Here is a quick tutorial on how to make your own tambourine craft from paper plates!
At the end of a recent painting session, I got F to use up excess paint by painting a couple of small paper plates.
After the plates were dry, I punched 8 holes round the outside of each plate – the holes need to line up on both plates so make sure that they are evenly spaced. Then I glued the two plates together, back to back.
I cut up some pipe cleaners* into 3″ lengths, wrapped one end around one hole, threaded on a bell, then wrapped it around the opposite hole on the other plate.
After I had repeated this with the other seven sets of holes, the tambourine was ready to be shaken and rattled!
* Note – pipe cleaners slightly deaden the sound of the bells, so this is a very QUIET tambourine! If you want a noisier version, use thread instead. It is quite fiddly to tie the knots on each plate (an adult may have to do this part), but you get a much louder instrument.
