Activity Overview
Create a sensory bottle filled with rice and alphabet beads and send the little ones on a quiet time scavenger hunt. This is an easy to make activity that will quell boredom, reinforce the identification of the letters of the alphabet and matching.
Simply write the alphabet on a piece of paper or card stock and ask the kids to maneuver the bottle by turning, shaking and tilting the bottle in order to unveil the letters that are hiding among the rice. Find the matches and cross them off of your list until you find them all. Try spelling out words and names too and searching for the letters that form the words.
Materials Needed
- A clear plastic bottle with a cap
- Glue gun
- Dry uncooked rice
- Alphabet beads
- Funnel
- Paper or card stock and a writing utensil
How to Make It
- Remove any labels on your clear plastic bottle.
- Pour a variety of alphabet beads into the bottle.
- Use a funnel to fill your bottle up 2/3 of the way with dry uncooked rice. Leave extra space in the bottle so that the rice can move around and uncover the letters on the alphabet beads.
- Use a glue gun to secure the cap on the bottle.
- Shake the bottle.
- Create a card with the letters of the alphabet written on it. Make sure that the letters correspond with the ones that you placed in the bottle.
- Challenge the kids to find each letter by shaking and turning the bottle to uncover the different letters and cross them off as they find them.