- Age Guideline: 6 Years and Up
- Time Required: 30 minutes (Does not include drying time)
The above age and time guidelines are estimates. This project can be modified to suit other ages and may take more or less time depending on your circumstances.
Materials Needed:
- Small Chub-Style Water Bottles
- Dowel (thick enough to fit inside the hole in the bottle)
- Paint or Markers
- Ribbon
- Small, Brightly-Colored Items (See ideas below)
- Gorilla Glue or Got Glue
- Scissors
- Cookie Sheet
- Wax Paper or Parchment Paper
Instructions:
(enough for the class or group); emptied & thoroughly dried stick for handle, cut & sanded into approximately 5-6" sections per size of hand (take empty bottle along to measure to inside neck of bottle) Paint or markers --- bright colors Assorted ribbons --- complementary to beads & handle colors "gorilla" glue or hot glue gun cookie sheets with raised sides wax or parchment paper
Cut a piece of dowel about 6-inches long. Paint or color the dowel to create the handle of the maraca. set it aside to dry.
Make sure that the bottle is empty, clean, and dry. Put a handful or two of brightly colored materials into the bottle. This can be anything small enough to fit into the bottle such as brightly colored beads, jingle bells, aquarium rocks, tinsel, balls of aluminum foil, ribbon bits, etc.
Line a cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper. Adult Supervision/Help Needed: Position one end of the dowel stick handle into open neck of the bottle. Use hot glue gun or Gorilla glue (it expands as it dries) to fasten the handles into the bottle securely. Lay the bottle on it's side on the lined cookie sheets, propping the handle on the raised sides of the cookie sheet to help keep handle level. Be careful how much glue is used so as not to drip/spill into bottle with the beads, etc. While hot glue will dry quickly, Gorilla glue takes over night or better to dry.
Decorate the handle and neck of the bottle with ribbons to help camouflage the dried glue. Barb also used heavy needles to pierce the bottoms of the bottles to thread in more ribbon with children's plastic craft needles as extra decoration. Shake and enjoy.
