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The Empowered Educator

Inspiring ideas, training and resources for early learning.

Natural Playspaces Series – Building a Musical Spool Table!

by The Empowered Educator 36 Comments

I’m sharing a little project with you today that has been a while in the making but is so easy to do no matter how much space you have. Kids love to make noise and music and this little table has both those covered!

spool

All you need is some washed recycled tins (I know you have them somewhere!!), a little cord or twine, some paint and a recycled spool which you will often find in the industrial areas and if you ask nicely they will usually give you a few for free. If you can’t lay your hands on one…no matter, you can hang your musical tins anywhere you fancy!

 
After collecting and washing tins over a few weeks we were ready to paint! This is the first and probably only time you will see my girls in aprons…they wanted to try them but I really do find they are more trouble than they are worth!
 
 
I laid out some trays with a few different colours of kid’s acrylic paint…and stood back….way back!
 
Recycled Tin Musical Spool Table - Mummy Musings and Mayhem
 
I’m not going to tell you it wasn’t a messy activity because it was…but it kept them so engrossed and they found so many different ways to paint the tins….inside, outside, on the top, on the bottom. It was a great challenge for their fine motor and coordination skills as the tins often wanted to roll away.
 
 
I did actually divide up the tins between both girls before painting as frankly it was just easier to avoid the squabbles…and I was having one of those tough days! I did let the girls choose a few of their own though and found it very interesting that Ruby went for the smaller tins and Tara went for the big ones….
 
Recycled Tin Musical Spool Table - Mummy Musings and Mayhem
 
She really, really loved that big tin and spent so much time getting it just the way she wanted!
 

No one…and I do mean no-one was allowed to touch it until she was satisfied with her work.

Recycled Tin Musical Spool Table - Mummy Musings and Mayhem

 

 
 
I was loving all the colour they were using although I decided to keep a few just silver too…..I could see the vision in my head of how I wanted to use them…
 

It was a little bit of a challenge (good parent speak for really, really difficult) to get them to finish and come inside.

There  was so much paint on those tins I think it took over a week for them to completely dry! But the joy of cleaning magically got them passing me the paint pots…the toddler twosome do love to clean a table and wash hands!

 
I am never without my bucket of water close by when we do these sorts of activities.
 
 
 
When they were finally dry, His Patient Self drilled a few holes for me (yes I could have done it myself but hey, I did the messy part!) I then gave them a coat of clear lacquer to hopefully keep the paint colours on the tins for awhile while outdoors. They dried after an afternoon in the sun.

 

And to be perfectly honest….they then sat on my shelf in a basket for quite a few weeks while we worked on other projects in the backyard. Last weekend I kept looking at the spool and instead of making a wall as I had planned I thought it would work well to use them around the spool table.

We threaded some twine through the tin holes drilled earlier and then tied a knot to keep them in place…His Patient Self again got out his trusty drill and made holes all around the wooden spool edge.

It was then a simple matter of threading the cord through those holes and again using a knot to secure. We placed them at different heights to help create different sounds. I added a bowl of ‘banging tools’ and the girls were ready to explore their new backyard addition!

Recycled Tin Musical Spool Table - Mummy Musings and Mayhem

 

Recycled Tin Musical Spool Table - Mummy Musings and Mayhem
 

 

They absolutely love it…they both walk around and around banging, tapping, finding new tools (two big sticks are their current favourite) and singing. They also worked out that if they hold the big tins they can use them like drums and tap their sticks on the top.
 
I often see them down there now trying out different styles of banging and exploring how to produce different sounds.

 

 
 
 
I do love when I see the girls playing with something we all had a hand in creating….not to mention something that used mainly recycled materials and cost next to nothing to make! What do you think?
 
Recycled Tin Musical Spool Table - Mummy Musings and Mayhem

 

Filed Under: Ideas for Frugal Fun, Ideas for Sustainability, Outdoor Learning

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Comments

  1. emma @ frog, goose and bear says

    01/08/2013 at 2:22 am

    What a wonderful idea. Lots of fun for toddlers!

    Reply
    • Jodie Clarke says

      04/08/2013 at 10:58 am

      Thanks Emma…don’t mind saying it was a bit of fun for us adults too lol!

      Reply
  2. karen says

    01/08/2013 at 1:35 pm

    this is great, id like to do something similar at some stage

    Reply
    • Jodie Clarke says

      04/08/2013 at 11:00 am

      Even if you don’t have the spool Karen you could just hang a few of the tins anywhere really!

      Reply
  3. Melinda says

    02/08/2013 at 1:38 pm

    I’ve been looking for one of those spools to upcycle into something cool. Would love if you shared this on our #kidsinthekitchen linky this week http://lookwhatmomfound.com/2013/08/handprint-flower-bouquet-kidsinthekitchen.html

    Reply
    • Jodie Clarke says

      04/08/2013 at 11:01 am

      I absolutely love spools…so many uses! Thanks for the invite Melinda….I shall stop by x

      Reply
  4. Ann @ My Nearest and Dearest says

    02/08/2013 at 11:07 pm

    Fabulous Jodie! Just as fun to create as to make music with. What fun for the kids and what a neat way to upcycle.

    Reply
    • Jodie Clarke says

      04/08/2013 at 11:02 am

      They did have so much fun creating Ann…messy but lots of fun and they were so proud of their efforts!

      Reply
  5. Sara Murray says

    03/08/2013 at 3:09 am

    What a great idea – I love that they now have a musical ‘experience’ that they helped make. Brilliant 🙂 #CountryKids

    Reply
    • Jodie Clarke says

      04/08/2013 at 11:03 am

      Thanks Sara…I heard them going around the spool the other day saying which tins were theirs as they hit them, so cute!

