treasure in a bottle
This is an easy project that entertains kids longer than you would think possible.
You will need a clear bottle. I used a 2 liter soda bottle that I bought for the single reason of using it for this project. My kids rarely get to have soda, so that was also a treat.
Fill the bottle 2/3 of the way full with birdseed or rice. (I chose birdseed because I can reuse it to feed to the birds, unlike the rice. You will be tempted to fill it more than 2/3, I know I was. But don’t do it. It makes it impossible for the birdseed to really move inside the bottle and for the “treasures” to get lost and found inside.
Go around the house and find little things to put inside the bottle. Basically anything that will fit through the small hole on the top of the bottle is good.
I put inside:
paperclip
diaper pin
thumbtack
lego
barbie shoe
marble
wooden bead
plastic ring
crayon nub
as well as a few tiny random toy pieces I found lying around the house.
Screw the lid on tight.
The give the bottle to them and let them shake, roll, and smack it to find the little “treasures”
More fun than you would think possible.
February 13th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
If you do not want them to drink the soda, pop a mentos in there, or a spoonful of salt, and watch it explode with bubbles! It works better if it is a diet soda. I put it in the bathtub to reduce clean-up.
February 13th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
OH. MY. GOODNESS.
You just keep getting more and more BRILLIANT!!!
I was at…someplace…and almost paid a WHOLE bunch of money for a toy exactly like this one, never once thinking that I could just make one myself! (Only the other one didn’t have birdseed, it was plastic beads and it cost $15, I think.)
WOW!
P.S. I bought a huge bag of rice yesterday and it’s sitting in my kitchen, all waiting to be colored!
February 14th, 2007 at 12:15 am
Wow! That’s too easy. Why didn’t I think of it? We just finished a bottle of juice so I’ll get that out of the recycle bin and actually recycle it myself as a toy! Thanks for the great ideas this month!!!
February 14th, 2007 at 2:43 am
I am SO doing this for my Pre-K classroom!
February 14th, 2007 at 3:36 am
My kids’ pediatrician has one of these, only it has little miniature things … like a tiny pencil, a bird, etc. I guess you could find them at a store like Hobby Lobby? Then there’s a label on the outside with a list of things to find, like those “I Spy” books. Brilliant! (Thanks, Chris!)
February 14th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
why can’t you feed rice to birds?
February 14th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
I am so totally not kidding when I tell you I love you.
February 15th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
What a terrific idea, and I love Stephanie’s suggestion above of using a diet soda/mentos experiment first with the bottle.
February 17th, 2007 at 4:20 am
I did this with my kids today. Hobby Lobby has a small assortment of fun miniatures - we got records (although my kids didn’t know what they were), tiny silverware and dice from the dollhouse section. From the scrapbooking section, we got birthday candles, dog bones and snowflakes. We also pu in googley eyes, teeny jingle bells, a screw, a mini baby bottle (from the cake decorating section), piece of ricrac, a safety pin, and a penny. My son wasn’t even able to part with two legos for the bottle, so we did without. Don’t forget a funnel to make pouring the birdseed easy!!! (Learned this the hard way.)
February 18th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
I would imagine you could also do a “travel sized” version for the car with a 20 oz. (or 1 liter) bottle to take on trips! (I’m going to try this on our next car trip here in about three weeks, so I’ll let you know if it works out!)
February 20th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
it is also good with gallon-sized ziploc (really well sealed and taped). As a bonus, the child gets some tactile sensory input.
February 24th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
I’ve been doing the kid thing a long time and this is an absolutely amazing idea that I’ve never heard of in over twenty years of working with children!
Off the drain the ginger ale down the sink….
March 1st, 2007 at 3:00 am
I know this may be a little late, but I made these for my preschoolers. They LOVE them. One little girl even brought her mom in to show her. Cool!
March 4th, 2007 at 4:49 am
somestrangetextvista
March 5th, 2007 at 10:28 am
blurting…
Best online price for buying hoodia…