Recycled Paper Tube Rainsticks

by Laura Kelly Designs

2 Materials

30 Minutes

Easy

Recycle paper tube rainsticks are a fabulous way to make fun, usable and creative instruments with your kids. The huge variety of colors from DecoArt’s Americana line create endless possibilities of designs, color schemes and patterns. Did you know that music ignites all areas of child development. It supports skills in school readiness (including intellectual, social-emotional, motor and language development. Making music can help the body and the mind work together. Exposing children to music and making homemade instruments during the younger years helps them learn the sounds and meanings of words too. So, lets make some.

Supplies Needed for Paper Tube Rainsticks

DecoArt Americana Paints in a Variety of Colors
Scissors
Parchment Paper
Poly-Pellets
Poly-Fil
Rubber Bands
Paper Tubes (Longer ones from paper towels work the best.)

Direction for Paper Tube Rainsticks

Start by painting your tubes. With younger kids, it is helpful to select a few colors before the painting begins. Here are some fun facts about this paint, taken straight from the DecoArt website. “First bottled in 1985, Americana Acrylics have long been known for delivering consistent, premium quality at a budget-friendly price. There’s a reason Americana is the brand of choice for more painting teachers and published artists than any other brand — the versatility and quality are unmatched.”

A great tip is to hold the tube from the inside with one hand while painting with the other because it allows control.

It is fun to paint more than one at a time because this allows the paint to be drying on one while working on others. It is also fun to paint different sized tubes and even a can with a lid to make other types of instruments.

While the paint on the tubes is drying, cut circles from parchment paper. Trace a jar lid on the paper then cut out. It should be about twice as wide as the tube.

Fold the circle over the end of the tube and secure it with a rubber band. Don’t make it too tight or it will cause the tube to indent. This step is best done with the help of a grown-up.

According to research, “a rainstick is a long, hollow tube partially filled with small pebbles or beans that has small pins or thorns arranged helically on its inside surface. When the stick is upended, the pebbles fall to the other end of the tube, bouncing off the internal protrusions to create a sound reminiscent of falling rain”. To make the inside work, add a scrunched up piece of parchment paper.