• If you drink a lot of bottled water, you may have a powerful educational tool at your fingertips. Empty bottles can be used to make a variety of craft projects and to demonstrate a wide variety of teaching topics. You can use the bottles as the focus of hands-on activities for your preschool class or to teach about the importance of recycling.
  
  

Magnetic Bottle

• You can use empty water bottles with lids as props for a hands-on lesson on magnets. Students learn the difference between metals and plastics and how magnets work. You can place several different types of objects in your bottles or allow students to pick items they think will be attracted to magnets. As each child runs her magnet across the sides and top of the bottle, she'll be able to see what items the magnet picks up and what items are left behind.
  
  

Density Bottle

• You can use water bottles to teach simple lessons on density. Children learn about how the density of liquids affects the rates that items sink into them. You can fill the bottles with substances like water, hair gel or cornstarch and water and help students record the differences that occur as they drop marbles or different sized stones into the bottles.
  
  

Recycling

• Water bottles can be use in lessons about recycling and landfills. Children can collect water bottles form their homes and communities and track the impact their recycling has on the community. They can also recycle the bottles themselves by brainstorming ways to reuse them in the classroom.
  
  

Noisemakers

• Water bottles can make interesting musical instruments for your music play area. Children can experiment with adding different types of materials, like coins, marbles or paperclips into the bottles to produce different sounds. They can also be used as noisemakers for parties, pep assemblies, sporting events, field days and celebrations.