In a nutshell, kids are putting stuff into an empty water bottle to create something fun to look at and play with. It's the "stuff" you put in that makes this really fun and unique! This is truly one of those crafts that kids of all ages can participate in with minimal parent participation (gotta love that...no scissors or messy glue!). I've done this with 2 year olds up to 10 year olds and it amazing to see the different jars that are created!
What I also love is that this an educational activity for young kids! Yep, you read it right!
· As children play with the jars, encourage them to TALK about the objects in the bottles.
· ASK QUESTIONS about what they see in the bottles and what they hear.
· DESCRIBE the objects by color, size, shape, and the sounds they make.
· MAKE CONNECTIONS to other holiday decorations you have in your home.
You need:
· Empty, dry, plastic water bottles (it takes a good 48 hours to really dry them out)
· Optional Glue (ok, you may need glue, but only to glue the top shut when done, which I recommend b/c my 3 year old can take the lids off and he made quite a mess this year)
Possible items to put inside the bottles:
· white rice (looks like snow)
· green and/or red pipe cleaners (these can be twisted into neat shapes)
· sugar (more snow)
· colored sprinkles
· candy canes or peppermints
· pieces of wrapping paper
· ribbon
· red/green beads
· small bells
Many of these items you probably have around the house or just make a quick trip to the local grocery or dollar store to pick up a few other festive holiday things. One thing to note is to be sure that the item will fit inside the small opening of a water bottle!
My two boys really enjoyed making these last year and they enjoyed playing with them even more. In fact, when we took them out of the Christmas decorations box this year, they both started talking about how fun it was to make them last year!
