Play-doh Shakers

I work for an after school program with Pre-K and Kindergarten age students, and yesterday I spent a while going through our play-doh stash, throwing away whatever was dried out. After the fact I had a BUNCH of empty play-doh containers that I wanted to recycle, so I came up with this fun, easy idea for a craft that my little ones loved!

What you'll need:

2 small, clean play-doh containers per shaker (You could use any size as long as they match, but the other measurements will vary)

2 clean play-doh lids per shaker (any color, same size as the containers)

Duct tape

Scotch tape

Piece of construction paper (any color) measuring 4"x6" per shaker

Decoration- I used foam stickers and markers to make clean up easier. You could also use regular stickers, constuction shapes (with glue), paint, glitter, etc.

Beads- for noise! You could easily substitute something like rice, uncooked pasta, beans, etc.

Hot glue (optional, though recommended!)

Collect your containers, and wash each one by hand with warm water and soap to help soak through the stuck play-doh. Set them on a towel to dry.

Stack two containers together, bottom to bottom. Using duct tape (I had fun piggy tape, but regular ol' silver will do just fine! :D), secure them together by wrapping the tape all the way around both.

Choose which color construction paper you'd like to use and cut a 4"x6" rectangle.

Place a strip of scotch tape on one of the 4" ends of the construction paper and wrap it around the connected containers. Fasten the tape in place to secure the construction paper around your shaker.

Let your child go wild with their decoration until they are happy with how their shaker looks.

(The sample I made myself is pictured)

Take a small handful of whatever you are using to make noise (beads in my case) into one of the containers, and put hot glue around the lip of the container. Place the lid on tightly before the glue dries to ensure it stays in place. Repeat with other side.

You may choose to have your child place the beads in the containers, as I did with my students. If so, I recommend simply closing each side with the lid after beads are added and hot gluing later, once you're sure your little one is a safe distance from the hot glue gun!

And that's it! I apologize for the random switching of colors in my pictures. I made a variety of colors for my kids and just took pictures of whichever bits I could get my hands on throughout the process :). I hope you enjoy this fun little DIY instrument!