One of my daughter’s therapist had mentioned making a sensory toy that my daughter could play with. It would be something like a sensory ball and could just as easily help out with her meltdowns. Yesterday, I went to my local Walmart and got a few crafts to make my daughter a few of these sensory toys.
It’s just a water bottle with a few items in it that would catch her attention for a few minutes to however long it would take to calm her. Or it could be used as a regular toy to occupy her for a few minutes or more.
Some of the things I had here at home, but as you can see from the picture it is nothing more than a few water bottles, confetti (or glitter), beads, acrylic jewels, super glue, vegetable oil, a funnel, and food coloring.
The first bottle is nothing more than confetti, beads, and acrylic jewels. Dump about a fourth of the water out of the bottle. Using a funnel put the confetti, beads, and acrylic jewels in the bottle. You can use a few to however many of these items in your water bottle, but not too much. Imagine making a homemade snow globe, but instead it’s a water bottle with shimmery items in it.
As soon as you put these items into the water bottle, add water up to about an inch from the top so that the child, or you can shake the bottle. Super glue the grooves around the mouth of the bottle and put the cap back on. This seals the cap so that no one can open it and then have a mess to clean up.
The second bottle is also easy to make and one of my favorites. I actually think it’s almost everyone’s favorite. It’s the ocean in a bottle.
Dump half the water out of the bottle, add a few drops of blue food coloring or any color you wish, then add the vegetable oil. Supposed to be clear oil, but I only had yellow colored oil. It still looks neat though. Again, seal the cap with super glue.
Author Jennifer N. Adams 
This is so cool! I am definitely going to make one of these for my son. What a great idea.
Thank you! My daughter seems to enjoy them and plays with them for a long time. 🙂
That’s pretty cool Jennifer. So do u have about half the bottle empty? Have a hard time understanding when some says a forth. I’m gonna have to try those for my daughter. My email is boileau_robert@hotmail.com
On the one with glitter and beads, just dump about a 1/4 of the water out of the bottle. This gives room for you to add the items into the water bottle without the water spilling out. When you have what you want in the bottle just fill it back up with water. On the ocean in a bottle, dump 1/2 of the water out, then top the bottle off with veggie oil.
i thank you for your help on that. i think she’ll love this sensory item. we were out in the park and it started raining and she stood there all happy soaking in the sensory.
You’re welcome! 🙂 I think a good rain on a hot day makes everyone happy 🙂 Glad she enjoyed it.
been a pretty rainy day. had a break in it and needed to get her out, just going crazy inside. now i hear playing with her elmo in bed. i usually let her be cause she tires herself out lol
I let mine play with toys in bed too, though she starts out with an empty bed, then in the morning she has a bed full of her favorite toys lol!
yours the same way were she’ll go to bed laying down proper then in the morning laying across the bed. always interesting when i go get her every morning. i must say when i go check on her in the middle of the night its so cute when shes hugging elmo or whoever.
Awe! They’re always precious when they’re sleeping. I’ve taken a few pictures of my daughter’s cute sleeping positions, they’re just too funny to pass up a photo op lol! I think I still have the picture my mom took of me when I was my daughter’s age. I was asleep, but hanging halfway off the bed…the bed was just too high off the ground for me to climb up.
oh wow that must’ve been cute. love the innocence they still have. my girl is 8 but you would never because she acts like a toddler all the time. outside world hasn’t ruined her innocence yet. some of the sleeping ways look painful when she has arms and legs all over the place and its like she looks comfy so i leave her cause if i wake her im gonna have a hard time getting her to sleep again. we are lucky parents because most kids are autistic have a hard sleeping through the night. take care have a goodnight
You would think they’re uncomfortable in the awkward ways they sleep lol! Does your daughter still wake during the night? Mine still does. I think that’s why I have a hard time sleeping, because I’m always listening for her to wake up.
she does sometimes wake up. i’m the same where im always listening if she wakes up.