DIY rain shakers

The sun shone for us today.

For the first time in what felt like months.

We took to the beach, where it was still quite chilly.

Fun was had, nevertheless.

Sonny spent his time pushing Diesel 10 through wet sand, whilst Jasmine was brave enough to paddle.

 

At one point, she drew a map of the island of Sodor in the sand for her brother.

 

Ice cream was partaken, on the way home.

 

Then, afternoon complete, we settled into our evening by playing with rice.

 

Rice of green, of orange and of blue.

 

The children each had an empty water bottle, which they began to fill with rice.

 

Jasmine made clear layers.

Sonny, meanwhile, struggled to get any decent amount past the bottle's neck.

 

Once the bottles had been filled almost halfway, their lids were returned and the rain shakers were complete.

Unfortunately, due to my camera needing new batteries, I had to rely on my phone for photographs, hence why there are so few, and why the ones I did manage to take are of dubious quality.

However, the rain shakers were a huge hit.

The children loved banging and shaking them, tipping them back and forth, rolling them from hand to hand.

I showed Jasmine how to slowly rock her bottle so that the rice tinkled inside, so reminiscent of rain on the window at night.

Jasmine closed her eyes and listened.

Sonny got bored quite quickly and decided to empty his bottle and sift rice through his fingers instead.

Soon, Jasmine followed his lead and they both removed their socks to feel the rice between their toes, as well.

Feet were buried, marks were made, trains were hidden and colours were mixed to create a bright, rainbow rice.

Much fun was had.

For over an hour, the children played with rice, stopping only because it was bathtime.

Our tuff spot is still full now; awaiting continuation of their play in the morning.