Last year I made these silly centering Meditation Friends with the kiddos at the preschool. We had so much fun that we decided to make them again but with a new twist to make them even more engaging and personable. Just like last year started our day reading Peaceful Piggy Meditation which introduces the idea of a meditation jar. On we went from there to make our own special meditation jars with personality!

These helpful friends are based on an activity at the end of this amazing, fun book. My six-year-old loves this book. We re-read it often when she is going through a hard time in her life and it seems to really speak to her.

New to the idea of a meditation jar? Here is how it works ~

A meditation, or mind jar, is a jar filled with liquid, like water and glitter. The child shakes the jar which sends the glitter spinning and spiraling. The glitter is like a busy mind, and mind full of thoughts maybe even negative thoughts that swirls and feels crazy. Has the glitter settles down and the child watches it breathing deep into their belly, they can focus on the glitter and let their mind settle down.

These new kids on the block have a special something added to them~ we created layers in the bottle by adding oil colored with a bit of food coloring to the water. This makes it take longer for the contents to settle down giving the child more time to breathe and calm down. It also makes the liquid a bit more sparkly.

What you need to make your own ~

Bottle or Jar with water tight lid (I used plastic water bottles to prevent breakage but glass would work fine as well.)
Water
Oil
Food Coloring
Glitter or Glitter Glue (Glitter glue will make it take longer for the "thoughts" to settle down. Use warm water if you choose to use glue)
Googly Eyes
Decorations (We used peel and stick foamies)
Ribbon or Yarn
Fabric Scraps
Hot Glue Gun

Instructions ~

Fill the bottle half/half with water/oil, or you can vary the amounts ~ we did more water than oil with our friends.
Ask the child to pick out their favorite color from the food colors and add a drop or two to the bottle. The oil and water, of course, won't mix and the food coloring will color one layer giving you a nice contrast and making it more exciting to shake the meditation friend and to watch it settle down.
Next add glitter or glitter glue and secure the bottle shut.
Then have the child decorate their bottle to look like a face with googly eyes and any other materials you have on hand. I like to use peel and stick foamies because, well, they are easy! You can also glue on the face but plan for drying time and that the faces may fall of fast.
Finally give the new friend a hat by securing a piece of cloth on top of the bottle with hot glue and ribbon or yarn.

Easy Peasy!