Make These Gorgeous Glitter Jars in a Rainbow of Colors

These rainbow glitter jars are sure to be a hit, whether you love or hate glitter. And they’re a must-have on your list of spring activities for preschoolers! Read below how to make them.

Glitter!

That one word can strike fear in the hearts of glitter-phobes, while simultaneously bringing a smile to the faces of people like me. Where do you stand?

Related: Rainbow Experiment

Table of Contents

How to Make Rainbow Glitter Jars

Either way, these glitter jars are just what you need. Enough glitter for lots of sparkle and shine, but it’s all in a sealed container!

They were inspired by our falling heart glitter jars, only with more (you guessed it . . .) glitter and colors.

Materials We Used

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Empty, clean jars or bottles
Light corn syrup
Glitter liquid watercolors
Glitter
Water

Rainbow Glitter Jars for kids to make and use

Directions for Making Glitter Jars

Make sure to start with a clean and empty bottle or jar. I’ve used water bottles and mason jars, but this time I used seltzer water bottles we had on-hand.

They’re glass, so I wouldn’t use them with younger kiddos. My son, his buds, and my preschool students are all supervised and know how to handle the jars.

Measure out 3/4 cup of light corn syrup in a glass measuring cup.

Then add about 1/2 cup of hot water to it and stir everything together. Pour the mixture into the empty jar or bottle.

Next, add a few drops of the glitter liquid watercolors. These will color the water and corn syrup, while adding some sparkle in the form of very fine glitter.

From there, add whatever kinds of glitter you have around. My son and I were a little too entertained to add a variety of glitters to each bottle. I’d just received a huge amount of glitter for my birthday, so we had tons to choose from.

Put the top on securely, shake, and watch everything swirl around before settling!

See them in action here:

Rainbow glitter jars - great for calming down, sensory observations, science, and math

Teaching with Rainbow Glitter Jars

In addition to being just plain fun, these glitter jars pack a lot of learning.

To start off with, making the jars can be a science experiment. Bring out different shapes, sizes, and weights of glitter.

Have the children predict which glitter they think will settle the fastest.

Which do they think will take the longest amount of time to settle?

They can map out their predictions and record their observations once they see the jars in action.

Exploring colors is another way to use these jars.

I think they’ll fit perfectly into discussions of rainbows and the order of colors in the rainbow.

Each morning, mix up the glitter jars. Then challenge kids to rearrange them in rainbow order!

Have children go on color hunts inside and outside.

They can sort what they found with the appropriate sensory bottle.

These are the perfect calm down jars, too.

There is just something so relaxing about watching the glitter swirl and settle.

The jars act as a focal point for kiddos who just need a little break during the day.

How would you and your kiddos use these rainbow glitter jars?

I’d love to hear how it goes if you make your own set!

Rainbow Glitter Jars - perfect for kids to make as calming bottles or colorful discovery bottles

Related: Turkey Sensory Bottle

A Full Week of Playful Rainbow Theme Ideas

Save time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, and we’ve provided different versions for home preschool families and classroom teachers so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.