Fun, First Instruments, Multicultural Music, Musical Crafts, Simple Instruments

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