A Magical Way to Explore the Seasons: Seasonal Sensory Bottles

The changing of seasons is such a magical thing, isn’t it? With the weather gradually becoming more cool here on the west coast, my little one’s had a lot of questions about seasons, so we recently decided to create a representation of each. These season sensory bottles are not only gorgeous when done, but they’re a perfect process-filled project that allows for plenty of discussion and creativity along the way.

What you’ll need to create a set of season sensory bottles at home:

• 4 empty water bottles with the labels removed
• water
• food colouring
• seasonal bits and bobs (from nature and/or dollar and craft stores)
• funnel (optional)
• glue (optional)
• small rectangles of paper
• a black marker
• Scotch tape

Alright, now before we get started on the actual sensory bottle assembly, I have to say that coming up with a plan for each of the season bottles and figuring out how to make that plan come to life is without a doubt, a huge part of the fun. With your child, choose just one season to start with, chat about what it looks like, and together decide how you’ll represent that within a bottle of water. Don’t be afraid to raid your craft drawer and holiday bins for bits and pieces, plus head outdoors to collect a few things too. Repeat this step for each of the four seasons.

Here’s what we used in each of our bottles:

Spring: faux flowers, large faux leaves, tall blades of grass, aqua food colouring

Summer: sand, miniature seashells, a big yellow pompom (to represent the sun), blue food colouring

Fall: a small branch, acorns, miniature pine cones and leaf confetti

Winter: cotton balls, acrylic gems, sequins and glitter

Next, with everything collected, simply fill the bottles with water, food colouring (if you’re using it), and the seasonal items. This part of the process is great for little ones to help out with, if not do independently. As they fill the bottles, they’ll be working on their hand-eye coordination, their pouring skills and their fine motor skills too. If you think it’ll help your child, you can make this process a little bit easier by offering a funnel for use. 

When you’re done, screw the lids on tightly, glueing them in place if you wish. 

To finish the project off, invite your little one to create a simple label for each using small strips of paper and a black marker. Stick the labels onto your bottles using clear tape and admire your four seasons in bottles. Enjoy!