The Chaos and the Clutter

sensory bottles

Money Sensory Bottle for Math Unit

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Make a math unit on learning about money more fun with this Money Sensory Bottle. You can also add a Money Sensory Bag for more sensory exploration. Money Sensory Bottle - great for using in unit studies #math #sensory

Money Sensory Bottle

Materials needed:

To create this money sensory bottle, empty the water out of the water bottle and fill most of the way to the top with the clear liquid hand soap. Add the money confetti. Put the lid back on the bottle and give it a good shake.

The liquid hand soap creates an effect where the confetti falls slowly creating a calm down bottle effect. This makes it ideal for use in the home or classroom.

If you are using this sensory bottle with younger children, you can secure the lid using hot glue.

Using more of the same money confetti, you can easily make a Money Sensory Bag and use both for a math unit.

Join me for a free 5 part email series Sensory Solutions and Activities and get your Sensory System Behaviours Easy Reference Cards.

This Space sensory bottle is naturally weighted. Kids can also use it as an I-Spy activity.Space Sensory BottleOcean Discovery Bottle

Despicable Me Minions Sensory Bottle

Minions Despicable Me Sensory Bottle

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The Despicable Me movies are close to our hearts as an adoptive family and as fans of laughter. They are such cute stories so I thought I would create some sensory play opportunities for the kids. This Despicable Me Minions sensory bottle was simple to make. I later used the same items to make a Minions sensory bag.

Adorable Minions Despicable Me Sensory BottleI often use a clear glue and water mixture in my sensory bottles but due to the recent slime craze, it has been more challenging to find clear glue so I have switched most of my sensory bottles over to liquid hand soap as the main filler.

Materials needed:

To make this Minions sensory bottle, empty the water out of the water bottle either by drinking it or pouring it into another container. Next, peel off the labels. If you end up with residue from the labels on the bottle, you can use Goo Be Gone to remove it. Add a bit of liquid hand soap to the bottle and then drop in a mini figure. Add more liquid hand soap and then another mini figure. Continue to layer them.

One trick I have is to use a long bamboo skewer to move the mini figures in the bottle so that they are facing the way I want them to.

Fill the bottle to the top with the liquid hand soap and screw on the lid. If you are using this sensory bottle with younger children, you will want to secure the lid in place using hot glue.

If you are looking for other sensory ideas, sign up for our free 5 part email series Sensory Solutions and Activities and get our Sensory System Behaviours Easy Reference Cards.

Rainbow Rainfall Sensory Bottle

This Space sensory bottle is naturally weighted. Kids can also use it as an I-Spy activity.Weighted Space Sensory Bottle

One Year of Awesome Sensory Bottles

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Sensory bottles, sometimes called discovery bottles can be used for a variety of purposes. My kids can’t seem to be able to get enough of them, so I make a new one every few weeks. I find it easier to create them when I choose a theme.

These sensory bottles are perfect for each month of the year. They are also a good starting point for giving you ideas to create your own themed sensory bottles. You can click on each link or picture below to find full instructions as well as find out what materials you’ll need.

I use Voss water bottles for mine because I like the look of them, but you can use any water bottle. Vary the look by using different shapes and sizes of water bottles.

These sensory bottle ideas will take you through a year of themes and ideas, making it easier for you to create your own for the home or classroom.One Year of Sensory Bottles:

January – This New Year’s Celebration bottle is perfect to kick off the year with!

February – Valentine’s Day is made for kids to enjoy as well with this sensory bottle.

Valentine's Day Sensory BottleMarch – St. Patrick’s Day of course! This calm down bottle is simple to create for the season.

April – This Spring sensory bottle is one of our favourites of all time. I especially like the slow, calm-down effect it has.

May – Your kids will enjoy this colourful Rainbow Rainfall Sensory Bottle.

June – My girls adored our princess themed bottle.

July – Your kids can take this sky bottle outside with them and compare it to the actual sky.

August – Find sea creatures in this Ocean sensory bottle.

September – In honour of back to school, this sensory bottle has a Space theme. It’s weighted, offering great sensory feedback.

Space Sensory BottleOctober – The beautiful colours outdoors are mimicked in this Fall sensory bottle.

November – Our melted snowman sensory bottle was so much fun to make!

December – A Christmas I-Spy discovery bottle is just in time for the holidays.

