I love including my son in making something fun and useful for his sister. These discovery bottles are a fun way of using a holiday theme and give your infant something fun to play with, too. Remember, with infants all activities and projects are intended for use with direct supervision. Also, only you know what is safe for your child. If they aren’t ready for an activity, bookmark it and try it when they are.
- Gather your materials. You will need some plastic bottles with lids a hot glue gun, a shamrock bead necklace, scissors and some rainbow ribbon. I also use tape on the bottles that run the risk of making huge messes if they open. For the gel and sparkle bottle you will also need a funnel, some gold sparkles, and green shower gel or shampoo (got mine for a buck at the dollar store). For the rainbow shaker bottle some pom poms in rainbow colors.
- Start by drinking the water.
- Next take off the label.
- Next cut the shamrock necklace into the bottle. This is awesome for fine motor development and takes a lot of patience. I was amazed my son was not only able to do this without help but how into it he was. They grow up so fast!
- Next add the sparkles.
- Next add the gel.
- I used hot glue to glue the top on. Then more on the outside to seal it, and wrapped it in tape. Be careful some bottles are so thin that they will melt with hot glue on contact. If worried, consider using crazy glue. Whether you are using hot or crazy glue, this step should be done by adults only.
- Cut a small piece of rainbow ribbon and glue it on.
- Let everything dry and cool completely .
- For the rainbow shaker Cut the necklace in.
Pop in the pom poms.
Glue the top and ribbon on as above.
- Finally, it’s time to play!
For the photos, I had her in the crib so that the bottle wouldn’t roll too far when I was trying to take a photo. I am not suggesting giving it to your infant for independent play. Closely and directly supervise children using these discovery bottles.
The rainbow one has lasted forever. 2 years later it’s still kicking!
Want more great ideas for preschool activities? Check out our Build Preschool Thematic Curriculum Units!
Elissa says
very cute! Now I need a new infant… 🙂
Jenae @ I Can Teach My Child says
What a great idea!!!
butterfly wishes and wonderland dreams says
she is so cute! love the dress!
my girls loved their discovery bottles and still love making them! 🙂
PsychMamma says
What a fabulous and fun idea!
momstownca says
Love these! My daughter was just talking about something sort of similar we made last St Patrick’s Day – we made a “rainbow” of water bottles, each with different coloured water. I like your shaker idea though – more tactical and interesting for the babies.
Kristi @ Creative Connections for Kids says
I like the way you secured the top of the bottles. I have not tried the glue, but usually use colored duct tape, but I just don’t feel secure with the tape alone. I think I’ll add the glue too. Sweet photos. 🙂
Darcey says
I love the idea of these bottles for St. Patrick’s Day. What a fun idea for babies. I’ve linked up to your post on my weekly favorites here: http://play2grow.blogspot.com/2011/03/weekly-favorites-for-march-13-2011.html
Megan says
Love these! Especially the shakers – perfect for music fun too! Pinning when pinterest is up again, have done the old-fashioned book mark for now!
Jackie B says
I’m a little bummed because this looked so awesome but my gel bottle didn’t work. My glitter and charms are just stuck together in a glob at the bottom. I used the exact same ingredients you did too. 🙁
admin says
Oh no! Hmm I wonder why ? Can you lay it on it’s side for a while, then rotate a few times each time letting it settle? I am thinking it might distribute the glob a bit.