How to Create Movin’ & Groovin’ Shakers from Soda Bottles

Art in Music Books Sound Experiments Plastic Bottle Shakers

Art in Music at Cloud 9 Workshop’s ArTogether for Tots

EXPERIMENT with sound & CREATE Movin’ & Groovin’ shakers from Cloud 9 Workshop’s ArTogether for Tots; featured in Metroparent Magazine.

Materials Needed:

  • Containers, plastic soda bottles and cans & playdough containers pictured here
  • Duck tape, masking tape or washi tape
  • Tubs filled with rice, corn, noodles, stones or beans
  • Small scoops
  • Foam stickers

Process:
ADULTS

  • After child has selected container and filled with contents, apply tape to container opening or around cap to ensure contents will not spill when shaken!

KIDS

  • Select container
  • Experiment with sound by filling container with rice, corn, noodles, stones or beans. Shake gently then dump into tub. Repeat! What do you hear? How are the sounds the same and different?
  • When desired sound is achieved ask grown-up to apply tape to container opening
  • Decorate container with tape and stickers
  • Move and Groove! Shake and Dance!!

Cloud 9 Kid Connection:
Allow plenty of time to experiment with sound. Small children will enjoy the process of filling, shaking and dumping. Place the tubs in an area that is easy to sweep as spills will happen! Children of all ages love tape! For young children, cut various lengths of tape and attach to a table or chair. Teach your child how to tear their tape by using a push-pull motion.

As a secondary project, COMPOSE your own music! Adults, pre-cut strips of paper (adding machine paper used here) then demonstrate how to hold down the paper with weights (we used bean bags.)  Share with your child examples of sheet music and musical notes. 
What to expect…depending on the age of your child, they will form musical notes, letters, dots and circles or long straight & wavy lines. Most importantly, encourage your child to work left to right as they will when writing.