Last Updated on May 30, 2024 by Sheryl Cooper
Inside: Put together an ocean activity in a discovery bottle! Invite your children to make their own bottles with sand, water, shells, and sea creatures. Lots of fun for your beach and ocean theme.
I have this thing about sturdy water bottles.
There, I’ve said it!
You might recall our Jingle Bell Music Bottles. Same bottles as the ones used in this ocean activity!
And making these bottles takes fine motor control and concentration as the sand and water is carefully added.
But what our children loved most was the fun involved. And playing with them once they were completed!
How to Put Together an Ocean Activity in a Discovery Bottle
What we used:
- Voss plastic water bottles
- White fine sand (I found ours at the Dollar Tree)
- Small shells
- Small plastic sea creatures
- Blue liquid watercolor
- Funnels, scoops, water droppers
The set up:
Fill a container with water that has been tinted with the blue liquid watercolors.
Fill another container with sand.
I placed everything on our activity table.
Water was on one side of the table and sand was on the other.
The invitation to make these ocean discovery bottles:
Show the children how to use a scoop and funnel to add sand to their bottles. They can be filled about 1/4 of the way, although ours varied.
Then, use the water droppers to transfer the water from the big container to the bottle.
Some of our children got frustrated with the dropper, so they used cups instead.
Have the children then add a shell and small plastic sea animal.
I squirted some hot glue on the rim of the bottles before screwing the tops on.
Now it’s time to make an ocean!
We kept these displayed in our classroom for awhile before the children took them home.
They were rolled, shaken, stacked, and carried around the room.
They even placed them under (and on top!) of the magnifying stand.
Definitely a fun addition to our beach theme!
Beach and Ocean Books
Toddler and Preschool Ocean Lesson Plans
I helped create these lesson plans along with a talented group of early childhood educators and home schoolers.
Easy to follow lesson plans include activity modifications and adaptations to meet the needs of all learners.
These activities come in a digital format. That means after you make a purchase, the links to the activities will arrive in an email.
For more information, click on the graphics below:
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