We have made Glitter Jars since my 9 year old was a wee one. We called them Sensory Bottles and would often include some items that sink, some that float, and glitter. Little ones love to shake, roll, and I-Spy what’s inside.
Now that my littles are getting older, we have been incorporating many mindfulness skills and mindfulness practices into our daily schedules and rhythms. Glitter Jars have turned into an activity in Mindful Looking. Watching. There is something magical and therapeutic and calming about glitter jars. Seeing the glitter twirl in a tornado all around the jar and watch as it settles calmly back to the bottom of the bottle. We often parallel this visual to our own big feelings. Big Feelings seem to swirl around inside our minds and bodies like a tornado and eventual settle and calm back down just as the little settles to the bottom of the mindfulness glitter jar.
Glitter often scares parents away because it can get messy and looks like a unicorn threw up all over the house — for days. This project is certainly not mess-less but it is LESS-MESS because I found the perfect individual containers for both the glitter glue as well as the fine granulated glitter making them a one-pour and in type situation.
Less Mess Glitter Mindfulness Jars are a fun way to add some sparkle and sneak in some mindful conversation about big feelings like anger or frustration. It is the perfect visual aid for seeing our big feelings without judging them and then making the connection that, no matter how big the feelings are, they will always settle again. Feelings are only temporary. They come and go. They tell are clues to our insides but they change fluidly.
Moody Cow Meditates is the perfect book to go along with this project. Kerry Lee MacLean has a recipe for a Mindfulness Jar in the back of the book that differs slightly from the one I have below. There are many different versions available to check out online as well. We also love her other book Peaceful Piggy Meditation for practicing Mindfulness with young people!
Below you will find our Mindfulness Jar Instructions:
Step 5: Add Fine Glitter
