Calm Down Bottle Craft

When children become angry, upset, sad, frustrated, or stressed, it becomes difficult for them to make rational decisions. They can become so focused and overwhelmed by the emotion they are feeling. This is when mindfulness techniques can be really helpful. Sensory bottles, or as we like to call them, Calm Down Bottles, give a child something to focus on instead of that “big feeling” they are experiencing. The glitter used in the calm down bottle moves slowly from the top of the bottle to the bottom when it is flipped from right side up to upside down and vice versa. Watching the progress of the glitter, and most importantly, its slow descent, gives the child time to calm down, allows them to slow their breathing in time with the glitter’s descent, and they are able to regain their self-control.

Supplies:

-Water bottle

-Baby oil (enough to fill ½ of the bottle you are using)

-Food coloring

-Hot glue gun/glue sticks for the glue gun

-Funnel (for pouring water)

-Whatever you want to put in (some ideas are: Beads, Glitter, Pom-Poms, Sequins)

How to:

1.Empty the plastic bottle and remove all labels from the bottle. If you have a hard time getting the sticky residue off, Goo Gone works wonders.

2.Fill the bottom 1/2 of the bottle with baby oil.

3.Top the baby oil with whatever items you are wanting to add.

4.Pour water into a separate glass, slowly add in your food coloring until you have the right color you want, then add the colored water to the bottle. Make sure to leave a little air at the top of the bottle so the ingredients have room to move around.

5.Then, add a dab of hot glue around the inside of the cap and quickly seal the bottle. This helps make sure no little hands unscrew the lid ;)