Fun with a Funnel Phone

If you're talking about how your ear works or how sound travels, this activity is the perfect companion. 

It takes next to no time to assemble once you've made a stop at the local hardware store. To make yourself kids a funnel phone, you need the following:

• vinyl tubing (ours was 3/4 inch x 5/8 inch x 10 feet, found in the plumbing supply section)
• 2 plastic funnels, found in the automotive supply section
• duct tape

Assembly is quick and easy. 

Jam each funnel into the ends of the tubing and secure with a short length of duct tape.

Now hand over the phone to two children and watch them have loads of fun whispering secrets to each other. My boys LOVED this activity and the total cost was only about $9. I knew the phone was a hit with my oldest son when he asked, "Can I keep it, Mom?"

"Of course!" I responded. I'm sure this will get loads of use with his buddies during our next play date, too.

Extension ideas:

• Work on rhyming. You say a word and ask your child to whisper back a word that rhymes.
• Practice spelling. They listen for the word. You listen to make sure they spell it right.
• Math fact drills. Put down the flashcards and whisper addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division problems through the funnel. How quickly can your child whisper back the answer?
• Foreign language vocabulary practice. If you're teaching your child another language, see if you can practice words or sentences with the funnel phone.

I got this ingenious idea here.