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I thought it would be a good time to check in and share how our homeschool journey is going now that we are a month or so in. We have been having so much fun, it is amazing how much information these little ones can soak up. One of the funnest parts of our learning adventures is actually our geography, which really surprises me because that was never one of my favorite subjects growing up. I had found an idea online and amped it up to be more of a fit for us. This week, we are learning about Ethiopia. Fact: going into this – I knew NOTHING about Ethiopia but could probably {maybe} find it on a map. My favorite part of homeschool is that not only do I get to learn right along with the kids, but we get to bring what we are learning about to life. Today I will be sharing some DIY glitter water bottles that we made, but first, why we are making them.
Our geography curriculum includes reading some books on the area we are studying, doing a fun worksheet that includes coloring the flag, and making a traditional meal. One book I stumbled across in my research was A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Nya, a young girl walks 2 hours each way twice a day to find clean water. During the dry season, her family has to move and dig through the mud to hopefully find clean water. It pulled at my heartstrings and I can’t wait for it to get here in the next few days so I can read all of it! I mean, I have a water cooler in the kitchen and fill my water bottle up whenever I want to. I felt lost when it was broken for a few weeks and we had to keep a jug of water in our refrigerator. I can’t imagine not knowing if or when we could get more water to drink.
One thing we decided to do after talking about Ethiopia and the water crisis was to make the kids some new water bottles of their own. We all have our own water bottles and they go everywhere with us. The kids have been begging for new ones and this was the perfect time to get them. They were so excited and even more excited when I began working on making them extra special. They were each getting a glitter ombre type water bottle with their name on it. They were glued to my side during the entire process.
They are super easy to make, but you know – glitter. It goes everywhere. That’s why it’s so much fun! So, let’s gather up the materials and get to it.
Materials
- Stainless steel water bottle
- Extra Fine Glitter
- Dishwasher Safe Mod Podge
- Foam Brush
- Painters Tape or Masking Tape
- Tape Measure or Ruler
- Triple Thick Clear Coat
- Stencil with Name or Design {Optional}
Let’s get crafty!
The first thing you want to do is wipe the water bottle clean using either water or alcohol.
Next, apply your stencil. We cut ours in vinyl so it stuck easily to the water bottle, but you may have to tape your stencil name on.
Decide what color glitter you will be using. For Maggie’s, we used light pink, dark pink and purple. For Charlie’s, he chose blue and silver. Decide where you want to tape off and separate the colors.
***I thought I’d be fancy and do the names in two colors. Big regret. It still looks cool, but the tape on top of the stencil made it pull up on Maggie’s and I had to redo it. Plus, on Charlie’s, where the blue glitter is, it blends into the blue cup so it is a little tougher to read the top half of his name.***
Place tape around water bottle. Begin by tearing off a large enough piece of tape. Then, cut small slits around the top and bottom to allow it to stretch or bunch more easily, allowing you to evenly place it around the water bottle. Use a ruler or tape measure as you go around to ensure it is in an even line across.
Place a second piece of tape over where the slits are if necessary to prevent you from getting glitter where you don’t want it. Don’t forget to tape along the top and bottom of the bottle if necessary.
Now is the fun part! Apply a thin, even coat of mod podge on the surface that you want to cover using the foam brush.
I recommend using a small cake pan or cookie sheet when working with glitter so that it doesn’t end up everywhere. Holding the water bottle in one hand, shake the glitter around the water bottle as you spin it. Apply an even coat, covering the entire surface. Gently tap the edge of the bottle to allow any excess to fall off. Let dry thoroughly, roughly an hour.
When it is dry, apply a second layer of mod podge over your layer of glitter. Reapply the later of glitter. We ended up adding in a little of our second color when we did this second coat to make it a more gradual color change on Maggie’s. We only did one layer on Charlie’s because it covered perfectly. Again, let it dry completely. Repeat this step until you have the look you want.
Once you have finished, repeat again for any open space you have. I still had to do the middle of Maggie’s water bottle but I didn’t tape it off because I was alright with the colors blending a little. I repeated the mod podge, glitter routine until it was perfect for us.
Now comes the moment of wow. Peel off the tape and the stencil. Ta-da! Your masterpiece is almost finished, just one more step.
Spray with triple thick clear coat. Let dry.
Now that they could FINALLY use their water bottles, they could focus on school work. We read through our books on Ethiopia and they got busy drawing and coloring the flag. We talked about interesting places to visit, the size of the country, population and what they are known for. We talked some more about the water crisis and how it might make us feel if we were there.
We talked about ways that we can help families facing no water. One thing we talked about was how people and companies sometimes do things to help other countries out and one thing we talked about was the Emergen-C® raspberry packets that we picked up for me at the store. I’m a fan of Emergen-C®, especially during the winter months around here. Since we were out, I picked some raspberry flavor up from Walmart. 
I never get enough sleep and know I need all of the help I can get. Emergen-C® is packed with B vitamins, antioxidants† , electrolytes plus more vitamin C than 10 oranges^. With over 20 flavors, you have plenty of delicious varieties to choose from.” † Zinc and Manganese ^Based on the USDA.gov nutrient database value for a large, raw orange.” Emerge and See. Emerge restored. Emerge replenished. Emerge Fortified*” *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Onto the awesome part though.
Emergen-C® understands the need for clean, accessible water for everybody and they are setting out to do something about it. 
You can join Emergen-C® on their mission to help fund projects that bring clean, accessible water to communities in Ethiopia by entering the #40Pounds Challenge and/or Emergen-C charity:water The #40Pounds Challenge
Join us in this challenge by uploading your picture to Instagram, using hashtag #40Pounds and tagging @emergenc. #40Pounds Challenge and/or Emergen-C charity water The #40Pounds Challenge
We all learned a lot about how very different our life is from the girls living in Ethiopia walking for hours to get clean water while we are having fun doing our school work. Part of our goal with our geography is to enable the kids to see inside other places and learn what they can; what they are known for, what they have in excess or lack, what attractions there are and tons of facts about the countries. I love taking them on a tour of the world.
What ways does your family explore the world? Is teaching them about ways they can help and give back part of your daily life?
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
