How can such a small colorful egg shaker bring so much fun and enjoyment to so many? I’ve thought about the many egg shakers that I have collected over the years. They are a little pricey, so I would buy a few at a time to build my collection. If you want to try to save money, I know there have been people that have made them out of the plastic Easter eggs and have filled them with rice and either glued or taped them to keep them together. I have found that the children like to pick at the tape, or if they are thrown, have broken or come apart. I have had some of my shakers for about 20 years and to date only two have been damaged. I would say I made a very good investment with my store bought egg shakers.
There are so many instruments that people learn to play, some take many years and many hours of practice to master. There are also small or large percussion type instruments that take some skill and ability to keep a beat and continue a rhythm. Then there are some musical instruments that anyone can pick up and add as a background or just to have fun with. My colorful egg shakers fall perfectly into the later category.
I keep these cute little attention getters in a bag. The children always know which bag they are in and a lot of the time request the eggs right at first of each session, however I try to wait a bit before I start passing them to the children as it seems it is one of their favorite activities, so I like to save it for the last.
When I finally pass them around I do it in a variety of ways. Sometimes I just put my hand in the bag and take one out and drop it into their little hands, kind of the luck of the draw. I do sometimes get a few moans and groans that they didn’t get the color they were hoping for so other times I ask them what color they want, or let them put their hand in the bag and pull out one themselves. Sometimes I will put (however many colors I have) on the floor in front of me and let them come up one at a time to chose the one they want, then replace the colored egg that was removed with another of the same color. When I run out of a color then they have to make a choice of the colors left in front of me.
To me this activity teaches so many things: taking turns, impulse control, color recognition, listening, following directions, to name a few. We don’t always get what we want, so it shows us that we can still have fun with the shaker and that it is okay. They know that I bring the shakers every time I come so maybe the next time I come might be the time they can choose the one they want… it gives them something to look forward to. There are different ways to learn patience, so I have found this is one way to help without drilling, it’s just plain fun while learning.
I have found that the children like the activities we do with the egg shakers whether it be the color song where they get to stand up when I sing about the color they are holding or whether it’s shaking it by their head or by other body parts or choosing to play them fast or slow or up and down or side to side. They really like it when I play my guitar while they shake the shakers then stop when I stop playing. That is always a favorite activity with lots of smiles and laughs.
When you first look at these little colorful eggs you might not realize what an impact they have and how much fun they can be.
