Inside: A sweet Sea-in-a-Bottle Sensory Bottle for baby play that is a cool calm down tool for bigger kids too!
We don’t drink much soft drink in our house but during the summer months a cold glass of cordial does hit the spot. When we recently finished off the lemon cordial from this elegantly shaped, plastic bottle I immediately thought it would make a lovely sensory bottle.
Sea-in-a-Bottle Sensory Bottle
Fun for sitting bubs and for encouraging the crawling of babies newly on the move, this sea in a bottle sensory play bottle is super quick and easy to make, and it can also make a wonderful calm down bottle for older children too – see the DIY details below for how to adapt the bottle for each purpose.
To make a Sea in a Bottle Sensory Bottle you will need;
- One lightweight plastic bottle
- Water
- Blue food coloring – just a drop
- Clear, plastic gemstones – you could just as easily use clear or colored glass pebbles
- Silver glitter
- Small sea shells
- Silver star sequins
Directions;
1. Add the gemstones and sea shells to the bottle.
2. Fill the bottle three quarters full of water and add a drop of blue food coloring. If using with a baby or toddler, you can adjust the amount of water to suit the size of your bottle and the strength of your child as the bigger the bottle and more water that you use, the heavier your sensory bottle will be.
3. Add a tablespoon of glitter and a handful of star sequins.
4. Secure the lid tightly with a dab of glue from a hot glue gun or by wrapping the top with wide, clear packaging tape.
Our eleven month old loves exploring her sensory 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!
Directions for making a Calm Down Sea in a Bottle;
Not just for baby play though, this also makes a fabulous calm down bottle for older children. Simply slowing the swirling and fall of the shells, glitter and stars makes this bottle simply captivating.
Add clear hair gel and warm water, using the directions in our Slow Motion Calm Down Sensory Bottle to achieve this effect.
For more sensory bottle inspiration, check out these cool ideas;
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.
Love it!!!!! I am going to make one this afternoon!!!
Hi, Love this craft!!! 🙂 I tried making this for my friend’s baby but the blue was too dark with just one drop. Could you please let me know if there is there a certain brand you used? Thank You!
Easy solution: use a larger container to color the water. Pour some out and add plain water until you get the color you want. Hope this helps!
I ran into the same problem. I added a small drop on a tooth pick, swirled it it to the water before pouring. I then added a drop to the sea shell I was adding.
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I know this was posted years ago, but would the sea in a bottle work with baby oil instead of water? I want the shells to float rather than rattle inside the bottle. Thanks!