Welcome to the New Site
Egg shaker activities for preschool through elementary grades to shake out wiggles and learn music concepts.
Egg shaker activities for preschool through elementary grades to shake out wiggles and learn music concepts.
When spring comes around you can count on flowers and wiggles blooming! And that makes it the perfect time to get out the Egg shakers! My student get so excited when they see the colorful sound makers.
That’s why I like to use egg shaker activities in the springtime. Egg shaker activities are perfect for creative movement and teaching music concepts.
This post has links and activities you can use with Egg Shakers. But first- let’s make sure you have some!
You’ll need to purchase or make some kind of maracas or egg shakers for your students to use in the activities.
If you’re on a tight budget, or don’t have many instruments, this blog post is going to help you solve those two problems.
Keep reading to learn how to make and do music class egg shaker activities.
Don’t have any? no problem.
This set of shakers has 5 of each color. So if you are purchasing for a large class, then this mayi be the set to buy. I get a kickback from the link when you purchase something.
Or, this set onAmazon by CLICKING ON THIS LINK. (affiliate link)
They are found in Caribbean and Latin American Music resources.
Some music styles that depend upon this fun percussion sound are Samba and Mariachi.
Students will love exploring these kinds of music styles while moving and playing games with the egg shakers.
And this style of music really gets the kids moving.
Here’s a YouTube video with some steel drum Caribbean style music.
You can play the music through your speakers so the students aren’t distracted by the video.
I put together some egg shaker activities that you can download from the Sing Play Create Free Resource Library.
Don’t have any? no problem. Grab some from the dollar store, or your favorite shop.
Open them up and put in a bit of rice and some dry beans, like pinto or kidney, put them back together using hot glue.
I also wrapped packing tape around mine.
Or, you can purchase egg shaker musical instruments on amazon with this LINK
A really fun home school project is making them from recycled containers. Here’s what to do:
Remember to give students a chance to get to know their “shakers” and how to treat them. I tell my students that instruments are like best friends and need a lot of care.
During the first experience, give students some leeway in the way they use the shakers. As you continue to do the activities, you can guide them to use them more appropriately.
Ask students to place their shakers on the floor in front of them and to pick them up when the activity or music begins.
Try using some of these activities after a lesson, or as a transition/brain break activity to channel students’ energy and keep them focused during learning activities.
Already a SUBSCRIBER? CLICK HERE TO GO STRAIGHT TO THE FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY.
Here are 2 different ways to play the steady beat.
I start with having the children play the STEADY BEAT.
You can play a drum or pat your knees for students to follow along.
Ask them to play when your hands go DOWN and challenge them the stay together.
I ask my students to use their EARS and EYES and HANDS to play the egg shakers.
My friend Jane at Silly-O-Music wrote a wonderful article on Egg Shaker Activities for Preschoolers.
Ask students to sit in a circle. Pass out all of the eggs to your students. Put on some of your favorite music that has a strong beat, and ask students to play the steady beat.
Keep your egg shaker in the air! For more fun, have them walk in a circle and play their eggs.
An all time favorite for younger students is “The Ants Go Marching”.This cute cartoon of ants in a marching band is perfect for the music classroom.
Have your students sing about “fruit” as they play their egg shakers in this fun song.
Older students in the first and second grades can experience feeling and identifying the steady beat versus rhythm. Start by teaching a simple rhythm to the whole group. I like to divide the class into small groups and ask group #1 to play the beat and group #2 plays the rhythm. Then we switch parts.
I do love to use classical music too! I found this pretty video with spring flowers to Vivaldi’s Spring from The Four Seasons.
Or this one with a picture of Mt. Fuji at the end.
Each video is about 4 minutes long which is perfect for the younger students.
Older students might enjoy shaking eggs to some Latin Music.
This video features some fancy guitar playing.
Make a big circle. Ask one student to sit in the middle of the circle with the egg shaker. That student shakes the egg when the music is played. When the music stops. That student gives the egg shaker to another student.
VERSION #2
Place a bucket of egg shakers in the middle of the circle. Begin with one student playing. Instead of passing the egg shaker, the student in the middle chooses another student to join them in the middle of the circle. Activity ends when all of the students are in the middle playing shakers.
Love this brass version of “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Rimsky Korsakov
Students can stand in a circle or in spaces around the room. Pass out a shaker to every student. Ask students to dance with their egg shakers. Suggested musical selections: Latin, Mariachi, Mexican and Caribbean music.
“Three Little Birds”
“Bonjour Pra Voce”
This activity will help students to listen to music and musical cues. Play the music. Stop the Music. When the music stops, students must stop shaking. I like to let everyone keep trying to start and stop playing their egg shakers. After we play the games a couple of times, you may want to tap the students who didn’t stop and have them sit down-or let everyone keep trying.
I love this song that Miss Nina sings while kids shake their eggs.
Verse 4:
Shake your shakers ‘round and ‘round, ‘round and ‘round, ‘round and ‘round.
Shake your shakers ‘round and ‘round.
Let’s shake shakers!
Verse 5
Shake your shakers in and out, in and out, in and out.
Shake your shakers in and out.
Let’s shake shakers!
And if you want to really get your students shaking eggs and connecting to literacy, you’ll want to check out my song “Shake Your Egg!” for Music Class spring activities.
The song that also reinforces colors. I have students play only when it’s their “color” turn. It’s a great activity for those visual and kinesthetic/tactile learners. The video keeps student attention focused and engaged.
You can find it in my store: “SHAKE YOUR EGG-ACTIVITY SONG” WITH VIDEO and MP3.
They’re perfect for any time of year- but especially in the spring around the Easter holiday time, to get the spring “wiggles” out transition activity song.
Now you’ll want to be sure to get your FREE Egg Shaker Activities Download HERE!
Looking for more creative movement activities?
I’m hoping these ideas help you with egg shaker activities!
I hope you’ll share this post on PINTEREST
Hi there! I’m Sandra, one of the authors behind Sing Play Create. My goal is to provide teachers with interactive resources and activities to improve the effectiveness of their teaching and enhance student learning.
© 2022 Sing Play Create. All Rights Reserved.
2 Responses