Do you need a great sensory bottle that is super affordable? I’m teaming up with five other bloggers to bring you some super fun and budget-friendly discovery bottles. Here’s the beauty I came up with, and it’s just made of two ingredients from the dollar store with a little pop of color.

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When our discovery bottle is vertical, it just looks like blue goo.

Then when we turn it over, it “magically” becomes bubbly and textured.

When I made this discovery bottle, I thought I ruined it at first! It appeared that one ingredient “ate” the other. Instead, I have learned that my two ingredients just blend together so well that it looks like there is only one when they are vertical. Then they separate when you turn the bottle.

Have you guessed the two ingredients?

They are hair gel and clear water beads for the price of $1 each from the Dollar Store. I found the water beads in the floral aisle, but I know that they sell out quickly at some stores, so feel free to make a call before driving to one. If you don’t have a dollar store nearby, or if yours does not carry clear water beads, you can find them on Amazon .

To turn the hair gel blue, I added some liquid watercolor (here’s how to DIY Liquid Watercolor), which I always have lying around. It’s a staple here! Just put a squirt of it into the hair gel and stir.

You can use any proportions for this discovery bottle! I used a small container of water beads from the dollar store, and then I added the gel. It was about 2 parts hair gel to 1 part water beads. Mine looks very “gooey,” but if you want it to look more “bubbly,” just increase the amount of water beads. Definitely leave space in the bottle for it to move around.

Play to Learn Preschool made these in rainbow colors, and they used more water beads than I did, and you can see how gorgeous that turned out here.

I absolutely love this sensory bottle, and I have a few more ideas I’m going to try with it too.

Now there are even more awesome and affordable discovery bottles you can make. Visit one of the fantastic kid bloggers below to find out how they made their discovery bottle on a budget!



Suspended Beads Dollar Tree Discovery Bottle | Fun at Home with Kids

Weighted Discovery Bottles | Play to Learn Preschool

Marble Color Mixing Discovery Bottle | Still Playing School

Put your favorite children’s book in a discovery bottle! | Teach Preschool

Beaded Names Discovery Bottle | Stay At Home Educator

Follow Katie | Preschool Inspiration’s Discovery Bottles board on Pinterest.



