Mind or Serenity Jars Craft Activity

These jars are great for when kids are bouncing off the walls or are just not listening. They will take a break and mind the mind jar to calm down and to be distracted a little bit. They can stare at it until all the glitter settles to the bottom. This will give them and you time to calm down and then be ready to try again.

Materials:
-  1 glass or plastic jar with tight lid (at least 24 oz) A spaghetti sauce jar will work perfectly.
-  a dab of paint or spray paint (optional) for painting the lid (not necessary, just for looks)
-  hot water (enough to fill the jar up almost to the top)
-  liquid glue (like Elmer's glue)
-  glitter in preferred colors
-  food coloring
-  a skewer or a long stick to stir
-  hot glue gun (for sealing lid when project is completed)

How to:
0. (OPTIONAL) You can paint or spray paint the lid for your jar if you'd like. If so, do this first 
    so it will be dry by the time you are done making your mind/serenity jar.
1. Put hot water in the jar. The water has to be almost boiling, but not quite. Fill it up almost 
    to the top.
2. Next comes the glue. You know how some snow globes have the snow fall really fast 
    and some take a long time? Well, the more glue you pour in, the slower the glitter will fall 
    because the water will get thicker. If you want the glitter to fall fast, then put less glue in.
    A good tip to keep in mind is that if you want to use this as a "let's take a break" activity, 
    then you want it to last at least 2 minutes (in other words, you want the glitter to take at 
    least 2 minutes to settle completely to the bottom).
    You will be able to assess as you go, so start with a little bit (take the lid off the glue 
    bottle and squeeze a couple of dollops out to begin with).
    Mix well with stick. Make sure the glue dissolves completely.
3. Add your favorite glitter. We had the bigger glitter and the tiny kinds. I mad a blue one 
    and a purple one. In the blue one, I added blue and gold glitter and in the purple on I 
    added purple and orange glitter. The gold and orange gave the blue and purple nice 
    contrasts.
    Mix well with stick.  This is when you will see whether you need more glue (if the glitter 
    settles too fast) or if you got the right amount).
4. Add a drop or two of food coloring of choice. Adjust as needed. Some people like theirs 
    really dark and others really light. The lighter they are, the more the glitter will show, but 
    the darker it is, the more contrast the glitter will have.
    Mix well with stick.
5. Fill up the jar with water if it needs more. Leave a half inch space (see picture below).
6. When you are absolutely ready to seal it (no more glue or glitter or food coloring 
    needed), put a little bit of hot glue on the inside edge of the lid and close immediately. 
    You might need a rag because the hot glue might make the lid too hot to handle with 
    bare hands. Let glue dry.
7. Enjoy! (Note: if the jar you use is glass, make sure you leave it out of your child's reach while they are staring at its beauty.)