Jingly Jellyfish

Ready-coloured cups are an easy way to make a base for this simple project. The finished jellyfish can be shaken with other percussion instruments to accompany classroom music and singing. Threading ribbons and tying knots will also help children develop their fine motor skills.

Skill Level

Beginner

Time to Make

30 mins

Adult Supervision

Yes

Jingly Jellyfish
Tagged with:

Top Tip

To make this project easier for younger children, carefully make a small slot in the top of the cups before you start so the cups are ready for them to thread with ribbon. Trim the ends of the ribbons if the ends are frayed, so they are easier to thread through the holes in the bells.

How to Make

  1. Turn a paper cup upside down and paint the base. Make fingerprints or use a brush to paint patterns onto the cup and leave to dry.
  2. Fold a 60cm length of thin ribbon (8mm-10mm width) in half. Tie a knot about 10cm from the end to make a loop. The 2 longer ends will be the first 2 legs of the jellyfish.
  3. Attach 3 more 60cm pieces of ribbon to make more legs. Do this by folding each piece of ribbon to find the halfway point then tying it over the knot, just below the loop. This should give you 8 dangling legs below the loop.
  4. Trim the longer ribbons with scissors so all the legs are roughly the same length, or you could leave some hanging at different levels if you prefer.
  5. Tie a bell onto the end of each ribbon. The easiest way to do this is by folding each piece of ribbon at the end to make it thinner, then pushing it through the top of the bell. Push at least 8cm of ribbon through the hole so there is enough ribbon to easily tie a knot. A pointed modelling tool or a cocktail stick is useful to help push the ribbon through the hole.
  6. Make a small slot in the top of a cup with scissors. Carefully hold the ribbons and bells with the loop between your fingers. Thread the loop through the slot from inside the cup so the ribbons dangle down. Add a blob on glue over the knot inside the cup to hold the ribbons in place.
  7. Stick eyes on the side of the cup. Now you're ready to jingle!