How To Make A Glitter Jar To Help Kids To Stay Calm
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to make this glitter jar (or bottle) you can keep on hand to help your child relax and calm down the next time things become overwhelming.
We all have times when we feel stressed, angry, upset, or otherwise overwhelmed. Sometimes children — just like adults — need a moment to calm themselves and gather their thoughts. The difference is that while adults have years of experience in regulating their emotions, articulating feelings, and learning calming strategies, your child does not.
Kids can therefore quickly become overwhelmed by big feelings and stress responses that throw rational decision-making out the window. That’s why it’s important to help your child learn how to cope with these “big” emotions.
When Donkey Hodie gets upset, she knows that slowing down and taking a deep breath helps her feel calmer. Once she is calm, she can focus on her goal or figure out a way to solve a problem.
Deep breaths are one way to calm down. Together with your child, think about other ways to calm down when upset. Some ideas include taking a walk, counting down from five, or closing your eyes for a few minutes.
You might also try a visual sensory experience that encourages mindfulness, to help bring your child back into the present moment. This simple activity is for you and your child to make your very own mindfulness calm down jar. As they watch the glitter settle, children can calm themselves and return to the present moment.
You might like to call your jar an anger jar or timeout jar. Giving it a label like this reinforces the idea that using the jar is a tool we can reach for when things are getting too much.
Ready to get started? Let’s jump into how to make a glitter jar!
Materials
Directions
Gather your supplies and remove the label from the water bottle or plastic jar by soaking it in warm soapy water.
Fill the container about 3/4 with hot water — an adult can help here!
Add the gel glue to the container. We used 5 oz of glue in a 33 oz plastic bottle, but the amount needed may vary depending on the size of the container.
Add glitter to the container. Different size glitter will fall at different speeds, so you may like to add a mixture of different types of fine and ultra-fine glitter that will settle at different rates. You can even add larger glitter shapes like stars or sequins, if you have them.
When you’re happy with the amount of glitter, screw the lid on tightly and then shake until the water, glue and glitter are mixed.
Set the calm down jar on a flat surface and watch the glitter settle at the bottom.
Now is the time to fine-tune your glitter jar, so talk with your child about the results. Did the glitter settle fast or slow? Did we use enough glitter? Should we change anything? Do we want to add food coloring? If you want to make changes, add more clear gel glue to make the glitter settle slower or more water to make it settle faster. Make any changes and then super glue the cap onto the container to seal it shut. Let the glue dry.
Once your glitter jar is dry, you’re ready to add it to your child’s tools and techniques for calming down and feeling mindful. To use it, shake the jar or bottle and watch the glitter settle.
You can use the calm down jar as a quiet visual experience whenever your child needs a calming moment. Encourage them to focus on the glittering contents as it settles down, and invite them to allow that calming feeling to flow through their bodies as well, as they watch the glitter swirl and then settle.
Sensory-Friendly Adaptation
Consider using a smaller bottle that is easier for your child to hold and manipulate, like a spice bottle, thoroughly cleaned plastic peanut butter jar, or small water bottle. Look for lids that will not break when dropped. In addition to food coloring, you could consider using non-toxic liquid watercolor paint. Adding a little bit of cooking oil will also help slow down the glitter to make an even more pleasurable visual sensory experience. Besides glitter, you can also add slightly larger objects like googly eyes, beads, and mini erasers.
Other Ways to Use Your Glitter Jar
Timeout jars can be particularly useful when you combine them with other calming techniques such as deep breathing or counting down. It’s important to practice these techniques with your child so that they can learn how to calm themselves with the help of their homemade glitter jar.
Above all, the calming sensation kids experience using a glitter jar is through mindfulness — the feeling of being in the present, experiencing their body and their environment calmly, and not becoming lost in irrational fight or flight responses. Giving kids these mindfulness prompts as they use their glitter jar will help them manage stress better and practice self-control.
As well as using glitter jars to calm down, return to your body, and feel present, you can also use the jar for all sorts of activities with your kid throughout the day! Try setting a challenge where your child needs to brush their teeth, pick up their toys, or clean up from an activity before the glitter settles. The chore then becomes a race against the glitter — a fun incentive to beat the settling sparkles.
Well, there you have it — you just learned how to make a glitter jar! We hope you’ll try this fun craft together with your child.
Want more “Donkey Hodie” activities? Check out the Make a Donkey Hodie Puppet craft and the Singing Our Waiting Song activity to continue the fun!
Original craft idea by Johanna Spaulding. Johanna is a youth minister's wife and a stay-at-home-mom of three. She hopes to stay connected to other moms and connect with new ones through her blog about life, being in a ministry family, motherhood, homemaking, and everything in between. See her blog at My Crazy Blessed Life. Photography by Melissa Jackson.
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