I love how easy it is to make this Pumpkin Patch Sensory Bottle with supplies from the Dollar Tree. That means it’s affordable too! Finding time to go to the store is the hardest part to this project. Once the bottle is put together, it offers your toddler, preschool or elementary child with hours of sensory exploration.
This is such a great activity to do with your child. As long as your kiddos are past the age of choking on small things, you can even have them help put the items in the bottle for extra fun and fine motor skills work!
Supplies for the Pumpkin Patch Sensory Bottle
- Shredded paper. We used the brown decorative shred.
- Mini Pumpkins. You can find these seasonally at craft or dollar stores.
- Pumpkin Seeds. You can usually find these either in the produce section with nuts, with the baked goods where the nuts are, or with the salad toppings.
- Mini Hay Bales. These were from the dollar store.
- Plastic Bottle. I get mine from Amazon.
How to Put Together the Pumpkin Patch Sensory Bottle
Put layers of the various ingredients in the bottle. Be sure to leave one inch or so of empty space at the top. I recommend using super glue to attach the lid, especially if small children will be playing with the sensory bottle. This prevents messes and spills.
What Kids Can Do with a Sensory Bottle
Sensory bottles aren’t just for looking at. They are made for shaking and finding all of the ingredients inside! The sounds of the items shaking in the bottle will actually provide sensory feedback to your child. Looking for different things in the bottle will improve visual perceptual skills and problem solving. (For example: I see an orange thing, how can I shake and move this bottle to get the orange thing to where I can figure out what it is?) You can also encourage conversation ask open ended questions about the bottle to get your child using more descriptive language and practicing conversation skills.
Why a Bottle and Not a Bin?
I’m glad you asked! We actually do have a very fun Pumpkin Patch Sensory Bin, but the thing about bins is — it’s hard to take them with you. Slip this sensory bottle into your purse, backpack, glove compartment, lunch box, etc. and you will have it with you when you are out and about. When your child needs distracted from arguments, frustrating circumstances, long lines, waits at a doctor’s appointment, or even a long car ride — those are all the perfect time for a sensory bottle or two or three.
Any time you need to avoid the possibility of a mess, that’s a great time to pull out a sensory bottle at home.
Pumpkin Patch Sensory Bottle Benefits
We touched on some of the benefits earlier, but here is more thorough explanation of why sensory bottle play is a win-win for parents and kids.
Quiet Play. If you need a moment, these bottles can give you that moment of peace and quiet.
Visual Perceptual Skill Building. We touched on this before, but what exactly is it?
Gross Motor Skills. Did you know that before a child can really develop or improve fine motor skills, they need to reach a certain level of large muscle controls or gross motor skill? If your child is having trouble with handwriting or scissor work, start by helping them improve in things like hopping, jumping, skipping, running, crawling, and doing simple exercises like jumping jacks. Shaking a bottle is a large muscle movement that can help with motor development.
Verbal Development. The use of descriptive language is a skill children develop as they listen to the people around them and listen to books read out loud. You can model descriptive language to your child as you talk about sensory bottles, (or anything else in life) by using vivid adjectives, including lots of detail, and asking great questions. Reading aloud is also an important way to improve your child’s understanding of language and vocabulary development.
Sensory Feedback. If your child craves sensory input or gets overstimulated easily when you are out and about, the noise made by that bottle might be the only thing keeping them grounded emotionally. Sensory feedback provides a solid footing for these kids in social situations. (Shout out for fidget toys too!)
More Ways to Bring the Pumpkin Patch Theme into your Day
If you want to keep that pumpkin focus, we have lots of ideas! Our PSL Sensory Bin is so much fun! We’ve also got a pumpkin slime you can make together. A Pumpkin Puffy Paint project the Fall vibes going. And then there’s this Taste Safe Pumpkin Pie Sensory Bin and our Pumpkin Pie Scented Moon Dough for even more seasonal activities your kids will love. Finish up the week by reading How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow by Wendell Minor.