Making a calm down glitter jar with your child is a fun, simple and can help calm them down during emotional times.
Encourage your child to read the list of equipment and instructions out loud:
You will need
- A plastic or glass jar or bottle, depending on the age of your child
- A jug of warm water
- Glitter glue (any colour)
- Biodegradable glitter (any colour)
- Food colouring (any colour)
- Hand soap or baby oil
What to do
- Squeeze the glitter glue into the bottom of the jar, so the jar is about half full
- Add around 2 to 3 tablespoons of glitter
- Pour in the warm water, leaving some space at the top so that everything can move around
- Add 3 drops of food colouring and 8 squirts of hand soap or a tablespoon of baby oil
- Put the lid on and shake it – if you need to add more glitter or glue here you can do
- Make sure the lid is screwed on very tightly – you can even glue it in place if you want
Once you’ve secured the top of the jar or bottle.
What it means
When the bottle or jar is shaken, the glitter and water will swirl around. This is like our thoughts when we’re upset, angry and not thinking clearly.
But watch as the glitter slowly settles at the bottom of the jar once again and everything becomes still and calm again, and you can see through the water clearly once more.
Every time your thoughts are swirling around, you can shake the jar and watch as the glitter slowly settles and everything calms down – and the same will happen for your thoughts.
