Glitter can be a parents worst nightmare, but it can also be a child's best friend. The glitter activity is designed to help children show their parents what may be going on inside their heads, plus what's more fun than glitter?!
Things You Will Need:
1. A jar or bottle - a plastic bottle may be better so that you don't have to worry about glass breaking.
2. Glue - Elmers glue works the best, in my opinion.
3. Glitter - The finer the glitter, the better.
4.Water - Warm water, straight from tap.
5.A hot glue gun - This will help keep the lid close
How to Make Your Glitter Jar:
1. Fill your bottle about 1/8-1/3 of the way full (if you add more glue, the glitter will take longer to fall back down).
2. Add about a tablespoon of glitter.
3. Fill the rest of the bottle with warm water.
4. Hot glue the lid on by putting a ring of glue on the lid.
What Does the Glitter Jar Help Do?
For Calming
- This is why some people call it a “calm bottle” or “calm-down bottle”. The swirling glitter is very calming as it falls to the bottom of the bottle, for both kids and adults.
For Relaxation
- In the same way it can calm you when you’re agitated, shaking the bottle and watching the glitter settle can further relaxation when you’re already calm.
For Learning About the Brain
- You can use a glitter jar as a tool to explain how the brain works. When your emotions are rising up, the brain (the bottle) floods with cortisol (the glitter) and you flip your lid (shake the bottle), losing access to the prefrontal cortex, its flexibility and reasoning capabilities. As you breathe, the cortisol dissipates (the glitter settles to the bottom of the bottle) and you feel calmer and the prefrontal cortex comes back online, making it easier to feel calm and make better decisions.