How to Turn a Jingle Bell Craft into an Instrument

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Inside: This jingle bell craft turns into a fun instrument that is used while reading There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell! A fun way to connect literacy to music during the holidays!

We love using bells year round, but especially before Christmas, when we actually devote a week to it.

We have bells at the science center, bells in the sensory bin, even bells in the block corner with Magnatiles!

So when I saw the book There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell, I knew it would be a great way to add some literacy to this theme. I thought of a way to turn a jingle bell craft into an instrument that we could use while reading the book.

Fun, right? I’m not sure what the preschoolers loved more: making the jingle bell sticks or ringing them while reading the story. What a great addition this was to our jingle bells theme!

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How to Turn a Jingle Bell Craft into an Instrument

What we used:

Paint sticks (Since this was for multiple preschoolers, I purchased mine from Amazon rather than using those from the paint section of the hardware store.)
Red and white pipe cleaners
Assorted jingle bells
Red and green washable tempera paint

First, paint the sticks. We gave our preschoolers a choice of red and/or green.

Let them dry.

Then, attach the jingle bells.

I asked each preschooler to choose 4 jingle bells. Then it was time to thread the bells onto the chenille stems. This can be a bit of a challenge, so I was there if some help was needed. After the bells were threaded on the chenille stem, it was time to secure them to the stick. We taped one end of the chenille stem to the stick and then wrapped it around several times. You can secure the end of the chenille stem with more tape, or wrap it around itself a few times.

How we used these jingle bell sticks:

As we read the book There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell, we rang our bells every time I read the words “swallowed a bell”. This is a great way work on comprehension skills and figuring out what comes next. The jingle bell sticks can then be taken home to enjoy with family while singing Christmas carols.