Make a Pirate Treasure Discovery Bottle with Water Beads

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I have recently discovered water beads, and my son and I have been having a blast with them! These small polymer pellets expand when soaked in water and turn into squishy, bouncy balls that are great for sensory activities.

We got a small pack of water beads from a vendor at the Irmo Okra Strut back in September, but since we moved to a new house soon after that, I hadn’t done much with them. But now I’ve learned there’s so much you can do with these things! And they are fun.

Fun with water beads of course includes using different kinds of spoons, cups, and bowls to transfer them from one container to another. Plus, they BOUNCE!
Fun with water beads, of course, includes using different kinds of spoons, cups and bowls to transfer them from one container to another. Plus, they BOUNCE!

For our first activity with water beads, Remy and I made a discovery bottle: the Sunken Treasure Discovery Bottles for Little Pirates craft from the Fun-A-Day blog.

Our finished product! Remy was bored with pictures at this point.
Our finished product! Remy was bored with pictures at this point.

Remy really enjoyed picking out what he wanted in his discovery bottle and pouring the ingredients in the bottle.

Pouring in the jewels he picked out. Putting the small pieces in a cup first can make pouring them through the funnel much easier for little hands.
Pouring in the jewels he picked out. Putting the small pieces in a cup first can make pouring them through the funnel much easier for little hands.

Watching the pieces float up and down as he turns the bottle upside down occupied him for quite a while too.

It can take a little bit of shaking to get the water to penetrate the sand the first time you flip it.
It can take a little bit of shaking to get the water to penetrate the sand the first time you flip it.

Discovery bottles are a fun activity, but I do find 2-year-olds tend to lose interest with them after a few days, so I usually put them away for a couple weeks and pull them back out again when he’s getting bored with his current toys. They’re always good for a couple days when they are “rediscovered” again.

Making the discovery bottle

Here are the materials you’ll need:

  • Clear plastic bottle
  • Funnel (to put the sand and glitter in the bottle)
  • Craft sand (any color you like)
  • Glitter (we used gold, but any color will work. I suggest a large/coarse glitter, as clean up will be easier and the pieces will show up better in the bottle.)
  • Beads or jewels (we used jewels, but I think I like the beads better)
  • Sequins (again, we used gold to stick to the pirate treasure theme, but any color will do)
  • Small craft shells (small ones flow better with the water beads inside)
  • Blue water beads
  • Water
  • Hot glue gun (to seal the cap on the bottle)

I used a small Fiji water bottle. It has a great flat surface that lets kids see what is going on inside, and a little Goo Gone sticker remover will get the sticker residue off. Pour the water out before you start the project; I found it to be easier (and less messy) to put all the materials in a dry (or mostly dry) water bottle as opposed to a mostly full one.

We added our ingredients in this order: Sand, sequins, jewels, glitter, shells, water beads, water. You don’t have to do it this way, but I thought it was easier to get the materials in the bottle and they flowed well when the bottle was turned. I suggest filling the bottle with water beads not quite all the way to the top and the water not all the way up to the top too. You need a little bit of air at the top so everything can move around when you flip the bottle upside down.

Everything is in except for the water beads and water.
Everything is in except for the water beads and water.

We had already been playing with our water beads for a few days, so ours were already fully engorged before we started this craft. It is really fun to watch them grow, so make sure you make that part of your fun too! Sometimes they can take several hours to get full size, so leave enough time for this step — maybe do it the day before. When they are really full, they tend to bounce, so Remy thought “throwing” them into the bottle so they bounced around inside was hilarious!

After a few water beads, Remy discovered this was his favorite part! And yes, we did this craft pantless, at least Remy was pantless!
After adding a few water beads, Remy discovered this was his favorite part!

A note about water beads: They are nontoxic, but they are not meant for eating. This is probably not the best craft for a child who puts everything in his mouth!

If you’d like to use water beads with your children, look for them at craft stores or on Amazon; I’ve also found them at Dollar Tree.

I’ll try to do another post soon about other ways to play with water beads. I especially foresee us using water beads this summer in an outdoor water table!

Have you discovered water beads? What are some fun ways your little ones have played with them?

Photo credits, top: wwarby / Foter / CC BY; fun-a-day.com
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Lindsey Young
In 2011, as Lindsey Young was anxiously awaiting her transfer acceptance letter from the University of South Carolina, she unexpectedly found herself pregnant! It turns out God actually did have a plan, because the next year a perfect baby boy was born and a year after that, she and her baby daddy tied the knot! (Yes, we are aware we did things backward, but I wouldn’t change a thing about it!) Since then, her life has revolved around the tiny terrorist making demands and trying to balance life as a wife, mother, part-time college student, friend, short-order cook, maid, etc., with a husband that works nights. (Though she doesn’t always feel successful!) Lindsey is due to receive her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Anthropology from the University of South Carolina in May 2015. Traveling abroad the first time she went to college left her fascinated with other cultures and she is thrilled to get the chance to study the “Tribe of Motherhood” firsthand. She is also due to begin her training as a Birth Doula in October of 2014. Lindsey would like to be an advocate for women’s health education and natural birth options, though she has never had a natural birth herself. Next time though! Lindsey's husband is an Irmo, SC, native and was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point for 5 years. Even though Cherry Point is only 30 minutes away from where Lindsey grew up in Morehead City, North Carolina, they met in Columbia, SC in 2010 while singing karaoke.

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