Make Your Own Bell Shakers

Bells for all!

Who thinks it's about time for an easy DIY musical instrument? I'm always up for that. :)  I made these bell shakers one year for family Christmas caroling, but they're so inexpensive and easy that you can make them for your whole Primary.  Plus, they're versatile enough that you can use them year round!

Supplies

Pipe cleaners

Medium sized jingle bells

I found these at my local craft store. You have to buy them in large packs, of course. I made enough for every Primary child to be able to use one, plus a couple extras for teachers or visitors. Ten bucks made me 50 shakers. 

Assembly

1. String some bells onto a pipe cleaner. I used three per pipe cleaner, but more is better if you have enough. :)
2. Bend the pipe cleaner into a circle.
3. Twist the ends around each other to form a ring
4. Slide the bells close to the connected ends (so the kids won’t be holding onto the pokey parts).
5. If you have kiddos who simply must disassemble things, then you could preempt by putting a few drops of hot glue at the connecting point. I found that setting behavior expectations before passing out the bells was sufficient for my Primary. 

And that's it!  You can use these just like you would egg shakers, but the kids will enjoy the variety.


Happy singing!

Looking for more?      If you had so much fun that you want to make more instruments, check out my tutorial for sand blocks here.