Parent Tip: Musical Egg Shakers

Wait! The candy may be long gone, don't throw away all those plastic Easter eggs that are in your basket. Upcycle them into musical egg shakers! They fit perfectly into small hands and kids love to make music with them.





It's easy to make: take a plastic egg and fill one half with rice or beans. Using a glue gun, pipe a line of glue along the inside edge of the egg and another line of glue along the outside of the egg where the two halves meet. Then close the egg tightly. We use a little colorful duct tape to seal the eggs together and make sure they are safe from choking hazards.

We often use musical egg shakers in our storytimes here. You and your children can sing some of their favorite storytime songs while using their egg shakers. Here's a few of our favorite songs to use with egg shakers:

"Egg Shaker Song" (got this from librarian Gailene Hooper)

A-Shake shake shake, A-Shake shake shake, (shake eggs)

A-Shake shake shake shake --- STOP! (freeze)

If you have a pink egg, shake your egg, shake your egg

If you have a pink egg, shake your egg (repeat with different colors)

Eeybody shake your egg. Shake, shake, shake your egg. Everybody shake your egg.

Shake, shake, shake your egg

Shake, shake, shake, shake,

shake, shake, shake, shake

Shake your egg, shake your egg!

"Popcorn" from Barenaked Ladies Snack Time cd (which has a lot of great kids' songs on it!):

          Mama put the popcorn kernels in the pot.

          She turned up the heat, now the pot is getting hot.

          And then those popcorn kernels start to pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.....POPCORN!

         (Shake slowly to start and then a little bit faster and faster as the popcorn pops)

"Milkshake Song" from the Songs for Wiggleworms cd by Old Town School of Folk Music:
(This is a very popular one with my storytime kids. They love being "stirred" up as they bounce around after we pretend to turn on the blender.)

You take a little milk…Pour some milk.

(Pretend to pour milk)

And you take a little cream…Pour some cream.

(Pretend to pour cream)

You stir it all up.

(make a stirring motion)

You shake it and you’ll sing.

(shake egg lightly)

ONE TWO THREE FOUR

Milkshake, milkshake, shake it up, shake it up.

Milkshake, milkshake, shake it all up!

Repeat last two lines

(Shake eggs for “milkshake”)

"Shake Your Sillies Out" from Raffi's More Singable Songs cd:

Gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out (shake egg along to the music)

Shake, shake, shake my sillies out

Shake, shake, shake, shake my sillies out

And wiggle my waggles away.

Gotta jump, jump, jump my jiggles out...

Gotta yawn, yawn, yawn my sleepies out... (slower pace)

Gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out...  (faster pace)

So finish up that Easter candy and get shaking with your little ones!