In the words of my kids, this is the “cutest sensory bottle ever”! I came up with the idea to make a melted snowman sensory bottle when I was at the craft store and saw an adorable snowman making kit. I imagine what would be left of a melted snowman and found a way to represent it in a discovery bottle.
When I set out this year to create a new sensory bottle every month, I worried that I would run out of ideas, but they always come from some inspiration or another.
It’s the middle of November and where I live in Canada, there’s usually enough snow to have built a snowman family in the yard by now but as of today, there isn’t any snow on the ground so this melted snowman sensory bottle really got the kids’ imaginations going.
Melted Snowman Sensory Bottle:
Materials needed:
- large empty water bottle (I used a Voss water bottle because I like the shape of them)
- 5 dry black beans
- 3 black or grey buttons
- 2 colourful larger buttons
- orange sponge, cut into the shape of a carrot
- 2 twigs
- small piece of fabric, cut in a rectangle
- 2x 5 oz. bottles of clear glue
- scissors
Empty the water from the water bottle and squirt the clear glue in. Add warm water to almost fill the bottle and add the lid back on and then shake the glue and water together for a bit to combine. Little ones are often very helpful with this task!
VOSS Water Plastic Bottles
Clear GlueOrange Sponge
Add the other items into the bottle. The twigs are for the arms, the black beans for the mouth, the fabric strip for the scarf, the dark buttons for buttons, the colourful larger buttons for the eyes, and the carrot shaped sponge for the nose.
 Add the lid back on and your melted snowman sensory bottle is ready to use for play. If you have younger children, you may want to hot glue the lid in place so they can’t open it. As with all sensory and exploration activities for kids, adult supervision is of course recommended.
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Why do you put glue in with the water?
The glue suspends the items in the water so that they take longer to sink to the bottom. Without the glue, the items will sink down immediately.
How much glue do you use per water bottle?
It depends if you are using the large bottle or small one, but a little more than half water, the rest glue.