      Reply
  6. Pinkoddy says

    03/08/2013 at 7:43 am

    Oh wow that is fantastic! I like recycling too!

    Reply
    • Jodie Clarke says

      04/08/2013 at 11:04 am

      So many options with recycling isn’t there? And best of all they asked me if they could wash the empty cans in the kitchen the other day to paint…yay!

      Reply
  7. Coombe Mill says

    03/08/2013 at 12:46 pm

    How great to get the children involved in creating an activity, and have so much messy fun while doing it, they must be very proud of their efforts! I love the way they are happy to clean up too, thanks for sharing your latest creation with Country Kids.

    Reply
    • Jodie Clarke says

      04/08/2013 at 11:05 am

      They are so proud of their efforts and seem to enjoy wandering and looking at the cans hanging just as much as banging them!I actually think somedays they would just love to clean the table rather than make the mess!

      Reply
  8. Jaime Oliver says

    03/08/2013 at 12:52 pm

    this looks fantastic, i may give this a go 🙂

    Reply
    • Jodie Clarke says

      04/08/2013 at 11:06 am

      Thanks Jaime…do let me know if you do!

      Reply
  9. Cheryl says

    03/08/2013 at 12:55 pm

    “Never without my bucket of water”! – definitely a crafting Mama’s motto! Love it. The whole activity is perfect. They made it and now they can play with it. I hope they have lots and lots of fun with it.

    Reply
    • Jodie Clarke says

      04/08/2013 at 11:07 am

      Hehe Cheryl…did sound a little funny didn’t it? Absolutely true though and that way i don’t need to worry about messy hands and they know they can clean them when they get uncomfortable with the feeling of messy hands! They are indeed having lots of fun with it…thanks so much for stopping by!

      Reply
    • rightfromthestart says

      04/08/2013 at 7:09 pm

      We use a bungee stretched between the fence and a post.love the spool idea.

      Reply
  10. Amie M says

    04/08/2013 at 3:01 pm

    This is great Jode! I wish I had those gorgoeous spool tables of yours, they are just wonderful and look great!

    Reply
    • Jodie Clarke says

      07/08/2013 at 9:40 pm

      I do love a good spool table Amie!! Can use them for so many things! You can usually get them for free from places in the industrial estates…or go searching on weekends as a lot of places leave them out on the kerb hoping people will take them lol!

      Reply
  11. Angela Spicer says

    04/08/2013 at 7:12 pm

    Great idea and so much fun

    Reply
    • Jodie Clarke says

      07/08/2013 at 9:36 pm

      Thanks Angela…is indeed fun!

      Reply
  12. Nichola Fabfortymum says

    07/08/2013 at 12:10 am

    That is just a fabulous idea Jode, I love it, I know my girls would love it. We might just have to try this ourselves, it’s brilliant x

    Reply
    • Jodie Clarke says

      07/08/2013 at 9:38 pm

      So glad you like it Nichola…do let me know if you try it…am sure your girls would love it!

      Reply
  13. Kelly says

    07/08/2013 at 11:57 pm

    A musical table! LOVE!

    Reply
  14. Deborah Alter-Rasche says

    08/08/2013 at 2:04 am

    I love the idea of doing it around one of those wooden spools. Not sure where I’d get one though, haha. You’ve inspired me to do more outside musical type things.. I might just wait till it’s a little warmer haha (I’m a chicken down here in Melbs, a cold one lol)

    Reply
  15. Rez P says

    08/08/2013 at 2:31 am

    Awesome idea, this will be a wonderful addition to our outdoor area

    Reply
  16. Jaime JJ says

    08/08/2013 at 10:17 am

    featuring you his week on the kids coop! http://www.frogsandsnailsandpuppydogtail.com/2013/08/must-try-outside-activities-for-kids.html

    Reply
  17. Kate - An Everyday Story says

    09/08/2013 at 12:31 pm

    Gosh Jode your FDC kids are just going to LOOOOOVE your place! So very fabulous.

    Reply
  18. Kate Lloyd says

    09/08/2013 at 11:20 pm

    What a brilliant idea! I love that the children basically made them themselves. What a great home you have.

    Reply
  19. Kate Grono says

    10/08/2013 at 11:47 am

    I love it! That spool is fantastic, we could really do with one of those in our back yard (might stop the kids from dashing out the front yard to the house across the road that has a swing set and trampoline LOL)

    Reply
  20. Chelsea Lee Smith says

    11/08/2013 at 12:22 am

    I bet my kids would LOVE this.

    Reply
  21. Ness @ One Perfect Day says

    12/08/2013 at 11:40 am

    Oh wow, I LOVE this so much. Adding this to our list of ideas for making a fun outdoor play space this Summer.

    Reply
  22. Caz says

    12/08/2013 at 11:53 am

    I am LOVING watching your outdoor space unfolding, it gets more and more amazing every week. This idea is so easy to do but so fun, imagine all the different ways the kids can play with this set up. I want to come and play too!

    Reply
  23. Hannah Harris says

    15/08/2013 at 8:56 pm

    Another great addition to your play area. Thanks for sharing at the Outdoor Play Party

    Reply

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Jodie
Hi, I'm Jode, Mum to 3 girls in Australia, and an early childhood educator, presenter and consultant.
I share ideas, inspiration & resources for play based, inquiry led learning
Find out more about me here...

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