How to Make A Paper Plate Tambourine Craft for Kids

Your kids will have so much fun making their own homemade musical instruments. This Paper Plate Tambourine Craft is fun to make, and fun to play with once it’s complete. It’s the perfect craft if you’re exploring music at home or in your classroom.

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More Crafts to Make from Paper Plates

There are so many fun craft ideas you can make using paper plates and other simple supplies. Here are some of my favorite ideas that are sure to delight and engage your young children.

Materials Needed

2 Paper plates
Paint
Hole Punch
Pipe cleaners, twist ties or extra strands of yarn
Jingle Bells
Paint pens or a black marker

How to Make a Paper Plate Tambourine Craft

1. Draw a design on your paper plate

Turn your plate over and make sure to decorate the back of the paper plate.

I used black paint pens to make a simple flower design on my paper plate. But of course, this is a wonderful time to get creative and make any kind of picture you want. You’re only limited by your imagination.

2. Paint the design

I used my paint pens for this project, because I love using them for more intricate designs. I find they give you more control than a paintbrush, and don’t require any cleaning up after your finished. Which is always an added bonus if you’re interested in doing an easy craft with your kids.

3. Repeat for the second paper plate.

I wanted to try different colors on my two plates, just because I wanted to see how they would turn out. But you don’t have to, you can always make both of your plates exactly the same if you want to.

4. Turn one plate over, and stack the two plates on top of each other.

Flip your second plate over and place it underneath your first. You want to make sure that the decorated side of your plates face outwards and that you get a little bit of space in the middle when your two plates are together.

5. Use a hole punch to make holes through both plates.

If you want to glue your two plates together with a hot glue gun before this step, you can. I personally didn’t choose to do this because I was comfortable holding the two plates at the same time.

However, if you are doing this craft with preschoolers, gluing the edges of the plate together first may make the next steps easier for them to do by themselves.

6. Thread some pipe cleaner through your jingle bells.

I used a 2 inch pieces of pipe cleaner for this project because that is what I already had on hand. Twist ties a colorful length of yarn would work perfectly for your homemade tambourine.

7. Attach the jingle bell to the hole in your paper plates.

Thread the ends of the pipe cleaner through the holes on the edge of the plate and twist the two ends together. Young children, like toddlers and preschoolers may need a little help with this step since they are still working on their fine motor skills.

8. Repeat steps 5 – 7 until you have jingle bells around the entire circumference of your tambourine.

I used 6 bells for my plate, but the amount of jingle bells you want to use is up to you.

Once you’ve placed all of your jingle bells your homemade instruments are ready to make a little noise.

Use Pasta Instead of Jingle Bells

If you don’t have jingle bells, you can use pasta instead. Simple place uncooked pasta inside the two plates before gluing them together. That way when you shake the plate you can hear the pasta moving around inside. Teachers may prefer this method because it’s a more cost effective way to make your own tambourine, and easier to do with an entire class.

Are you going to make this Paper Plate Tambourine Craft with your kids?
Don’t forget to pin the idea for later.