Easy Winter Sensory Bottle for Preschoolers and Toddlers

The winter themed sensory bottle requires a water bottle, glitter, and clear glue. Then, you can add other wintery items like snowflakes, blue beads, or tiny snowmen. This easy winter sensory activity is simple to put together and SO VALUABLE!

When it’s all over and both you and your child are feeling calmer, how about some hot chocolate?! You deserve it.

How to Make the Winter Sensory Bottle

Materials for the Winter Sensory Bottle

• Clear Plastic Bottle (I recommend using a plastic Voss water bottle)
• Warm Water
• Bottle of Glue
• Blue Sequins
• Snowflake Confetti
• Silver Chunky Glitter

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Fill the sensory bottle 1/4 full with the clear glue and add a small amount of warm water. Gently swirl the bottle to mix the glue and water together.
2. Add the snowflake sequins, desired amount of glitter, sequins, and fishbowl beads.
3. Fill the remainder of the bottle with warm water, leaving a small space at the top to allow movement.
4. Use duct tape or clear glue to secure the lid to prevent spills.
5. Shake the contents of the bottle around until the contents of the bottle
   move around slowly and freely.

Tips for Creating the Perfect Sensory Bottle

• The glue in the sensory bottle helps to slow down the glitter inside and provide for a longer sensory experience. You can test out different amounts of glue to find the perfect amount to fit your preference.
• You can add additional decorations to the sensory bottle to fit your child’s needs. Adding their favorite colors of glitter can help to keep their attention.
• Snow globes are also a great option for a calm down tool. Instead of a plastic bottle, you can create a personalized snow globe, such as our homemade snow globe craft for kids.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Sensory Bottle Benefits for Children:

Motor Skills: As children explore sensory bottles, such as this winter sensory bottle, they are building fine motor skills (such as grasp and pointing at objects) and gross motor skills (such as shaking, turning, and flipping). Motor skills are important in childhood development and play an important role in our overall lives.

Emotional Regulation: Sensory bottles promote self-regulation, a sense of calm, and can guide the child toward positive emotions as they explore the contents of the bottle.

Sensory Exploration: Using a variety of sensory bottles, children can explore the sense of sound (shaking the bottle) and sight (exploring the contents of the calm down jar or sensory bottle.)

Language Development: Ask children to describe what they see in their calm down bottle. Talk to them about what they feel as they shake, roll and turn their bottle. Talking to them while they explore the bottle not only builds language development skills, it also helps them learn to express themselves calmly in an otherwise stressful time.

How Do You Use a Sensory Bottle?

How to Use the Sensory Winter-Themed Bottle

Teach children the procedure for using the winter sensory bottle during a calm, non-emotional time (ie., NOT during the impending meltdown:)

Talk about situations where a child might feel angry/frustrated/sad/overwhelmed. Tell them that those emotions are normal and everybody feels them from time to time.

However, if we yell/hit/scream/cry/kick when we feel that way we only hurt others or ourselves.

Instead, we can go to a quiet place (designate this specific place ahead of time) to calm down. You can place the winter sensory bottle in the quiet space, or you can leave it in a specific area where children know it will be and they can carry it with them to the clam down spot.

Then, they can shake the sensory bottle and watch its contents settle. Teach children to wait while the snowflake glitter and beads settle. If they still feel emotional, they can shake again and repeat.

Once they feel calm, they can return to the previous activity.

How to Teach Coping Skills

Children need a lot of things, from the most basic needs like food and shelter, to more complex requirements like a consistent schedule, a stable family, and lots of love and affection.

Social and emotional learning and growth is a huge part of early childhood development. All of a child’s early experiences form their view of the world and their understanding of how they fit and function within it.

When it comes to whining, tantrums, and generally unacceptable behaviors in toddlers and preschoolers, our job is to be calm and consistent in the midst of chaos. A tall order? Yes! That’s where hands-on winter sensory play comes in pretty handy.

Validate and name children’s emotions when they happen, then give them an opportunity to cope by removing them from the situation. Enter the sensory bottle!

What are Other Items I Can Use in a Sensory Bottle?

There are endless combinations and ways that you can create sensory bottles. You don’t have to purchase special materials to create a simple calming resource for your children.

Here are some ingredients you might already have on hand, at no extra cost that are great for sensory bottles:

• Pom Poms
• Perler Beads
• Mini-erasers
• Alphabet Beads
• Rice
• Small Toys
• Buttons
• LEGO
• Sand
• Water Beads
• Loom Bands
• Marbles
• Googly Eyes
• Magnets
• Pipe Cleaners

Liven up the sensory bottles even more by adding some color to your liquid ingredients. Here are some ideas:

• Food Coloring
• Liquid Watercolors
• Glow in the Dark Sticks
• Fairy Lights

Additional Sensory Winter Activities for Calming a Child

Calming activities for kids should be low-key and quiet. Try to set them up in an area that isn’t overly stimulating or loud.

• Play dough or cloud dough are a great way to keep little hands moving while they breathe through emotions or take a break from a stressful situation.
• Winter sensory bins can also distract a child when they are upset, whether they sift through play snow or cotton balls, it provides a healthy way to cope while strengthening fine motor skills.
• Sometimes all it takes is a change of scenery: outside to play in the real snow, into a different room of the house, or a drive in the car.
• Other winter sensory ideas for toddlers that typically engage them fully: science experiments, baking, or other craft projects.

Get 35+ Winter Themed Math & Literacy Activities in One Bundle

Included in the Winter Math and Literacy Pack:

More Winter Sensory Activities You’ll Love:

• Winter Snowflake Sensory Bottle
• Winter Sensory Bin for Kids
• Snow and Ice Cube Sensory Bin

Need More Winter Activities?

• Winter I Spy Printable
• Winter Scavenger Hunt
• Winter Snow CVC Word Building Mats
• Winter Lesson Plans
• Winter 2D Shape Posters