We are in the dog days of summer right now. That limbo time for some of us of right before school starts and summer ends. Or the days that your kiddos are back in school, but are still dealing with intense outdoor heat.
Kids are starting to get antsy and itching for something new and different to do.
While I wish I had something that would occupy your kids for hours on end, I don’t.
I do, however, have a super inexpensive, super quick craft that you can complete at home.
Most likely you have all of these supplies at home already, so you won’t even have to make a trip to the store.
Now, that is magic! A magic ‘eye spy’ bottle that encourages visual scanning! A skill lots of little kiddos could use help improving.
Visual scanning is completed as they search up and down throughout the bottle for different items. Then tracking skills are engaged as they see an object and rotate the bottle around, keeping their eyes glued to the moving object.
Plus, if you make a list of items for your little one to find, they can also practice visual tracking as they look at the list and then back towards the bottle.
All of these visual scanning and tracking tasks are great to work on because they help build a strong foundation necessary for reading. Or they can help to improve upon skills your little one already has!!
Fine motor skills are also engaged by having your little one fill and place the small items into the bottle. If the rice and beans happen to spill (trust me, they most likely will!), you’ve got a bonus fine motor task to complete!
Let’s dive in and learn how to make this super simple Magic Eye Spy Bottle craft!
Magic Eye Spy Bottle
Empty Bottle (Recommend a Regular Sized Gatorade Bottle, Other Bottles Work as Well)
Uncooked Rice and Beans
Small Toys and Trinkets (Feathers, Foam Stickers, Small Cars, Crayons, Etc. Whatever you have!)
1. Step One
Gather up all your supplies!
The only essential item needed for this craft is really an empty bottle.
Make sure to use something that is wide enough to put small items into. We used a Gatorade bottle and it was a perfect size!
In addition to the bottle, if you don’t have everything listed above, no worries. The craft is really flexible!
The main things to include are items that are small enough to fit into the bottle and then filler items that fit around the objects placed into the bottle.
We used a combination of rice and beans for our filler items and small toys and trinkets we found around the house to place inside.
2. Step Two
The fun step!!
Let’s fill your bottle!
Filling the bottle in layers is the way to go.
This way you can have the small toys and the filler items all evenly distributed throughout the bottle. Keep adding layers until the bottle is completely full!
3. Step Three
Screw on the lid!
If you know your kiddo won’t try to unscrew the lid, you’re all set.
A little extra precaution might make all the difference though. So, if you’re thinking you don’t want rice all over your kitchen floor, be sure to glue on the lid of the bottle.
We are playing with ‘fire’ over here and leaving the lid unglued. I’ll report back if that was a huge mistake… 
4. Step Four
Have some fun playing eye spy!
If you have a school-age kiddo who can read, make a list of items to find inside of the bottle.
Write out the list and place it next to the bottle.
Have your kiddo find the items and cross them all off one-by-one from the list. 
If your little one is still learning how to read, perhaps of preschool age, you can still make a list!
Just create drawings of items for your little one to search for in the bottle.
Conclusion to a Visual Scanning Task: DIY Magic Eye Spy Bottle
There ya go! A super quick and easy Magic Eye Spy Bottle!
Hopefully created to help keep your kiddos busy and entertained for a few hours.
Or a half-hour.
Or like 15 minutes.
Whatever the amount of time is, I hope you get so have a couple of seconds of peace. Or so you can go to the bathroom without someone banging on the door. I know, I’m setting the bar pretty high here!
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