Bottled Shake-Ups

Today we thought we'd share a fun sensory craft for your little one to explore. I made these Bottled Shake-Ups about six months ago for Lachlan but he wasn't really interested in them until recently. Just this week hepulled them out of a box and began playing with them. The bottles are a bit on the larger size also so I'm sure they aren't as heavy as they were six months ago for him. What ever size bottle you use is fine. Large ones you can shake for a little one and they will be fascinated watching the objects swirl or float around in the bottle. Smaller bottles are fun for little hands to shake and explore on their own. I made two Shake-Ups. One has plastic confetti stars with small sea shells and the second I filled with a handful of multi-coloured transparent beads. Be creative with the materials you use. They are simple to make. This is all you need to do:

Materials Needed:

• a small plastic bottle with lid, label removed (individual sized water or juice bottles works best; especially those covered with shrink wrap. You can just cut it off and not worry about gooey adhesive reside)
• Water
• Food colouring (optional)
• Fillers: plastic confetti, shells, beads, tiny plastic animals, etc. (anything that is waterproof that will fit through the opening).
• Glue

Putting it together...

Place the fillers in that you have selected. A hand-full is all you need but put as much in until you achieve the desired effect. Next, fill the bottle up with water and add drops of food colouring to achieve desired colour. Tighten the lid to test it out and give it a shake. If you like what you see take off the lid, add some drops of glue to the sides of the inside of the lid and screw the lid back on the bottle. If you aren't impressed, try adding more filler to make it more interesting. When you are done and the glue is dry, give it to your bub as a fun new sensory toy.

Here are some ideas to do with this project:

• Point to and talk about the colours and/or objects you see floating in the bottle. You could use the rhyme: "I spy with my little eye, something..."
• If you have more then one bottle ask: "Which one has a shell?" etc. or "Which one has the colour...?"
• Communicate what you are doing with the bottle; "Watch me SHAKE it" or "Watch me ROLL it" for example.
• Make two bottles one for you and one for the child and play the game Follow the Leader. Have the child do what you do. "Shake it high" next, "Shake it low" etc. Then see if you can swap roles with your child.
• Talk about what the fillers are doing such as "The beads are floating UP. The beads are floating DOWN."
• Hold the bottle up to your little ones face and look at him through the bottle. If you've used food colouring it will be a surprise to see a pink or blue mommy or daddy! 
• If you've made bottles of varying sizes talk about which one is BIG and which one is SMALL. Expand on this and talk about which one is HEAVY and which one is LIGHT.
• If your child is old enough not to put small objects in his mouth, then please allow him to make his own Bottled Shake-Up. Just step in if he needs help.