Do you have toddlers to teens at home and find yourself needing a handy way to calm someone down, keep a little someone occupied in a quiet setting, or fight boredom on a long trip? You are not alone! Our Harvest Sensory Bottle is the perfect tool to have on hand this Fall when the need for distraction arises. Your children will be enthralled.
If you haven’t read about sensory strewing before, be sure to check out that article to learn how valuable it is to just leave things like sensory bottles laying around, waiting to be discovered. Implementing this concept in your home can be life changing! That’s why I do what I do.
How to Make a Harvest Sensory Bottle
Supplies
- Sticks. Gather these from outside.
- Acorns. Gather these from outside as well.
- Resin Pumpkins and Leaves. Found in the Halloween section at Dollar Tree or other dollar store
- Sunflowers. Found in the fall section
- Mini Fall Florals. Look for the tan spiky pieces.
- Multi-Colored Beans.
- Plastic Bottle. I get mine from Amazon.
Steps to Make Sensory Bottles
- Wash the jar with hot soapy water and dry it.
- Layer the beans with the other supplies on the list.
- Depending on the child, you may want to super glue the lid in place. On the other hand you might want to re-use the bottle so it is up to you.
Tips to Make Your Harvest Sensory Bottle the Best It Can Be
Do not overfill the bottle. Ideally you want the items in the sensory jar or sensory bottle to be able to move around, make noise, disappear and reappear, etc.
Even young children can enjoy sensory bottles with small objects as long as the bottles are glued shut and the activity is supervised. But the cool thing is, big kids and adults enjoy them as well!
Can’t find everything on our list? Other small items found at the Dollar store while you are there can be equally delightful. Small erasers, beads, flowers, or toys that fit with the harvest theme can be substituted!
Clean it off first. As you gather sticks, acorns, or other small items from the outdoors, be sure to tap the sticks on the ground to shake off any loose bark or dirt that might make a mess in the bottle and rinse any dirt off of the acorns. Give everything time to dry before you make the bottle so you don’t invite moisture to the party either.
You will probably have enough supplies to make two bottles. Sharing the expense with another mom is a great idea!
How to Use a Sensory Bottle
This calming activity can quiet an over stimulated child, help someone regain focus and concentration, end tantrums or boredom, and inspire hours of quiet exploration. Here are just some of the ways one of these bottles can provide a valuable experience for your child.
Visual Perception Skill Building.
This refers to the ability to make visual connections between to options and develop an understanding of depth, spatial relationships, and positional concepts like above, below, under, and behind.
Problem Solving
“I’m sure I just found a purple bean. I want to find it again. Let me see how to make that reappear.” These are the kinds of thoughts that come out of sensory bottle play.
Auditory Sensory Feedback
The sound of the beans in the bottle can have a calming or stabilizing effect. It also helps exercise those auditory discrimination skills.
Large Muscle Movement
The smaller the child, the more of a large muscle workout a sensory bottle will be, and as they shake it, move it, turn it and bang it around they will be getting all kinds of kinesthetic feedback to the central nervous system. Just remember you cannot allow free play with a sensory bottle unless you are present to supervise. Even a glued on lid can come undone. Ask me how I know!
Harvest Sensory Bottle Expansion Activities
- Read books about Fall. Some suggestions include Leaf Man by Louis Ehlert and Fall Mixed Up.
- Rake and jump in leaves together.
- Go on a hike in the woods to look for items in the sensory bottle.
- Find and draw or name each different kind of item in the sensory bottle.
- Visit a field of sunflowers.
- Talk about the four seasons.
More Fantastic Sensory Bottles to Make
We love this Thanksgiving Sensory Bottle and its the perfect time of year to buy the supplies for both this and the Harvest one at the same time. For some extra fun, make this I Spy Birds Sensory Bottle. The I Spy bottles are perfect for taking on long car rides or events that will get tedious for little ones. We have so many different sensory bottle ideas, but one more I want to specifically call out that I think you will love is the Van Gogh Inspired Starry Night Sensory bottle.
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