As an activity for the kids at my daughter’s 4th birthday party recently, we made these mini mindfulness bottles. At face value they’re pretty ‘potions’, but kids can use these to help them relax if they’re feeling stressed out or worked up. They can either shake them up and watch them while practicing slow deep breaths until the glitter settles, or if there are multiple glitter colours or shapes older kids can associate different ones with different thoughts, feelings or emotions. Watching the swirling glitter slow down can have a calming effect.
This is a great way of introducing easy mindfulness/meditation to kids (plus I’ve been shaking them up a little myself lately, so they work on grownups too!).
All you need is:
- A jar or bottle with a lid that seals tightly
- Water
- Glitter (one colour or assorted colours/shapes)
- Glycerin (also called glycerol – this is not the same as glucose)
- Food colouring (optional, to colour the water)
Some people use glitter glue or regular glue, but I like to use glitter and add a teaspoon of glycerin (you can buy it from the pharmacy) as sometimes glue can clump up because it needs to be dissolved in hot water.
If you’re using a narrow-necked bottle it might be useful to use a small funnel to fill it – add your glitter, glycerin and food colouring then simply top it up with water leaving a little space at the top so it’s easier to shake everything up. Screw the lid on tightly and you’re good to go!
You can add as much or as little glitter as you like, glycerin isn’t necessary but it helps to slow down the movement of the glitter.