There is no denying that children find sensory bottles fascinating.
Our girls both fell in love with simple, sparkly bottles as toddlers, and even now at 11 years old, our eldest still thinks our all time favourite sensory bottle – the slow motion calm down bottle – is kind of cool… she can’t walk by without flipping it over to watch the blocks fall!
While glitter bottles might be the simplest sensory bottles to make, there are many ideas for fabulous DIY sensory bottles, most of which require just a few common household ingredients to make.
But what is the point of a sensory bottle?
Like all sensory play, sensory bottles are a useful tool for promoting a sense of wonder and inquiry as children use their senses to explore and discover. They can also aid the development of fine motor skills when children are involved in making the bottles and language and social skills when shared with peers or adults, but I love sensory bottles most of all as a calm down tool. A sensory bottle can offer a valuable focus or distraction to a child whilst they calm down from an overwhelming emotional experience.
Today I am sharing 21 fabulous DIY sensory bottles – all of which offer a unique element for discovery and exploration, that are sure to be a hit with children of all ages.
RELATED: Sensory toy gift ideas for kids of all ages.
21 Super DIY Sensory Bottles
1. A Slow Motion Calm Down Bottle is the perfect addition to your calm down toolkit. It’s slow fall motion is simply mesmerizing making it a great tool for managing overwhelming feelings or emotions.
RELATED: More resources for helping children learn to manage big emotions.
2. The sound of rain makes this Rainstick Sensory Bottle something special.
Here’s the how to:
3. Add the magic of scent (yes, a sensory bottle you can smell!) to your calm down bottle by creating a Scented Rainstick Bottle.
4. These colour mixing discovery bottles from Preschool Inspirations are so clever.
5. Bring the ocean home with a Sea in a Bottle.
6. This Mermaid Tail Bottle by Rhythms of Play is simply magical.
7. This Blizzard in a Bottle from No Time for Flashcards is anything but frosty!
8. This magnetic field bottle from Left Brain Craft Brain is simply fascinating.
9. Star Wars fans will love these Light Saber inspired bottles from Little Bins for Little Hands.
10. The suspended bead bottle from Fun At Home With Kids is such a great idea.
11. Unicorn kisses, mermaid tears or intergalactic supernova – you choose with our magical glitter sensory jar.
12. This alphabet bottle from Parenting Chaos is great for a game of I-Spy on the go.
13. Create a captivating aquarium in a bottle with A Little Pinch of Perfect.
14. A colourful rainbow of water bead bottles is so pretty. Via Parenting Chaos.
15. The Preschool Inspirations two ingredient discovery bottle is such a great idea.
16. Create a rainbow in a bottle with our colourful rainbow sensory bottle!
17. Wow! A glow in the dark sensory bottle??! You bet!
18. Even better, a glow in the dark dinosaur bottle is sure to capture the interest of your dino lover!
19. A bunny sensory bottle is a super cute addition to your Easter sensory play.
RELATED: Check out this collection of fun Easter Sensory Play Ideas.
20. This winter sensory bottle will give Frozen movie fans their very own touch of Arendelle magic in a bottle!
21. This not-so-spooky but very cool Halloween sensory bottle that is sure to entertain your pint-sized ghosts and ghouls!
For even more fun and inspiring sensory play, check out our huge collection of over 55 sensory bins or the 31 days of sensory play ideas or our great big list of sensory gift ideas for kids.
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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