Preschool Gift Project – Decorative Soap Dispenser

This simple project for preschoolers can be made with a variety of themes to fit most any gift occasion.

Preschoolers will feel proud to give a decorative liquid soap dispenser as a personalized gift to parents, grandparents, relatives and teachers. A great way to encourage hand-washing, preschoolers can also create their own personal decorative liquid soap dispenser. Best of all, this project recycles plastic soap dispensers and small items and trinkets from around the house.

What You Need

A clear plastic soap dispenser – Here’s a chance to recycle old plastic soap dispenser bottles. Wash out the soap and cut off or peel off the label. Buy a new bottle if you don’t have any old ones around.

Liquid Soap – Either buy a bottle of refill soap or use what’s in the bottle if your bottle is new.

Decorative Items – Small items that will fit through the top of the soap dispenser. Choose items around a theme. See below for theme ideas. Choose items that are larger than the tube that carries the liquid soap up into the pump. Items that are smaller than the tube might clog the tube.

Stickers – Add one or more stickers to the front of the soap dispenser bottle.

Themed Decorative Items

This project is versatile because you can personalize each bottle of soap. Make sure that the decorative items are large enough that they won’t clog the dispenser tube.

Valentines Day – craft foam hearts, heart shaped buttons, buttons, jewels, glass stones, marbles, small stems of artificial flowers.

Mother’s Day – jewels, glass stones, marbles, small stems of artificial flowers, buttons, plastic beads, large mylar confetti.

Father’s Day – colored rocks, rubber fish, marbles, golf tees, large mylar confetti.

Christmas – red and green rocks, beads, jewels, glass stones, marbles, button, small stems of artificial holiday greenery.

Beach - small shells, rubber fish, small toy boat, palm tree

Project Directions

1. Remove the screw-on dispenser cap.

2. Start with the soap bottle either empty (so pour the soap into another container temporarily if you are using a new bottle).

3. Preschoolers add any rocks, glass stones, marbles or other heavy items first by dropping them in the top of the soap dispenser.

4. Add approximately 1/2 inch of liquid soap. Use the soap dispenser tube or a straw to position any buttons or jewels in a different place.

5. Preschoolers add artificial flower stems (if using any.)

6. Help preschoolers fill the soap dispenser bottle with liquid soap leaving an inch of the bottle empty at the top. One way to do this is with a funnel and a measuring cup with a spout.  An adult fills the measuring cup with liquid soap then preschoolers can pour the liquid soap from the measuring cup into the soap dispenser bottle with our without a funnel. (If too much soap is added, scoop out extra with a small measuring spoon.)

7. Preschoolers drop any lightweight items that will float or sink slowly (craft foam, golf tees, etc.)

8. Screw on the cap. Rinse off any soap that got on the outside of the bottle. Dry thoroughly.

9. Place stickers (if you are using stickers) on the outside of the soap dispenser.

Tips for Adult Assistants on this Project

Let preschoolers do as much as possible. The gift will be more meaningful to the giver and the receiver if both know that the preschooler made it.

Round dot stickers are great to use because they look great overlapped, spaced wide apart, close together, etc.

Discuss Science Concepts

Float or Sink? - Ask preschoolers to guess which items might float and which items might sink in the liquid soap. If you include this science lesson, make sure you do have some items that will float such as craft foam shapes or large confetti shapes. Preschoolers can sort the items into two piles – one pile for sinkers and one pile for floaters. During assembly of the project, preschoolers will add the sinkers first, the liquid soap, then the floaters. Visual observation will tell them if they were correct.

by Kelly Pfeiffer