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Play to Learn

A delightful preschool experience

Calm Down Bottles

One of the most important things that we can teach our preschoolers is how to self-regulate when they get too excited, anxious, or overly stimulated.  A strategy that works well to help preschoolers regulate their emotions is to provide a quiet corner or nook that is stocked with “Calm Down” bottles.
Here are 4 of our students’ favorite one-ingredient bottles:
The best calm down bottles are visually appealing (like THESE) or provide some heavy work (like THESE) that will tire the kiddos out! We also love these four simple, 1-ingredient discovery bottles. They are quick to make and are interesting enough to encourage kids to sit down, take a deep breath, and regroup while discovering them.

1. Water Beads Calm Down Bottle

How to make this Calm Down Bottle

  • The 1 ingredient in this bottle is a cup of ocean colored water beads. (Available HERE.) These beads are tiny and come in a very small bag. Just soak them overnight in water and watch them expand.
  • Put the soaked beads into a Voss water bottle (available at most grocery stores or HERE) with a little bit of water.
  • The awesome thing about this bottle is that the beads in the water blend right in to create a colored water effect. The beads out of the water are more visible.

2. Rainbow Loom Band Bottle

Please tell me that I am not the only one who still has thousands of these all over her house! Pick up a few and put them in a bottle of water. They are slow sinkers and dance around in a neat pattern when you shake and swirl the bottle.

3. Magnetic Calm Down Bottle

Kids will be attracted to this bottle right away! Just fill a bottle with paper clips and water. (Note that the clips will eventually rust. If you want to create a permanent, rust-free bottle, be sure to follow THIS handy tip.)

Add a magnetic wand to the center, and let the kids explore.

4. Pony Beads Bottle

Easy-peasy! Add clear pony beads to your discovery bottle. The kids can shake them, swirl them, flip them upside down, and watch the beads as they move through the water.

ETA: Thanks for all the great feedback and comments about these bottles! We love them too. To answer some concerns:

  • The Voss bottles that I buy here in the US are only plastic. I’ve never seen a glass water bottle and certainly would never use glass with an upset preschooler!
  • The bottles here in the US also have a peel-able thin plastic label. It comes right off. Some readers have mentioned that their bottles have print right on them. Yikes! I would try a drop of lemon oil or Goo-Gone. That should take the print off.

Thanks again for reading! I hope you find ideas that will work with your kiddos. ~Jamie

If you’re looking for more Calm Down Bottle ideas, be sure to check out these posts: