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.
Here’s an easy 4th of July Sensory Bottle that can help your kids celebrate, calm down, and learn to self-regulate. Calm down sensory bottles like this Sensory Bottle for the Fourth of July are a helpful tool for children (and adults). Learn more about sensory bottles and their uses in calm down sensory bottles 101. You might also enjoy these 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 get to be a bit overstimulating.
Related: Best Sensory Bottles for Every Holiday and Season
Patriotic Sensory Bottle Materials
- Voss bottles (Or, many bottles from the recycle bin will do)
- Goo Gone
- Red, white and blue star pony beads or use stripped beads, or regular pony beads in red, white, and blue
- Water
- Glue
Related: DIY Slow Falling Hearts Sensory Bottle
How to Make a 4th of July Sensory Bottle
1. Peel off the label on the water bottle. Use Goo Gone to remove any remaining residue.
2. Drop red, white, and blue star-shaped pony beads into the empty bottle. You can also use regular red, white, and blue pony beads if you can not find stars. We used 50 for each state (see learning opportunities below) and 17 red, 17 blue, and 16 white stars.
3. Fill the bottle to the top with water.
5. 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. It’s hard to add more stars or take some out once you glue the cap!
6. 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.
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 turned into 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
To represent each state, I decided to include 50 red, white, and blue stars in this bottle. 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 activities.
Learn more about Rhythms of Play–> HERE!
If You Liked This Red, White, and Blue Stars Sensory Bottle, You May Also Like
- Best Sensory Bottles for Every Holiday and Season
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- Books for Kids That Teach Important Life Lessons
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- Rainstick Musical Sensory Bottle
- Outdoor Activities for Kids
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
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!