How to Make Music Shakers With Wooden Dowels and Bottle Caps

Taking items from around the home and making them into musical instruments is a fun craft for kids of all ages. Children get to use their imagination to decorate a music shaker and then have fun playing it.

Things You'll Need

• Scrap lumber
• Markers
• Wooden dowels
• Bottle caps
• Hammer
• Nails

Instructions

1. Give markers, crayons or paint to the kids and let them decorate the dowels. This is a great way for the smallest of children to participate in the creation of their shakers.

2. Hammer holes into the center of each bottle cap using a nail slightly larger than the nails you'll use to attach the bottle caps to the dowels.

3. String two bottle caps on a nail with the right sides together. You add as many bottle caps as you'd like, but a minimum of two are needed for the music shaker to make a satisfactory jingle.

4. Hammer the nail part-way into the dowel. Leave about 1/4 inch of the nail exposed to allow room for the bottle caps to move freely.

Tips & Warnings

• Monitor children closely when they're working with tools of any kind.

• Store the hand shakers out of the reach of children when not in use.