It is a versatile and stimulating sensory resource glitter is an extremely relaxing and calming material that is the reason it should be an integral part of all crafting and arts activities and accessible at all times within your environment.
Have you ever witnessed children having fun playing with glitter? They are so absorbed by the glitter that they are completely absorbed. Their eyes sparkle when they are captivated by the glittering glimmer, and they are excited and amused at how the excitement transforms into creativity.
Glitter can not only bring enjoyment to children, but can also assist in calm down an angry or over-stimulated child, when there is nothing else to be helping. In the early years of my career for over 20 years, I’ve discovered that glitter is an essential product for craft and art and also as a part of sensory play.
In this piece I will concentrate on the play that involves glitter. It will also discuss how this aids in the development of children in a holistic way. The play of glitter not only aids children’s development holistically, but it is also a beneficial element of play that is sensory and offers many play options activities and opportunities for learning.
Glitter play can open up a variety of options for children’s sensory play, similar to children play with water. Children are curious and become extremely focused while pouring, filtering, or passing water through different sizes of bottles and tubes, playing with floating, sinking and other things. Like playing with sand, the glitter play provides a variety of therapeutic activities, it assists in concentration, increases the fine motor abilities, as well as adds to social and language abilities.
I incorporate glitter into every one of my craft and art classes and it’s available to the children anytime in our kindergarten. Children are always drawn by glitter. Even when they’re infants, they become enthralled and are attracted to shiny or shimmering materials or toys.
Visit this website when searching for a glitter store.
As children get older, their interests expand and they must experiment. The use of glitter provides children with lots of opportunities to explore. It aids in their development of social, intellectual, fine motor skills , and hand-eye coordination. Here are a few examples:
Mark making toys for toddlers and pre-schoolers.
Give them activities to do, for example, creating art using glitter. This kind of activity can improve the strength of fingers, hands and wrists. The children must be able to move their fingers on their own, as well as utilize the pincer grip (the pincer grip utilizes fingers and thumbs). It is the next stage to build their thumb and wrists. They must then be able to place their wrists on tables and to to move their hand without restriction.
Here are a few exercises that support marking making. I’ve selected a few activities that are enjoyable and have an immediate impact on the process of acquiring and understanding information through the senses and controlling.
Homemade glitter paint
It’s much more enjoyable for pre-schoolers in our younger years than ordinary paint. Here’s a recipe for making your own glitter paint. You’ll require:
1 cup of flour.
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of water.
1 cup of salt.
Food colours you like.
Squeeze bottles.
Large bowl.
Paper.
Combine all of the components together in the large bowl, excluding the colors. Then, pour the mixture into squeeze bottles. Then add a different color to each bottle, and shake it up thoroughly. When it’s all mixed, allow the youngsters to apply it on the paper. When the paint is dry and the salt that is in the paint gives an effect of glitter.
Paint Christmas stars, trees, snow balls – let your child’s imagination take over. This paint is suitable for any occasion and event at our pre-school.
Paint leaves and fir cones using glitter glue
Utilizing natural materials can be enjoyable and has an added benefit of helping children discover more about the world around them. They will be able to recognize the different kinds of trees. You’ll need:
Collection of different kinds of fir cones and leaves.
Transparent glue.
Glitter.
Paint for posters.
String.
Children should mix glitter and transparent glue. Paint the leaves or color the fir cones as well as the leaves. The leaves can be tied with string and then make the leaf bunting.
Activity with spoons of glitter
This activity assists children with their early years to focus in their coordination of their hands. It is necessary to:
Two bowls of the same size.
Teaspoon.
Tray.
Gold or silver sand (or pebbles)
Place the sand in one bowl. The child must transfer the sand using a spoon, into the second bowl. This is a great way for children to focus and concentrate by moving the bright sand between the bowls to another bowl. Children will benefit from enhanced hand-eye coordination as well as increased concentration. It also strengthens the thumb, finger , and wrist muscles.
Glitter sand
Mix glitter and sand. The kids are able to use their fingers to create shapes, and later to create numbers and letters. Give paint brushes, forks and rakes to form shapes.
Glitter playdough
Playdough that is glittered with playdough is one of my favorite activities for pre-schoolers of all ages. Making, rolling cutting, sculpting squeeze, beating, pressing and even tasting playdough help to build finger muscles robust.
The addition of glitter adds a new dimension to the game. If you have a theme taking place in pre-school, create different colored playdough with glitter. For example the various colours of playdough we made to study “nutrition and food”. The children created a variety of fruits and vegetables using playdough.
Playdough with black colour was used for our lesson on’space as well as planets’. The kids enjoyed having fun with this black and silvery glittery playdough to create meteor stars and rocks. Also, give them shiny beads, silver and gold papers.
These are games that are fun games, but have an immediate influence on the development of perception and control as well as sensory experiences. There are numerous other activities that provide similar opportunities.
I have these bottles to calm my children for when I have an anxious and over-stimulated child who requires calming down. These bright and sparkling snow globes are very relaxing and an excellent tool to help children make the shift from self-regulation to co-regulation, for instance the time a child is distressed for whatever reason and does not wish to be reassured and prefer to be left to their own devices.
