We don’t drink much soft drink in our house but during the summer months Dad 101 does like a cold glass of cordial. When he recently came home from grocery shopping with this elegantly shaped, plastic bottle of lemon cordial I immediately thought it would make a lovely baby play bottle. Fun for sitting bubs and for encouraging the crawling of babies newly on the move, a baby play bottle is super quick and easy to make and I decided that a sea in a bottle would be a wonderful place to start.
To make our Sea in a Bottle I used;
- One lightweight plastic bottle
- Water
- Blue food colouring – just one drop
- Clear, plastic gemstones – you could just as easily use clear or coloured glass pebbles or even clean beach sand
- Silver glitter
- Small sea shells
- Silver star sequins
I simply added the gemstones and sea shells to the bottle, filling it three quarters full of water (you don’t want to make the bottle too heavy with too much water) and adding a drop of blue food colouring. I then added about a tablespoon of glitter and a handful of star sequins. Secure the lid tightly with a dab of glue from the hot glue gun or by wrapping the top with coloured electrical tape.
AJ is really enjoying exploring her bottle, revisiting it again and again. Her big sister might just like to give it a shake or a roll every now and again as well!
Not just for baby play though, this also makes a fabulous calm down bottle for older children. To slow down the swirling of the glitter and starts, combine 1/3 glycerin with 2/3 hot water. Add to bottle with the other objects listed and allow to cool before sealing.
For more super charged play time ideas for your little people, check out the fabulous play activities in the Zero to Two: Book of Play eBook.
25 playful learning ideas PLUS links to over 50 additional activities. These ideas are not only fun but also super easy to pull together. CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE.
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Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
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