21 Sensory Bottles For Kids

Make one of these fun sensory bottles easily with our simple ideas for the whole year. From glittering calm down bottles to hands-on science discovery bottles, we have sensory bottles for every kind of kid. Use them as a calming tool for anxiety, for sensory processing, learning, exploring, and more!  DIY sensory bottles make for simple and fun sensory activities for kids.

MAKE YOUR OWN SENSORY BOTTLES FOR KIDS

SENSORY BOTTLES

Kids love these fun sensory bottles and they are easy to make yourself with materials you already have on hand or can grab at the store. From an I SPY style sensory bottle to take along with you, or a science based discovery bottle, you won’t be disappointed!

HOW TO MAKE SENSORY BOTTLES

We use our favorite VOSS water bottles for our sensory bottles because they are wonderful to reuse.  Of course, definitely use whatever bottles you have on hand!

We haven’t found the need to tape or glue our water bottle caps shut, but it’s an option.  Especially if you have kids that may be keen to empty the contents of the bottle. Occasionally, we will use decorative tape to add a pop of color to our theme.

SENSORY BOTTLE SUPPLIES:

• Containers, drink bottles, water bottles, soda bottles, whatever you have! Try to find bottles with different size openings to fit different types of objects.
• Fillers of your choice such as rice, sand, salt, rocks, water.
• Goodies to search for and discover if you want to make an I SPY sensory bottle or complete a theme.
• Glitter
• Food coloring

FUN SENSORY BOTTLE THEMES TO TRY

First, think about what interests your child. Also,  are you working on a skill? Did you take a vacation recently? Use what’s around you to inspire you!

• alphabet beads for letter recognition
• beach or ocean in a bottle
• dinosaurs
• glitter for a calming visual sensory treat
• junk drawer items
• colors
• counting
• science concepts (click here for our science discovery bottles)
• nature walk collection
• eye spy

21 SENSORY BOTTLES TO MAKE

BEACH DISCOVERY BOTTLE

Do you like to collect treasures on the beach? Why not make a simple beach sensory bottle with all sorts of shells, sea glass, sea weed, and of course beach sand.

MINION SENSORY BOTTLE

Why not create a few fun activities to go along with your favorite movie? Our Minion Slime was a huge hit with everyone so we decided to create a Minion sensory bottle as well.  

NINJA TURTLE SENSORY BOTTLE

STAR WARS SENSORY BOTTLE

Why not make these fun and easy glow in the dark sensory bottles to enjoy. Yes, they glow in the dark just like our Star Wars slime! 

OCEAN SENSORY BOTTLE

A beautiful ocean sensory bottle you can make even if you have never been to the ocean!  This DIY sensory bottle can be made with easy to find items, without a trip to the beach.

EARTH DAY DISCOVERY BOTTLES

These Earth Day discovery bottles are fun and easy for kids to make and play with too! Sensory or discovery bottles are awesome for little hands. 

My son enjoys helping to fill the bottles and they are the perfect opportunity for having great conversations about the Earth, Earth Day, and saving our planet.  Also these bottles explore some cool science concepts like magnetism and density.

LEGO SENSORY BOTTLE

Make an interesting LEGO sensory bottle and cool science experiment all in one! What happens to LEGO bricks in different liquids? Do they sink, do they float, do they stand still?  LEGO makes an awesome learning tool. 

LETTER SENSORY BOTTLE

We all know that writing practice isn’t the most fun task for a kid, but it doesn’t have to be that way with our easy letter sensory bottle!

FOURTH OF JULY SENSORY BOTTLE

Make this patriotic glitter calm down bottle.  I love how quickly you can whip one up and how pretty they look!  

GOLD SENSORY BOTTLE

Have you ever wanted to make those cool glitter calm down bottles? We love them! Plus our version is quick and easy as well as frugal! Glitter bottles are terrific for sensory processing needs, anxiety relief, and well just something fun to shake and look at! 

RAINBOW GLITTER BOTTLES

A colorful variation of our calming glitter jars above, sensory glitter bottles are often made with a pricey, colored glitter glue.  To make a whole rainbow of colors, this would have been quite expensive. Our simple substitute, makes these DIY sensory bottles much more cost effective!

NATURE DISCOVERY BOTTLES

Create simple specimen bottles with these nature discovery bottles. Go and explore your backyard or local park to create your own cool science discovery bottles.

BEAD SENSORY BOTTLE

This simple sensory bottle is perfect for an Earth Day theme or spring activity.  It’s quick to make, and encourages kids to work on developing their fine motor skills.

SCIENCE DISCOVERY BOTTLES

The possibilities are endless and there are so many to try!  It’s fun to explore simple science concepts in different ways  with these easy science discovery bottles.  From ocean waves, to magnetic sensory bottles and even sink or float discovery bottles.  

ST PATRICK’S DAY SENSORY BOTTLES

Create these fun and easy St Patrick’s Day theme sensory bottles to explore science concepts with kids of all ages! 

FALL SENSORY BOTTLES

Get out and explore nature this fall and create  your own fall sensory bottles out of your nature finds! We gathered items from our own yard {and used a few from a nature hike} to create three simple sensory bottles. Make one or make a few depending on what you find! 

HALLOWEEN SENSORY BOTTLE

So simple and fun, create your own Halloween sensory bottle to celebrate this October. Holiday theme sensory bottles are fun for young kids to create and play with. Add materials that kids can use to make their own bottles for an awesome visual sensory experience. 

SNOWMAN SENSORY BOTTLE

Enjoy winter activities no matter what your climate looks like. Mid-December here and it’s pretty warm, 60 degrees warm! There is not one flake of snow in the air or in the forecast. So what do you instead of building a real snowman? Build a fun snowman sensory bottle instead!

VALENTINE’S DAY SENSORY BOTTLE

What better way to say Happy Valentine’s Day than with a Valentine sensory bottle. Simple to make, Valentine’s Day sensory bottles are a great activity to do with your kids. 

EASTER SENSORY BOTTLE

This easy to make Easter theme sensory bottle is so simple AND beautiful! Only a few supplies and you have a very neat Easter sensory bottle or calm down jar that can really be used any time of the year. Give it a shake and see what happens!

SPRING SENSORY BOTTLE

A simple spring activity, make a fresh flower discovery bottle. We used a bouquet of flowers that was on it’s way out to create this fun flower sensory bottle. Plus, it was a great opportunity to practice fine motor skills. 

MORE SENSORY BOTTLES

Here are some quick and easy sensory bottle ideas using exactly what I could scrounge up from around the house. We have had some of the fillers from our previous sensory bins. 

SEA ANIMALS SENSORY BOTTLE  

Shells, gems, fish, and beads with a colored salt filler. Rice, dyed blue would be great too.

RAINBOW RICE ALPHABET SEARCH AND FIND BOTTLE

Rainbow colored rice and alphabet beads make a simple sensory search. Have your child write the letters as they see them or cross them off a list!

DINOSAUR SENSORY BOTTLE

Colored craft sand or sandbox sand make a great filler. I simple added some dinosaur bones from a kit we have been using for quick exploration.

SENSORY BOTTLES ARE FUN TO MAKE ANYTIME!

Click on the image below or on the link for more fun sensory activities for kids.

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