Rain Sticks
Learn how to make your own rainstick so that you and your child can make music together.
Rain Sticks
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18-40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Materials:
- 1 cardboard paper towel tube
- Crayons
- 2 squares of tinfoil, large enough to cover the ends of the tube
- Masking tape
- 1 long pipe cleaner twisted into a loose coil
- 1/4 cup dry rice
Rain sticks have long been popular as musical instruments in other cultures. Now you don't have to go to a fancy import store at the mall to find them—your child can make one out of materials you have around the house. Many children find the sound of a rain stick to be very soothing.
- Let your child color the tube for decoration.
- Fasten one tinfoil square on the end of the tube with masking tape. Leave the other end open until the tube is filled.
- Help your child fit the pipe cleaner into the tube. Assist her in pouring in the rice.
- Close the other end of the tube with the second square of tinfoil. Show your child how to tilt the stick back and forth to create the rain noise.