How fun is this mind jar? I found this idea on a blog called Here We Are Together. She explains that “A Mind Jar is a meditation tool to use whenever a child feels stressed, overwhelmed or upset. Imagine the glitter as your thoughts. When you shake the jar, imagine your head full of whirling thoughts, then watch them slowly settle while you calm down”.
This can provide a nice alternative to a traditional timeout, and it encourages the child to refocus without punishing them. Although the kids and I just like to shake it up and sit and watch the glitter swirl around and around. Perhaps next time we’ll make our own snow globe by gluing an object on the inside of the lid.
Supplies:
- Jar (baby food, mason)
- Glitter Glue (I like using Crayola’s Glittler Glue…but generic will work as well)
- Food Coloring
- Warm Water (hot water is better)
Directions:
Mix about 1 tablespoon of glitter glue with 1 cup of warm water…depending on the size of your jar. My jar was a bit bigger so I used 2 tablespoons of glitter glue and 2 cups of warm water.
I also added some blue food coloring since my kids like the color blue. I also added some blue glitter in addition to the glitter that was in the glitter glue.
Note: The warm water is to help dissolve the glue. I had a hard time dissolving it…so I heated the water up in a microwave safe cup for 30-60 seconds. I kept heating it up until I felt like all the large clumps dissolved. If you are still having trouble getting the large lumps out…I would recommend adding the contents into a bowl and then using a whisk to beat the lumps out.
Please know that while the water is warm…the glitter will fall quickly.
I noticed that it only took about 3 minutes for the glitter to fall while the water was warm…but it took a little over 5 minutes to finish falling once the water cooled down.
If you do use this as an alternative to time-outs and think 5 minutes is too long for your child, you should play around with the water and glue ratio.
Be sure to check out our 10 week summer calendar to beat those summer boredom blues…And if you would like a similar activity to our calming mind jar…I highly suggest this tie-dye glue experiment. It will be sure to take the blues away.
And for those of you looking for a simple and quick birthday treat…try these easy and delicious gluten-free birthday treats today.
