It is often quite difficult to keep your child entertained for any stretch of time if they aren’t interested in the activity they’re participating in.  In order to keep your child’s attention, you’ll need to have a fun and interesting project that not only captures their attention but also requires them to focus on the task at hand.  The best projects are ones that allow adults to participate, supervise, and lend a helping hand when necessary.  One such project that is sure to please is making a homemade guitar. Read on for the required items and directions to see just how easy it is to do.

Here’s a list of what you’ll need:

Required Materials

• A Box with lid (a shoe box is perfect)
• Cardboard tube
• Scissors
• Tape
• Long elastic bands (minimum six in case of breakage)
• Two pencils
• Aluminum foil
• Art accessories

Here’s how to go about making your child’s very own guitar:

Instructions

1 – Cut a hole in the lid of the box leaving about a 5cm strip at the sides and 3cm’s at the top and bottom. Then on each side of the original hole, cut two thinner slots the same length as the first.

2 – Cut a hole in one end of the box large enough to fit the cardboard roll through.

3 – Cover the cardboard roll with foil, and place it through the hole in the box, then secure it into place with tape.

4 – Tape the lid to the box then cover the box with foil. Cut away the foil from the holes in the lid.

5 – String rubber bands from one end of the box to the other. To produce a better sound, wrap the pencils with foil and place them under all the elastic bands at each end of the box. To create different sounds with each string, use different size and length elastics or wrap some tighter than others.

6 – Decorate your guitar with paint, stickers, magazine clippings, or any other paraphernalia you want.  For further styling, you can cut a slit into the end of the cardboard tube and tape the flat piece of cardboard cut from the middle of the box inside the slit.

By following these six simple steps, your child will have their very own homemade guitar! Your child will be able to produce unique sounds and may grow to appreciate music even more. Who knows, they may even want to take up the real thing after playing their new creation!

Good Luck and Happy Crafting!