Rain Stick Music
What you need
- a long kitchen roll tube and a sheet of foil
- a handful of dried rice in a cup
- masking tape and two squares of scrap paper
- crayons or stickers to decorate
How to do it
- Scrunch the foil into a long, loose twist and push it into the tube so it zigzags from one end to the other.
- Tape a square of paper over one end, let your child pour in the rice, then tape the other end shut together.
- Decorate the outside while you talk about the kinds of rain you know: drizzle, showers, a big storm.
- Tip the stick slowly, then quickly, and listen to the rain change. Tell a rain story and let them make the weather.
Why it matters
They hear the rain change the moment they change the tilt, slow for drizzle and steep for a downpour, from a tube they built.
What they're learning
- Pouring into a gap
- Rice into a tube, not across the floor.
- Loud and soft
- Steep tilts and gentle tilts sound different.
- Making the weather
- Choosing drizzle or storm for the story.
What to look for
Notice them tipping the stick slowly on purpose to make a quiet rain.
A tip
Rice is small enough to fit through a toilet roll tube, so tape both ends well, check them now and then, and sweep up any that escapes.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: you build the stick, and they choose how to make it rain
Harder: fill a second stick with lentils instead of rice and ask which one sounds more like a storm
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Sensory activities · Toddler activities with cups · Toddler activities with paper · Toddler activities with masking tape