Manic Monday: Seek & Find Sand Bottles

Week #9: Seek & Find Sand Bottles

You Will Need:

1 Empty bottle
Enough sand to fill the bottle
1 funnel
Several small objects that will fit into the opening of the bottle

Directions:

Gather materials, and make a list of every item you are putting in the bottle.  My kids are younger, so I took a picture of each item or group of items. Then I went online and made a photo collage, 8 X 10, I was able to fit all the objects on one page.  We made 2 bottles, one for each kid.  If you have older kids, you could write out, or type the list of items and they could just read what they are looking for.

After you have catalogued every item, layer sand, and items in your bottle.  Close your bottle, you could super glue it shut if you want to prevent any spills.

The possibilities are endless on how you could play with these things!  You can take turns trying to stump the other person.  Tell them which object or objects to find, and then time them.  Or use a timer and see how many things they can find in a certain amount of time.  I like to leave things open ended for my kiddos and see what they come up with.  We've had so much fun with these bottles and my mind kept flying to other possibilities.

What about spelling words, or math problems.  You could do sight words, and look for them.  Or, list words, and then have your kid find the letters inside the bottle. You could just print the letters, words, or numbers onto pieces of notecards.

Another great thing about this activity is that it builds vocabulary and provides a way for kids to discuss size, shape, texture, color, and a variety of other descriptors.

Chances are, you have almost ALL the materials for this laying around your house, or you can gather them inexpensively.