These 10 Plagues Sensory Bottles are a versatile way to learn about and review the plagues as well as engaging in a sensory activity that can also have a regulating effect. Woo hoo, that’s a lot from just one activity!
The 10 plagues may be just one part of the Passover Story, but they sure do capture the fascination of young kids. They also have a special part in Passover seders. These 10 Plagues Sensory Bottles can help prepare your kiddos to be ready to call out each plague during your seder!
What You’ll Need
- 10 empty clear bottles. I used 8 from an old set then 2 smaller Voss bottles. Use whatever you have or can get easily!
- Super glue
- Various liquids: water, clear glue, clear hair gel, vegetable, baby or mineral oil
- Blue and/or green food coloring (optional)
- Representing blood: red food coloring
- Representing frogs: plastic frogs (small enough to fit through the lip of the bottle)
- Representing lice: black rice or lentils
- Representing wild beasts: small wild beast figurines
- Representing livestock disease: small cow and/or sheep or goat figurines
- Representing boils: red gems or pom poms
- Representing hail: white ping pong balls (if the bottle lip is large enough), small white rocks, beans, pom poms or beads
- Representing locusts: small plastic locust figurines
- Representing darkness: black paint
- Representing death of the firstborn: small rocks (placing rocks on gravestones is a Jewish tradition; you can also use whatever other representative your feel comfortable with for this last and saddest plague)
Putting It Together
- Put each of the above figurines/items into separate bottles (one of each type in a separate bottle).
- Add liquids (combinations work too) of your choice to the different bottles. Add enough to reach close to the top but not into the lip. This is a great science experiment! Let your children mix and match and encourage their creativeness (and scientific observation).
- Super glue around the lip and quickly and tightly screw on the lid.
- Shake the bottles around and watch your 10 Plagues Sensory Bottles move and settle and show off the ten plagues while also being a regulating experience!
- Supplement this activity with your favorite Passover plagues book and/or our 10 Plagues 3 Part Cards!
Finished & Loving It!
I had my kids help fill up each of the bottles. This creation of the bottles is of course an activity in and of itself, giving them the opportunity to practice numerous skills such as fine motor, coordination, cross the midline, and focus, to name a few. They also loved watching how the different combinations of liquids mixed and reacted to each other. Oil and water (and food coloring droplets before they are shaken) are all really fascinating to watch. And are wonderful science experiments at work!
When the bottles were finished the activity of course continues: shake, turn over, and observe the bottles. The objects will move around in various speeds depending on their weight and the liquids you chose for the bottles. They are truly mesmerizing to watch.
These bottles would work so well as an activity introducing the 10 plagues to a baby or toddler as the container makes all those choking hazards now safe to observe! The liquid movement is also very calming for all ages.
Placing the bottles on a home or classroom shelf or table top works well as an invitation to explore. Can they remember or guess what plague each bottle represents? I could imagine these bottles in a preschool quiet area along with some Passover books.
I’m also envisioning these 10 Plagues Sensory Bottles as a Seder centerpiece! What a unique and fun decoration that also doubles as an activity for your guests!
You could easily write the plague name (in English and/or Hebrew!) on either the bottle base or the lid. I did not know do this as I made naming the plague, and the order in which they appear, part of a friendly quiz. I am so impressed how well my children now know all the plagues (and their order!). They have picked it up way faster than I did.
You really should check out our Instagram reel so you can see the shaking, turning and 10 Plagues Sensory Bottles movements in action!
We paired this activity with our 10 Plagues 3 Part Cards. These cards explain the story behind the 10 plagues, which sometimes gets lost, especially when teaching younger children when the emphasis seems to be so much on identifying and naming the plagues.
We have other 10 plagues activities you might find interesting:
- Ten Plagues Easy DIY Tray
- 10 Plagues Sorting Sensory Bin
- Release the 10 Plagues Sensory Activity
- 10 Plagues Card Game
- 10 Plagues Passover Sticker Wall
- Passover Themed Bath: The 10 Plagues
- Passover 10 Plagues Sticker Wall Activity
- Passover Playmat Plague Bags
- Passover Playdough Loose Parts Plague Bags
- Think & Craft 10 Plague Bags
- Passover 10 Plague Playdough Fun
- DIY Passover Plague Bags
- I Spy Passover Plague Activity
Ooh and even some other Passover sensory bottles you might want to try as well!
This was such a fun and fascinating activity to create and to use. I hope you give it a try–let me know how it goes!
What have been your favorite crafts or activities to learn or teach the 10 plagues? Or to call out their names during your seder?
Chag Passover Sameach!
We have a whole page dedicated to Passover, our Passover Hub. Check it out! It includes some of the Passover activities we plan to do this year, as well as the activities we’ve done in previous years.
And don’t forget our Passover Montessori-Style 3 Part Cards, a wonderful way to introduce Passover! And, now we also have all 13 Jewish holidays bundled together in A Year of Jewish Holidays 3 Part Cards.
If you want to have a ton of Passover early learner activities ready at your fingertips, try our Passover Activities Packet for Early Learners! I am so excited about all the Passover-themed literacy, fine motor skills, math, and play fun!
The following sites are amazing resources for learning more about this holiday:
Chag Sameach!
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