The bottles that soothe children are useful. Put the bottle before the child so that he/she will observe. These bottles aid in keeping the child’s attention to one area, particularly when the child is feeling like no one can assist.
A child is able to shake the glass upside-down and instantly concentrate on the swirling glitter and then settle down. It can have a calm relaxing impact on your brain. The child is calm and is not focused on kicking or pushing. Their breathing is slowing to a normal level and eventually will reach an appropriate pace.
The bottles can be used as “time-out” bottles when a child requires to be calm and remain quiet for a some time. You can give the child a bottle and invite them to relax and observe for a while until glitter is settled at the bottom. It takes between 10 and fifteen minutes to let the sparkle settle completely down. Most importantly, children love watching this. I create the bottles along with preschoolers. You’ll require:
Small empty plastic water bottle.
Clear glue 1/4-cup.
Hot water.
Choose the glitter you like.
Hot glue gun.
Mixing bowl large.
Hand mixer.
Then, place the clear glue into the mixing container. After that, add adequate water in the bottles to bring it to the neck (taking into consideration the safety of children). Then, add the glitter you like.
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and ensure that the glitter and glue is well mixed and all glitter lumps have been broken up, and it is completely smooth, and has no lumps remaining. Once the liquid is at at room temperature, you can make sure that it is filled until it fills about the neck on the bottle made of plastic.
The final (adult) stage is to secure the lid using the help of a hot glue gun, so that children won’t be allowed access the bottles.
Edible glitter
In this article, I’d like to discuss edible glitter. It’s easy and cheap to make and the kids will have a lot of fun making it. When I first explained to my children that we were going to make edible glitter, they were quite awed. They wanted to know to let them take a bite of the glitter. I replied, yes that when you decorate your Christmas cookies or cupcakes, they can enjoy the taste of the shimmer. Make these ahead of time and store your food in an airtight container. The edible glitter is suitable for any occasion for birthday celebrations and Halloween celebrations, Easter, or Christmas, and for all of your cooking and baking.
I am a huge fan of these kinds of things with my kids. They need to understand that you don’t have to buy everything in the shops. There are items that can be created by us. These kinds of activities give children the opportunity to work as together, to study basic mathsand improve their language skills and learn new vocabulary. They can teach children social skills that include working in a group by sharing and caring and waiting for their turn and much more. In terms of emotional satisfaction, it gives them the joy of seeing a dazzling finished product.
Making glitter sugar sparkles
Things you’ll need:
One cup of sugar that is granulated.
1 teaspoon of food color of your preference.
Oven tray.
Mixing bowl.
Pre-heat the oven at 180°C. Add the sugar and the color into the mixing bowl and mix everything thoroughly. Spread them out thinly to the baking tray. Then, bake it over 10 mins or so until it appears shiny. After the sugar is cool mix it, then keep it in an airtight container. You can use it anytime you want to decorate cakes, biscuits or other desserts.
Edible salt glitter
Simple and affordable It is possible to add shimmer salt into playdough or your own paint. You’ll require:
One cup sea salt (or cooking salt).
Two or three teaspoons of food colouring you prefer (depending the strength you would like the color to appear (light or darker).
Oven tray.
Mixing bowl.
Pre-heat the oven up to 180oC. Add the salt and the colour in the mixing bowl , and mix. Once the mixture is mixed, you can spread it thinly onto the baking tray and bake on the baking tray for about 10 mins. After the salt has been chilled, mix it up again and store it in an airtight container.
Utilizing natural materials and combining the natural materials with glitter, colour and glue can be very satisfying for both adults and children. It’s cost-effective and many of the items are in your garden or at your home. If you don’t have a yard for your back then you can use the forests and parks that are open to the public. They’re filled with natural resources which are for free and children are able to learn a lot from these short excursions.
In our preschool, following Easter, we typically have a day at the park. Children are taken in by the parents, and the teachers accompany them to the park. We go through our regular kindergarten time in the natural surroundings. They love spending time in the park. We gather all kinds of stuff, including leaves, nuts, twigs as well as fir cones, acorns and much more. Then, we return them at the school.
Sand can be very relaxing for children. Adding glitter is a bonus sensory experience that entices kids who are shy and enhances their social abilities. Creative thinking boosts their capabilities in fine motor skills as well as the development of their language. It aids children to be integrated into the larger group.
The above activities stimulate children’s imagination, and help them learn to work with tools that are readily available to them. The primary reason for the activities mentioned above is children are engaging their senses. They use their vision, hearing and smell and tasting, as well as making use of fine motor kinaesthetics.
It is encouraging children to engage in activities that boost their self-esteem as well as their sense of ability in areas which are appreciated by us all. This will increase their motivation and enthusiasm to learn, and lay the foundations for their education in the primary school and beyond.
Key Aspects
Sand can be very relaxing for children, and adding glitter can be a great sensory boost that can help youngsters who feel shy, and helps them develop their social skills.
Creative thinking boosts their capabilities in fine motor skills as well as the development of their language. It assists children in integrating within the group.
Glitter is required to be accessible at all times during your first years of setting