Homemade Maracas

Board-certified music therapists at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital celebrate music with our little victors and families every day. One common instrument they use to make music is a maraca. A maraca is fun, easy to hold and when you shake it, it makes music! 

What you’ll need:

• Rice
• Plastic spoons
• Painter’s tape or colorful washi tape
• Easter eggs

Instructions:

1. Pour rice into an empty plastic egg and close the egg.
2. Tape around the seam of the egg.
3. Place the egg between the heads of two plastic spoons, and wrap tape around it to hold the spoons in place.
4. Tape the handles of the two spoons to hold them together.
5. Shake your homemade maraca!

Make multiple maracas for members of your family to play together. Try out different ingredients in different eggs to hear how the sound changes. You can also try to find different sizes of eggs to experiment with how that effects the sound.

For different activities to try with your maracas, try a copy-cat game – the first person shakes out a certain rhythm, with the next person attempting to follow the same rhythm.  Or, choose favorite songs and perform them with your shakers while dancing together.  You can even make a parade around your yard!

Pair these with your homemade harmonica and you’ll be making beautiful music in no time.

Find more arts & crafts activities from Camp Little Victors.