12 Activities of Christmas 11: Eleven Pipers Piping
Ready for some NOISE? This simple kazoo craft will have your children happily ‘piping’ away. It is best suited for older children in smaller groups.
Follow our simple step-by-step guide to have a go at this activity today:
What you will need:
- 1 toilet roll tube per child
- Greaseproof paper
- Scissors
- Child-friendly scissors
- Elastic bands
- Pencil
- Stickers or felt-tips for decorating the kazoos
Preparing the activity:
- Using the pencil, draw round the end of a toilet roll tube onto the greaseproof paper.
- Cut out a circle of greaseproof paper about two inches wider than the circle you’ve drawn, so you end up with a large circle of paper.
- Cut out squares of greaseproof paper (one per child) and draw round your circle onto each.
Doing the activity:
Give each child a toilet roll tube and a square of greaseproof paper with a large circle drawn on. Help the children cut out the circle of paper.
Cover one end of the toilet roll tube with the greaseproof paper and hold tight with one hand. Place an elastic band over to hold it in place. Make sure it’s tightly secured and, voila! You have a kazoo!
Make a small hole with your scissors in the top of each kazoo (just to let some air out) and then show the children how to use their new instrument. You will need to supervise the making of the hole or make the hole for the children.
To use the kazoo, hold the open end of the toilet tube to your mouth and sing a tune into it. For best results, try a ‘doo doo doo’ type of sound. If the greaseproof paper is secured properly it should make a kazoo-like buzzing sound.
Encourage the children to decorate the kazoos however they want! This is their space to experiment.
Adapting the Activity:
As this plan doesn’t exclusively focus on Christmas, there will be no problem using it as a non-Christmas activity!
Tracking the activity:
30-50 months
Expressive arts and design: Exploring and using media and materials: “Explores and learns how sounds can be changed.”
Physical Development: Moving and Handling: “Uses one-handed tools and equipment, e.g. makes snips in paper with child scissors.”
40-60+ months
Expressive arts and design: Exploring and using media and materials: “Explores the different sounds of instruments.”
Physical Development: Moving and Handling: “Uses simple tools to effect changes to materials.; Handles tools, objects, construction and malleable materials safely and with increasing control.; Shows a preference for a dominant hand.”