Christmas I Spy Discovery Bottle

If you suspect that your child or student has sensory processing issues or differences, read Sensory Processing Explained: A Handbook for Parents and Educators. It will answer your questions and give you practical suggestions as well as sensory activity ideas for the home or classroom. 

Join me for a free 5 part email series Sensory Solutions and Activities (just pop your email into the box below) and get a printable list of 175 Great Sensory Ideas.

If you’re looking for more ideas, my friend Angela has compiled a collection of 12 months of their sensory bottles including an adorable pencil-shaped one.

Pretty Princess Sensory Bottle

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This pretty princess sensory bottle was a big hit with my two youngest daughters. They loved the beautiful colours and shapes of course, but they also liked the sound. The beads from the plastic mardi gras necklace make a tinkling sound on their way down.

Little girls will love this pretty princess sensory bottle.My girls liked listening to the beads and watching the gems and confetti sink down. They also liked how pretty this sensory bottle was.

Materials needed:

Pour out about a quarter of the water in a water bottle. Place the mardi gras beads, pink hearts, gems, and flower and butterfly shaped confetti inside. You may need to add a bit more water to fill it up to nearly the top. If you choose to add glitter, you can add it at this point.

Butterfly Confetti by Creative ConvertingButterfly Confetti by Creative ConvertingVOSS Water Plastic BottlesVOSS Water Plastic BottlesLiquid Hand SoapLiquid Hand Soap

Replace the lid and give it a good shake. You can secure the lid with a hot glue gun if you are going to be using this princess sensory bottle with little ones. Adult supervision should of course be used as with any sensory activity.

Join me for a free 5 part email series Sensory Solutions and Activities (just pop your email into the box below) and get a printable list of 175 Great Sensory Ideas.
If you want to, you can add some pink or purple glitter before you add the water and give the sensory bottle a good shake.

Spring Sensory Bottle

Arctic Sensory Bottle

Bring a bit of the North home with this Arctic Sensory Bottle

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Discovering how well coconut flakes work as snow inspired me to create an arctic sensory bottle with them. I hadn’t thought of using coconut before but when we found several bags in our pantry that had expired, I didn’t want them to completely go to waste. I saw that they might work as a sensory bin/bag/bottle filler and tried it in our Christmas I-Spy sensory bag. It really did look like snow!

Bring a bit of the North home with this Arctic Sensory Bottle

To create this arctic sensory bottle, fill an empty bottle with the items below.

Materials needed:

  • large empty water bottle (I used a Voss water bottle because I like the shape of them)
  • bag of coconut flakes
  • white feathers
  • plastic snowflakes
  • arctic toob

Arctic Sensory Bottle square

Some of the items from the arctic toob don’t fit into the mouth of the bottle (such as the igloo), so I set those ones aside to use in our arctic sensory bag. It can be easier to layer some coconut and then one or two of the items and then add some more of the coconut before adding other items.

Arctic Toob by SafariArctic Toob by SafariVOSS Water Plastic BottlesVOSS Water Plastic BottlesWhite Craft FeathersWhite Craft Feathers

Arctic Sensory BottleOnce all the items are in, add the lid back onto the bottle and your arctic sensory bottle is ready to use for play. If you have younger children, you may want to hot glue the lid in place so that they can’t open it. As with all sensory and exploration activities for kids, adult supervision is of course recommended.

This sensory bottle would be a great addition to a learning unit on the North.
Join me for a free 5 part email series Sensory Solutions and Activities (just pop your email into the box below) and get a printable list of 175 Great Sensory Ideas.

playing with a snowflake discovery bottleSnowflake Sensory Bottle

This Space sensory bottle is naturally weighted. Kids can also use it as an I-Spy activity.Space Sensory Bottle

Melted Snowman Sensory Bottle

This melted snowman sensory bottle is adorable!

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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.

This melted snowman sensory bottle is adorable!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-squareMelted 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 BottlesVOSS Water Plastic BottlesClear GlueClear GlueOrange SpongeOrange 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.

melted-snowman-sensory-bottle 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.

Join me for a free 5 part email series Sensory Solutions and Activities (just pop your email into the box below) and get a printable list of 175 Great Sensory Ideas.

Christmas I Spy Discovery BottleChristmas Counting I-Spy Sensory Bottle

Snowflake Discovery BottleSnowflake Sensory Bottle