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Perfect for little space explorers, this Space Sensory Bottle doubles as a rich (mess-free) sensory experience and a letter identification activity in one!

*Pair this with our Alphabet Experts Bundle!

Space Sensory Bottle

When to Use this Activity

Our Space Sensory Bottle is an awesome addition to a Space Unit – but for me, it’s a great option to keep at our language center for an always-available space exploration option without extra prep or clean up for me.

This bottle is self-contained and mess-free and by laminating the worksheet, kids can simply wipe it off when they are done and put it back for others to use.

It’s a calming sensory activity and self-paced letter identification activity in one.

You’ll want to use this activity in more than one sitting because kids need to shake and twirl the contents of the bottle to try to find all of the letters, so even children that have used the material before are still attracted to the work because they find new letters every time.

The second time around, turn it into a game of “how many more letters can you find this time versus last time?”

(If you want children to be able to complete the sheet in one sitting, you may want to put duplicate or even triplicate letters in the sensory bottle.)

Rocket Letter Discovery Printable

This Letter Search Printable is really versatile – it can be used with this sensory bottle, or you can pair it with a sensory bin or a large-scale activity like hiding letters all throughout the classroom or in a park or playground.

Ensure that you write capital letters on the stars to match up with the letters on the printable.

After completing the letter search element, kids can be encouraged to search for the letters to compose their name, specific site words, etc.

RELATED RESOURCE: Beginning Sound Centers and Activities

How to Make a Space Sensory Bottle

First, gather your materials:

Glow in the dark stars
Marker – I would suggest permanent as the washable didn’t show up as nicely
Black floral gravel
Black beans – we actually used our DIY Sparkly Space Beans from our Space Sensory Bin\
Clear plastic bottle
Strong craft glue

Write the alphabet out on the stars and let dry.

Fill the sensory bottle with the beans and gravel – you may need a funnel to prevent spills.

Add the letter stars and give the bottle a few good shakes to mix up the contents.

Print and laminate the Rocket Letters printable (below). You will want to provide washable markers and kleenex to allow for the printable to be re-used.