Shaker Band Practice

from 20 months · 30-45 min · Sensory

What you need

Half-fill one plastic bottle with rice, screw the lid on tight and tape it shut.
Shake it together and let your toddler copy the rhythm.
Turn the box or tub upside down as a drum and tap it with the spoon between shakes.
Play some music from your phone or speaker and take turns leading the band.

Shaking and drumming along to a beat builds the listening and rhythm skills that later help with singing, dancing and following the pace of a story.

rhythm copying: Matching your shake pattern here is the same skill that later helps with clapping games and keeping time to music.
turn taking: Passing the lead back and forth in the band builds the waiting and sharing skills needed for group games later on.
wrist control: Shaking a bottle and tapping with a spoon strengthens the wrist movements used later for writing and pouring.

Watch for them pausing to listen before joining back in on the beat, a sign they're tracking the rhythm rather than just moving at random.

Check the tape on every lid before handing a bottle over, and again halfway through, so nothing spills mid-shake.

Easier: use just one shaker bottle and skip the drum until they're ready for two sounds

Harder: fill two bottles with different amounts of rice so the shakes sound different and they can pick which is louder