DIY Craft Supply Shakers

Moving and shaking with our fun & easy loose part musical shakers!

What you need:

- small containers- ours are from Five Below
- tape (to secure lids if necessary)
- selection of loose parts- we used beads, pom poms, paper clips, shells, bows, sequins and googly eyes from the craft cupboard
- presentation tray or container- we used a chip tray from Party City

This activity came from a super inspiring source- New Trick Kids who publish an awesome magazine full of creative play ideas for siblings to enjoy together. We got the idea from the All About Sound magazine and added a few twists to suit the materials we had available to us.

The first stage was to present my kids with several small containers filled with various craft supplies. I asked if they could explore the sounds the containers made when they were shaken.

Baby sis, who is 18 months, was so happy to be making so much noise!

We spent some time investigating what was inside each container and discussed which items made the loudest sound and why. Baby sis was still busy shaking away, but she did start to study what was in each container.

Then came the fun part. We opened up all of the containers and tipped out the contents into separate chip tray compartments. This was a great fine motor workout. I let the kids explore all of the materials and then asked if they wanted to make their own shakers.

They both enjoyed this part of the activity. Getting their hands on so many fun loose parts was a winner. Big bro really got creative and decided to make magic potion shakers. As he shook them, something magical happened in the room!

Another simple activity inspired by New Kid Tricks! Be sure to check out their magazine, All About Sound. It's full of more simple ideas like this! My kids are huge fans, as am I!