Five Senses Touch + Process Art • 3-5 years
Textured Bird Painting
Explore how foil, feathers, bottle caps, and sponges feel and the different painted marks they make.
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Music + Recycled Craft
Toilet Paper Roll Shaker
This toilet paper roll shaker is a simple recycled-material music activity for preschoolers. Children add dry rice to a cardboard toilet paper roll, seal both ends securely with tape, and decorate the outside with colorful paint. Turning and gently shaking the finished tube creates a fun sound while encouraging listening, creativity, and cause-and-effect discovery.
Best for: Music and sound themes, five senses hearing activities, recycled crafts, listening practice, rhythm play, color exploration, and simple science conversations.
Learning Goals
- Auditory awareness
- Cause and effect
- Fine motor skills
- Creative expression
- Rhythm and movement
- Color exploration
- Descriptive language
Materials
- Empty cardboard toilet paper roll
- Dry rice
- Strong clear tape or masking tape
- Washable paint
- Paintbrushes
- Small funnel or folded paper for pouring
- Tray or bowl to catch spills
- Smocks or old shirts
How to Do the Activity
- Cover one end of the empty cardboard roll completely with several overlapping pieces of strong tape. Press around the edges so there are no gaps.
- Stand the roll upright on a tray and use a small funnel or folded piece of paper to pour in a small amount of dry rice.
- Cover the open end with several overlapping pieces of tape. Check both ends carefully and add extra tape around the edges so the rice stays securely inside.
- Gently turn the tube from side to side and listen to the rice move. Add another layer of tape if any edge feels loose.
- Invite children to paint the outside of the roll with their favorite colors and patterns.
- Let the paint dry completely.
- Slowly tip, roll, and gently shake the finished shaker. Compare the sounds made by slow and fast movements.
Questions to Ask Children
- What sound do you hear when you turn the tube slowly?
- How does the sound change when you move it faster?
- What do you think the rice is doing inside?
- What does the shaker's sound remind you of?
- What colors and patterns did you paint on your shaker?
Teacher Tip: An adult should seal both ends and check them before children play. Use only a small amount of rice so it has room to travel through the tube, and supervise closely because dry rice is a small-item hazard. For a sound comparison, prepare a second securely sealed tube with a different filler such as dried beans.
Activity video
Watch the toilet paper roll shaker come together
Follow the video to see how the toilet paper roll is filled with rice, sealed securely with tape, and painted in bright colors.
