Diego's Rain Forest Rain Stick

It may sound like rain, but it's actually lentils inside a foil-lined tube. All it takes is recycled materials you have at home.

Join Diego's amazing rescues every day on Nick Jr.

This craft has plenty of steps kids can do, like tracing, coloring, decorating, and cutting with safety scissors.

You'll need to allow extra time for glue or paint to dry.

Create with us skills involve self-expression, experimentation, and imagination through visual arts (like painting and sculpting), dramatic play, cooking, and dance.

Music skills include: singing or playing instruments, dancing and moving, appreciating different styles of music, and understanding concepts like rhythm and dynamics.

Ages: 3-6

Materials

Cardboard tube, such as from paper towels
Lightweight green stationary or wrapping paper
Pencil
Scissors
Glue
Aluminum foil
Dry lentils or unpopped popcorn kernels, about 1 /4 cup
Green wrapping paper or stationary
Diego's Rain Forest Stickers
Crayons or colored markers

Tip: If you don't have lentils, any beans will do.

Directions

Step 1
Lightly trace the end of the tube with a pencil onto the green paper. Draw a larger circle around the first one and repeat with another piece of paper. Use scissors to snip notches in the paper circles. These circles will be used to cover the ends of the tube.
Step 2
Cover one end of the tube by applying glue to the notches of one of the circles, and then close them around the end of the tube, allowing them to overlap. Let dry. Do not cover the other end of tube.
Step 3
While the glue is drying, kids can lightly squeeze a 9-inch wide and 22-inch-long piece of aluminum foil into a snake shape. Then, fold the snake in half and very, very loosely twist it into a fat rope.
Step 4
Slip the aluminum foil rope inside the tube. Pour in the 1/4 cup of lentils or popcorn.
Step 5
Cover the other end of the tube with the other paper circle and let the glue dry.
Step 6
Cut a piece of green paper that is the same length as the tube and about 6 1/2 inches in width, so when rolled around the tube, it overlaps. Kids can use crayons or markers to create their own Diego designs on the paper before adding it to the tube. Parents can draw the leaves freehand for kids to cut out and glue on, or print Diego's Rain Forest Stickers (on sticker paper) to decorate the tube. Glue the paper around the tube and allow to dry.
Step 7
To hear the "rain" fall, slowly tip the tube.

Tip: Don't crush the foil too tight. The looser it is, the more realistic the rain sounds will be.

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