Shake, Shake, Shake!

This is one of the best projects I made for Little D. To answer your question...of course I found it on Pinterest, so to give credit where credit is due...this great find came from Heather who writes a blog, The Little Moments.

In case the picture isn't clear, these are just little mini containers filled with various items for Little D to shake...that's it! The little containers are from the Dollar Store; I had a lot left over from my baby food-making days. Then, I looked for things to put in them that made different sounds. I decided to use...

                    - Tic Tacs

                    - Pennies 

                    - Rice

                    - Coarse salt

                    - Cut up sponge

                    - Small rocks

                    - Wooden beads

                    - Elbow macaroni

                    - Beans

                    - Miniature sleigh bells

I tried to make them even better by letting Ian draw different colored numbers and shapes on them, but these are starting to rub off. I love these shaker boxes because Little D will like them for different reasons as he grows and develops. As a baby, he enjoyed simply shaking them like rattles. As he's gotten older, I've noticed him shaking them, looking for different sounds. He's even started stacking them just the hear the sounds they make when they fall. Maybe one day we can play Guess the Sound, or he can write songs with them. And the best part...all 10 little boxes fit perfectly into his first shoebox! Now the sentimental pile of mush in me can justify hanging onto this silly cardboard memory.

**Bit of advice...try to seal the edges with hot glue. One time, I let Little D play with these in his high chair. I only turned around for a second, but he had opened the salt box and was trying to eat the salt! I felt pretty bad, but his face was totally worth it.