Create a Calming Bottle

This calming bottle activity is used by our staff as a way to help the children identify feelings of anger or worry and to create a coping tool.

Materials needed:

• Clear water bottle filled with water
• Foil
• Glitter
• Beads
• Safety scissors
• Hot glue gun
• White glue
• Drinking straws
• Food coloring

Step 1

Open the water bottle and pour a little of the water out. Then, give the water bottle to the child.

Step 2

Have the child use the scissors to cut shapes out of the foil and cut the straws into small pieces.

Step 3

Help the child add food coloring, glitter, beads, the cut-up straws, and foil shapes to their water bottle.

Step 4

Place glue inside the water bottle to help the glitter separate.

Step 5

Cap the water bottle and hot glue the lid in place. (This is an adults-only step.)

 

Once completed, have the child shake the calming bottle. When all the materials inside are moving around quickly, explain that this is what it looks like when we are upset. Then, have the child set the water bottle down. As the materials inside begin to move more slowly, have the child take deep breaths to calm down just as the bottle is calming down.