Ask Ollie
Mystery Shaker Match
Here's one to try together!
Shake, listen and pair up the pots. Can your ears tell which sounds are secret twins?
Reviewed by our team.
Safety first
- coins and dried beans are a choking risk for little ones
- lids must be taped shut firmly so contents cannot spill out
- small items like paper clips could be swallowed if containers open
What you need
- Painter's tape, 1 roll
- Water, a small splash
- Salt, 1 tablespoon (optional)
- Small pots with lids, 8 matching
- Rice, about 2 tablespoons
- Canned black beans, 8 dried beans
- Coins, 6, or 10 paper clips
- Plate or tray, 1 tray
- Clear cups, 1 small cup
How to do it
Grown-up prep: Coins, dried beans and paper clips are small and can be a choking risk, so keep them away from little ones and make sure every lid is taped shut firmly before anyone shakes.
- Look away while a grown-up secretly fills the pots in pairs.
- Press on every lid and tape each one shut.
- Shake each pot next to your ear and listen closely. Ask: What words describe the sound? Is it rattly, soft, clinky or silent?
- Sort the pots into matching pairs using only your ears.
- Guess what is hiding inside each pair. Ask: What do you think is rattling inside this pair, and why?
- Open one pot to check your guess.
- Swap jobs! Fill a set of pots for the grown-up to match.
- Now challenge a friend! What sneaky sound will you hide next? Ask: Which pair was the trickiest to tell apart, and what would make it even trickier?
Play it again
- Quiet round: shake each pot very gently and match them by the softest sounds.
- Loudest to softest: line the pots up in order from loudest to quietest.
- Sound twins: fill one pair with the same filler but different amounts, then spot which is fuller.
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