I am seriously addicted to mesmerizing sensory bottles. At one point, I had a calm down jar that I “tested out” for an entire week before I gave it to my class, so I am always thrilled for the next irresistible find. The discovery bottle that I am showing to you today is one of my all-time favorites, and it has that nice slow and gentle flow to it. It’s the kind that I could just watch for hours. Now you all know why I’m a preschool teacher — I just want to stare at discovery bottles all day! I’m a firm believer that every preschool curriculum should include them.
Here’s our alphabet discovery bottle. I must say that the ABCs have never been so calming and relaxing!
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It takes 15 to 20 seconds for the letters to go to the other side of the bottle, and I love the slow somersaults they do as they float upward. We love just flipping it over and over as it calms and soothes.
Here’s what you need to make your own:
A clean empty water bottle. I recommend one that is sturdy with a wide lid such as VOSS plastic water bottle
Clear(ish) colored corn syrup
Hot Water (just a teeny, tiny bit)
First, put the letter beads into the bottle. Next, add enough corn syrup on top of it that it covers about 80-85% of the inside of the bottle. Add a very slight amount of hot water and shake. Then continue to add corn syrup and water until you get your desired flow.
The ratio I used for my own bottle was about 95% corn syrup and 5% water.
Initially, your bottle will look “streaky” as the corn syrup settles. It can take a few hours to fully blend. I personally like the streaky swirls in the meantime!
While I used big letter lacing beads, most any plastic item would be a good substitute. I love the blend of literacy and science in this particular one because I am always trying to sneak in a love for reading.
This could also be used to help a child learn the letters of his name. A miniature bottle would be perfect to put them in.
Here are some of my other favorites:
Magnetic Discovery Bottle
6 Ways to Make a Calm Down Jar
How to Make a Color Mixing Sensory Bottle
Follow Katie | Preschool Inspiration’s Discovery Bottles board on Pinterest.
And this is how we use letter beads in other ways:
Rainbow Sight Word Lacing Busy Bag
Katie T. Christiansen
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TheresJustOneMommy says
May 24, 2014 at 2:55 amJust made our first calm down bottle… This looks so fun! May need to try one of these next.
Katie says
May 24, 2014 at 4:35 pmCalm down bottles are soooo amazing, There’s Just One Mommy! Discovery bottles can be super addicting, in the best way possible of course :). It’s a pleasure to have you visit!
Amy says
May 26, 2014 at 4:44 pmI love the colors in this bottle. I’ve never done these jars before, how come you need to add water? Does it help the objects inside float better?
Katie says
May 30, 2014 at 8:18 pmIsn’t it so vibrant and fun, Amy! The water definitely helps them float at a quicker rate. You could always try one without any water and see which you prefer. Thank you for visiting :).
Jenna says
January 9, 2016 at 3:35 pmHow long do the bottles last? Could I use them in my classroom for more than one year?
Katie says
January 9, 2016 at 3:49 pmAs long as you make sure to clean the letter beads (or use brand new ones), you can use them for a long time. Otherwise they could grow things if they are not clean, if you know what I mean!
I’ve had several discovery bottles around for years, including this one. You may want to change the actual bottles out after time because they will get bent from being dropped or have fingerprint oil that takes away the sheen that they had in the past. That’s easy to do too though.
I hope you enjoy making one :).
Renee says
August 15, 2017 at 9:24 amI love this idea and plan on making them with my kindergarteners when school begins. I’m going to add it to my activities to go along with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and have the students put the letters of their names in their own individual bottles. Question….you wrote that it takes mostly corn syrup. Corn syrup can be very expensive. I have 18 students, therefore it would cost me over $100 on syrup…yikes! Do you have a special place to buy the syrup at a cheap price or any other ideas to cut down on the cost?
Katie says
August 17, 2017 at 6:25 pmHi Renee! I love that idea! You absolutely can buy corn syrup in bulk. We have a giant container from Winco. I would also suggest using smaller bottles and try making one with half corn syrup and half water to see how it turns out. Sensory bottles can be made differently, and if I was making a bunch, I would certainly improvise myself :).
Marissa says
February 11, 2018 at 3:02 pmWhat a great idea! Would I need to modify this to use for a two year old?
Katie says
February 12, 2018 at 3:58 pmIt should work great for a two-year-old! Enjoy 🙂
Diane Schlegel says
December 16, 2019 at 8:47 amI have some foam alphabet letters that I was going to use. Do you think the weight of foam will not be enough to allow for the letters to move around enough in the bottle?
Katie T. Christiansen says
December 29, 2019 at 8:02 pmOh, how fun! I wish I knew. You’ll have to let me know if you try it!
Diane Schlegel says
December 29, 2019 at 8:48 pmI used them with a probably around 65/35 corn syrup to water ratio. I wanted the foam letters to move, but not too fast. They are brightly colored green, yellow, red, and blue letters so I used no coloring in the mixture. It seemed to work out ok. I thought so, at least. It was a gift to my twin 3 y/o’s preschool teachers, along with another sensory oil/syrup mixture sensory bottle, to add to their “calming corner.” I think that with mostly corn syrup, in addition to slowing the movement, it should help the letters to hold up over time. We shall see…