Drums are an easy musical craft to make with kids at home. An oatmeal container with a lid makes a good drum. To make the drum, give each child one container with a lid, a piece of construction paper, and markers or stickers. Glue the construction paper around the container, and decorate the paper with markers. You can glue the lid on to prevent it from falling off or getting lost, but this step isn't necessary. Children can play their homemade drums with their hands, popsicle sticks, spoons or anything else that will make noise.
A tambourine is a percussion instrument that rattles when hit. It is an easy instrument to make at home with children because it uses only a few household items. Each child will need two paper plates, markers and popcorn kernels (or anything else that can rattle). A stapler will also be needed to attach the two plates. The children can decorate the bottom of the plates however they want and then fill one plate with the popcorn kernels. Staple the second plate on top of the one filled with kernels along the outside rim, with the bottom sides facing out. Children can play their tambourine by holding it up and shaking or hitting it.
Maracas, often called shakers, are easy to make out of plastic water bottles. For this project, you will also need masking tape, markers and dried beans. Start by wrapping the entire water bottle in masking tape. Children can then decorate the tape however they please with markers or paint. Once they have decorated the bottle, they can pour dried beans into the water bottle. Macaroni, popcorn kernels or rice can also be used instead of beans to make the rattling noise. Finally, put the lid back on the water bottle, and shake the bottle to play it.
Cymbals are also percussion instruments, and they can be made at home out of two aluminum pie pans. Give each child two pans to decorate with permanent markers (they will show up better on the pie pans). You can also have them decorate construction paper with regular markers and just tape it onto the bottom side of the pie pans. Children can hold a pan in each hand and clap them together to play their cymbals.