...I showed a toddler how to make MORE noise.

We're doing a modified homeschool preschool program that calls for one subject a day. One Thursday, which happens to be art/music day, I felt brave and decided to let the kiddos make musical instruments. Aside from putting beans in an empty bottle, it doesn't get much simpler than this.

What you'll need:

-small paper plates (2 per instrument)
-beans
-crayons (or markers)
-tape


How to do it:

-Let the kids color all over the paper plates! The one in my photo was done by me for a little guy I babysit who can't quite color for himself yet. The other two 2 year olds I had that day, however, had a blast decorating and coloring (and "writing") on their plates.

-Put a handful of beans in one plate, and tape the second plate on top. I used duct tape split in long strips down the middle. I chose duct tape because it's super sticky and unlikely to come apart during play, but also because the youngest one might have decided to chew on the edges and duct tape is mostly waterproof ;)



That's it! You could experiment with more or less beans to make different sounds, or use bells, rice, sand...really anything...to make different tones. This ends up being a tambourine/maraca hybrid, but the kids didn't exactly mind not having a real name for their instrument.

(first photo is all the supplies and the tape ripped down the middle..second photo is how I taped it all together)