Simple Straw Noisemakers

These are so unbelievably easy to make and with few supplies. We found this idea here from ScienceBob.com.  I didn't even think my daughter would think this was that great,  but it turned out to be a hit.  One never knows with kids, so with my experience I would say to just try things even if you think it won't have success. These straw noisemakers are something you'll want to bring outside.

Supplies Needed:

plastic soda straws

scissors

First flatten out one end of the straw on the edge of the table.  On the same end cut the straw to a point (as shown below). Experiment with different cuts and lengths!

Then flatten it a little more and then blow on the pointed end of the straw. Blow closer to the end where the point is for best results. ScienceBob.com describes it as a duck call noise that it makes. You may need bigger lungs, so an adult may be able to do it easier. 

Try cutting the straw into different sizes for different sounds. Experiment! The science behind this is that the the two ends cut at points vibrate very fast to create a sound.

How to Make a Simple Kazoo

I love simple and easy projects made with recycled materials and here is one of them.  We made Kazoos. Find out how below.

All you need to create a simple kazoo is:

A cardboard tube

a small square of wax paper

rubber bands (or elastics)

paint or markers for decorating

First we painted and decorated our cardboard tubes and let them dry.

Next,  put a square of wax paper  over one end and attach it with a rubber band.

Then, hum or sing through the other end! So easy...and fun...

What musical instruments have you made with your kids?

Cardboard Box Guitar and Snap Painting

We were over Grandfather's house this past week and ended up making something again! A Cardboard Box Guitar!!! There were no plans in making this....it just happened and Grandfather always has every kind of material at hand in his house!!  Keep reading to find out how we made a "Snap Painting" from one of our guitars! Cassie had a lot fun with both activities!

This (below) was our inspiration to make the guitar. Grandfather has a dustpan with rubber bands on it to keep it flat.  If you know my Father you would know everything in his whole house has a modification to it! I said to Cassie that it looked like a guitar and asked her if she wanted to make one.  And that is how it all began!

Of course Grandfather had an ample supply of rubber bands and a couple boxes so we were good to go!
Do you know anyone that has that many rubber bands in their house? WOW!

Here is Cassie happily putting the rubber bands on a small wooden box. You could use a tissue box too.

Here she is making the rubber bands in the other direction!

Now happily strumming the guitar! Cassie quickly figured the sound was better with the bands going in one direction.

Well, we brought home our guitars and inspiration came to me from  TinkerLab's Cardboard Box Challenge: Snap Pantings from Irresistible ideas for play based learning! Why not just slide a paper underneath the rubber bands to use for the creation of a "Splat Painting"? So a day later that is what we did! First we took our guitar and put a paper to fit in the box. Then painted the rubber bands with tempera paint.

After the rubber band is covered with paint, snap it back and the paint will "splat" on to the paper. You can continue to keep adding paint to the bands and snapping them to create your painting!  Watch because you will get "splatted" with paint too.  Cassie had little specks of paint on her face!!! I suppose you could wear goggles or sunglasses!!! We found thinner rubber bands to work better too.

Here is our finished "Snap Painting"!!!

Check out Irresistible Ideas for play based learning for their Mini Snap Paintings!!!

This Post is linked to:

SHOW AND TELL
CRAFT SCHOOLING SUNDAY
NO TIME FOR FLASHCARDS
PRESCHOOL CORNER

Roy G. Biv!!!!!

I posted this because I mentioned Roy G. Biv in my previous post about creating rainbows and shamrocks. This is from Here Comes Science a great DVD/CD  by musical group They Might Be Giants.  It is a great Science resource for kids and it was nominated for a Grammy!

My daughter created a beautiful rainbow and we talked about this video while making it! We first made shamrocks by creating 3 circles and attaching a stem. As you can see, they were filled in with green.  I set out the markers in rainbow order which made it easier for her to follow the color spectrum.

RED ORANGE YELLOW GREEN BLUE INDIGO VIOLET 

Here is the wonderful rainbow and shamrocks by my daughter:

This post is linked up to:

TEACH PRESCHOOL