Regular readers will know how much I just love offering children sensory play opportunities. Favourites with readers have been our oh so pretty Meadow Gloop and hands on squishy, messy Edible Balls. Today I want to share these easy Fall Sensory Bottles with you too.
Fall is bursting with colours, textures, smells, shapes and patterns that are just super for kids of all ages to explore hands-on.
With young children or those keen to mouth things or pop things in ears and noses, this kind of hands-on experience requires vigilant supervision to keep little ones safe from harm! An easy sensory alternative is to provide a range of sensory bottles to explore.
Fall sensory bottles keep the exciting finds from Nature easily on view more safely and children can enjoy tipping, turning, spinning and rolling the bottles to explore the contents inside.
Although I’d never leave a child unattended these sensory bottles are great for allowing young children some independence in their Fall exploration and they can be useful when you are tied up like in the kitchen when you’re busy cooking.
Supplies To Make Fall Sensory Bottles
- Empty Water/Juice Bottles With Lids
- Super Glue US / UK
- Natural Items ( leaves, buck eyes etc)
- Large Sequins US /UK
- Glitter US / UK
- Optional – Electrical Tape US / UK
How To Make Fall Sensory Bottles
There is no right or wrong about what to put inside your sensory bottles. In the first one I made this autumn, I really wanted to put in lots of bright berries and buck eye shells (conker/horse chestnuts). They look so gorgeous but just aren’t safe for little ones to explore hands on, so these they were my first choice. Then they could see them through the safety of the bootle.
Try to find some plastic water or juice bottles with a fairly wide opening, that way you can fill your bottles with any thing you think your children might enjoy.
It’s fun to offer a range of bottles with different contents, see below for lots of content ideas and how to get the best out of your sensory bottles. I love to add a bit of sparkle to mine too and these large sequins are a favourite choice because they show up so well.
Once my sensory bottles are full of lots of gorgeous Fall / Autumn goodies I simply fasten the lid on tightly with a good helping of super glue to help it stay in place.
If the bottles are for children that I know won’t mouth them I sometimes add a layer of coloured electrical tape to the top and/or bottom to secure the lids and add an extra visual stimuli.
Content Ideas For Fall Sensory Bottles
- nuts
- seeds
- berries
- buck eyes
- acorns
- leaves
- pebbles
- dirt
- dried flowers
- dried peas/beans
- dried lentils
- glitter
- sequins
Getting The Most Out Of Your Fall Sensory Bottles
Think about the theme of each bottle and how to mix and match your sensory bottle contents to add a varied range of stimuli.
- You could do a bottle like the one shown here with a range of colours or textures.
- Put same colours together
- Add two contrasting colours
- Add water
- Add Oil
- Add glitter/sequins etc
- Add food colouring
- Keep it dry
- Think about the different sounds.
- Add an “odd one out” such as a lego figure.
Would your children have a favourite item to put in their Fall sensory bottle? Perhaps you could go on a walk and enjoy collecting lots of natural goodies together?
More Sensory Posts You Might Like:
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