I love the rain and so do my kids. Something I do not love is when my kids get messy in the rain. Of course this is a fun thing I let them do every once in a while, but sometimes I like just listening without having to clean up a mess. This is why we decided to make rain sticks. It was a way for me to enjoy the sound of rain and my kids to still have fun without the mess.
Supplies:
-Empty Paper Towel Rolls
-Tin Foil
-Rice
-Wax Paper
-Strong glue (Stronger than Elmer’s)
-Washi Tape, crayons, or anything you want to use to decorate your rain sticks
Directions:
1. The first step is to let your kids decorate their rain sticks.
We wrapped ours with glitter washi tape that I had left over from another activity. They also used crayons to color parts of the tube that they didn’t put tape on. My son even colored on top of the tape with the crayons. There really are so many things you can do to decorate even just with the things you can find around the house.
2. Grab some tin foil and bunch together. Make sure this is not bunched too tight, too thick that it won’t be able to fit inside the tube, or too long.
These will be put into the tubes (make enough for the amount of rain sticks you are going to make). I ended up putting two of these inside each rain stick, I thought it sounded better that way.
3. Cut out a square of wax paper and glue to one end of the tube (don’t glue to both ends yet).
For this step I used Elmer’s glue but it ended up being a bad decision. The glue did not hold well and they ended up falling apart. I would used rubber cement, super glue or hot glue next time. This way the glue can keep even with the weight of the tin foil and rice.
4. Let the glue dry completely.
5. After the glue has dried put the tin foil in the tubes along with some rice. I added about 1/2 C-1 full C of rice in each tube. More rice, up to a point, will give you a longer rain sound each time you turn the tube over.
6. Glue a piece of wax paper on the other end of the tube. Let dry and trim edges on each side.
Now they are ready to be played with. The kids will have lots of fun dancing around to the sound of their rain sticks.
If you want some more fun activities to do with your kids check out my activity sticks post that includes over 60 fun activity ideas!
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