DIY Patriotic Sensory Bottle – Show your spirit on Memorial Day, the 4th of July, and throughout the year with a sensory bottle with red, white, and blue stars. (First published May 4, 2017; this post is regularly updated and republished to improve the content.)
Here’s an easy 4th of July Sensory Bottle to help your kids celebrate, calm down, and self-regulate. Calm-down sensory bottles like this Sensory Bottle for the Fourth of July are helpful for children (and adults). Learn more about sensory bottles and their uses in calm down sensory bottles 101. You might enjoy patriotic red, white, and blue celebration wands.
Related: Glittering Mermaid Tail Sensory Bottle
Red, White, and Blue Stars Sensory Bottle
Make a patriotic sensory bottle with the kids for Memorial Day and the 4th of July! Using red, white, and blue star pony beads and water makes this DIY sensory bottle one of the easiest calm-down jars to make. Use it to show your spirit in celebration of the 4th of July and as a calm-down tool if the fireworks are a bit overstimulating for your kids.
Related: Best Sensory Bottles for Every Holiday and Season
Patriotic Sensory Bottle DIY Supplies
- Recycled water bottles or Mason Jar (Or another bottle from the recycle bin.)
- Goo Gone
- Red, white, and blue star pony beads, acrylic star beads, patriotic striped beads, or regular pony beads in red, white, and blue. (Choose one option)
- Water
- Glue
Related: DIY Slow Falling Hearts Sensory Bottle
How to Make a 4th of July Sensory Bottle
Read through the step-by-step patriotic sensory bottle instructions below before getting started so you know what to expect.
1. Clean the bottle or Mason Jar.
- Peel off the label, if any.
- Use Goo Gone to remove any remaining residue.
- Wash the recycled bottle or jar with soap and water.
2. Drop the pony beads (star-shaped, striped, or regular) into the bottle or jar.
- Drop red, white, and blue star-shaped pony beads into the empty bottle.
- Or use patriotic striped pony beads or regular red, white, and blue pony beads.
- We used 50 beads to have one bead for every state in the Fourth of July Sensory Bottle. (see learning opportunities below).
- The patriotic sensory bottle in the photographs has 17 red stars, 17 blue stars, and 16 white stars.
3. Add water to the Fourth of July sensory bottle.
- Fill the bottle to the top with water.
4. Put the lid on and play with your Patriotic sensory bottle.
- Put the lid on your patriotic sensory bottle and play with it for a day or two to ensure you like the number of red, white, and blue stars you have placed inside.
- Adding more stars or taking some out is hard once you glue the cap!
5. Glue the lid onto the red, white, and blue sensory bottle (optional).
- Glue the lid on once you are sure you don’t want to make any more changes to your red, white, and blue stars sensory bottle.
- This final step is optional but recommended if children younger than three will be playing with it.
Related: DIY Rainstick Musical Sensory Bottle
DIY Patriotic Sensory Bottle: Learning Opportunities
I like to make calm-down sensory bottles with children as a teaching aid. Putting together this patriotic sensory bottle created three main learning opportunities for my daughter. Bonus points if you can think of one we missed. Please share it in the comments below. 🙂
Red, White, and Blue Stars Science Learning Opportunity
Making a sensory bottle with red, white, and blue star-shaped pony beads and water is an excellent opportunity to learn about scientific concepts such as weight and density.
Begin by placing the red, white, and blue stars in a glass 1-quart measuring cup filled with water to see what happens.
Do the stars sink or float?
We found that most of the stars sank while others floated, which became another opportunity to learn why some sank while a few floated.
Can you figure it out?
Hint: Did the star pony bead hole fill up with water?
Patriotic History Learning Opportunities
I included 50 red, white, and blue stars in this bottle to represent each state. Using fifty stars allowed me to teach my daughter a little about the history of America and its 50 states.
Another homeschool lesson idea is to share a bit about Memorial Day or Independence Day and why they are celebrated or observed as a holiday in the United States.
Math Learning Opportunities
Find creative ways to ask your children to count out 50 red, white, and blue stars. Because my daughter can easily count to 50, I decided to add some skip counting. So we ended up making piles of 5 stars each. My daughter asked if we could have an even amount of red, white, and blue stars, which brought up the concept of division, and–you get the idea. We ended up having a great conversation about math. We used 17 red, 17 blue, and 16 white stars.
Patriotic Sensory Bottle 4th of July Calm Down Tool
Show your patriotic spirit with a pair of star wands or a DIY red, white, and blue stars sensory bottle. A patriotic sensory bottle is a super fun calm-down jar for the 4th of July!
Sensory bottles can help calm an overwhelmed child; they are just as effective for adults. To learn more about DIY sensory bottles, check out Calm Down Sensory Bottles 101.
If you liked this 4th of July sensory bottle, you might also like this DIY butterfly sensory bottle or this gorgeous glittering mermaid tail sensory bottle. Click on the links to check them out!
For more fun activities, check out our summer bucket list filled with fun things to do in the summertime.
Learn more about Rhythms of Play–> HERE!
If You Liked This Red, White, and Blue Stars Sensory Bottle, You Might Also Like
- Best Sensory Bottles for Every Holiday and Season
- How to Make a Fairy Garden Step-by-Step Tutorial
- Books for Kids That Teach Important Life Lessons
- DIY Outdoor Chalkboard
- Rainstick Musical Sensory Bottle
- Outdoor Activities for Kids
MaryBeth says
Hi! Thanks for all the Calming bottle recipes! However, just wanted to share that you didn’t say how much glue you used in the Red, White & Blue Star one. Being the beads are heavier than glitter, I’m assuming you would use more glue???? But, you know what they say about assuming! haha
Nell Regan M.A. says
Hi MaryBeth!
I’m so glad that you enjoy our sensory bottle DIY recipes! This one does not require anything but water and the stars! No glue, no handsoap… just water! Give it a try and you will see how simple it is!