Rain Making
This musical Ed-Venture is the perfect thing to do on a rainy day, because at any age, there’s nothing more satisfying than shaking a rain stick! By making one at home as part of this cultural awareness Ed-Venture, you can teach your child about different cultures, bring out the musician in your family, and be creative with making your instrument. And the best part is, it’s fun for all (yes, including parents!)
Traditional rain sticks are instruments made with hollow cacti, thorns and lava pebbles, and are used primarily in South America to call the rain spirits. While we may not be able to call any rain spirits with our OJO homemade rain sticks, we can absolutely learn and have lots of fun.
To make your rainstick, you’ll need to gather a few things from around the house:
Foil
A long cardboard tube (such as inside a kitchen foil roll, or a Pringles tube)
Coloured pencils
Coloured paper
Tape
Glue
Lentils, rice, dried beans or beads
Step 1.
Paint your tube with a South American pattern to really help your child understand cultural differences. Alternatively, if you’d like them to express themselves in their own way, give them sequins, glitter, or anything to make the rainstick their own.
Step 2.
Scrunch up lengths of foil into strips. Curl these into springs (see photo) then place in the tube until it’s about half full. The foil springs will allow the rice to fall slowly, creating those realistic and therapeutic rain noises.
Step 3.
Fill the tube about a fifth (⅕) full of rice or lentils, and glue the lid on securely. If you’re using a kitchen foil tube, you need to make sure nothing falls out of those ends! It’s best to cut circles of card and fix them securely over each end.
Step 4.
Now here’s where the work pays off. Simply tip the tube from side to side to hear the rice fall. Not only will you both have endless fun, the instrument will be your child’s masterpiece!
Share with OJO
#learnwithojo
Can you not help but film your child making lots of noise with their new homemade rainstick? Upload your photos/videos to Instagram with the mention @learnwithojo and we will share your child’s achievement to all of our social media followers.
