Happy Wednesday!
This morning my son and I made two different kinds of sensory bottles. They were fun and super easy to make. Sensory bottles are commonly used for regulating intense emotions. In fact, sensory bottles are often called “calm down bottles”. Sensory bottles consist of items (glitter, beads, or even bubbles) that move at slow rates of speed when the bottles are shaken. Sensory bottles work for emotion regulation because people often become mesmerized by the glitter, beads, or bubbles as they slowly move throughout the bottle. Watching the slow descent calms the breathing, which in turn creates a sense of peace within the body.
We made two different types of sensory bottles using voss water bottles, but any type of plastic water bottle could be used. It may be helpful to glue the cap on once you are pleased with the final product. (Side note: keep out of reach of small children. My two year old tipped one of ours over while I was gluing the cap and there was glitter EVERYWHERE...thankful it wasn’t on the carpet)!
Calm Down Bottle #1
Fill bottle ⅔ full of warm water
Add glitter glue (as much as you’d like)
Add coarse glitter (as much as you’d like)
*we added some beads as well
Fill to top with more water and glue on cap
Calm Down Bottle #2
Fill bottle ½ full of water and add food coloring
Add baby oil, vegetable oil, or olive oil (we used baby oil)
*we added fine glitter as well
Glue on cap and enjoy!