Shakin' Speech

I pinned this project over a year ago.  I thought the idea of it was fabulous, but just never found the time to make them.  Well since I was feeling especially lazy last Sunday and didn't want to do anything too ambitious I decided it would be a good day to make it happen.  I talked my fiance into going to The Dollar Tree with me to purchase the materials for a few projects I have in the works. On a side note, you can tell he shops with me a lot because he never once questioned my basket which included; mason jars, a green loofa, a pair of fuzzy children's gloves (I have no children), cleaning wipes, and a star shaped night light. Here's the link to the website I got my glitter jar inspiration from.   However, to be honest, I've never been the best at following any type of "recipe" so I sort of took her recipes as suggestions and modified them to meet my needs (and supplies).  Also, the site I used made a lot of great suggestions to use the jars for the purpose of science experiments which got me thinking....what should I use my jars for???? (I will leave you in suspense for now, but don't worry, after I show off pictures of my glitter jars I will fill you in on how I "speechified" the jars!)

Here's what I used to make my jars: 

Corn Syrup

Glitter

 (buy the fine glitter, the big glitter just sinks to the bottom-learned this the hard way)

Hot Water

Mason Jars

a few drops of dish soap 

Pipe Cleaners (optional)

(hot glue to attach pipe cleaners) 

To sum up what I did to make the jars quickly: I added 1/2 cup of corn syrup to the jar, then I filled them to about 1 inch below the top of very hot water.  Next, I mixed the two liquids together with a fork.  Then, add about 1 tablespoon glitter. Finally add 2-4 drops of dish soap (I don't know why you add the dish soap, but I figured there is some reason for this so I included it). Put the lid on and shake 'em up! The more corn syrup you add, the longer it will take for the glitter to sink.  I added slightly different amounts of corn syrup to each of the three jars I made.  I also twisted pipe cleaners into spirals and hearts and added them to the inside and outside of a few jars. 

Here's what they ended up turning out like (I take pics on my Ipad so I don't think the photos do them justice).  Let me emphasize how AWESOME these look in real life. 

Here is a view from the top. 

Here's what they look like when the contents are all settled to the bottom. 

Shake, shake, shake....shake, shake, shake...shake your ja-ar. 

Now for the "speechify" part....I have already used these jars for all sorts of things! 

For my articulation groups these jars were used as "timers" to see how many targets the students can say correctly before the glitter settles. For my language groups the jars were used to make predictions, to compare and contrast, to target adjectives, and to target basic concepts (first, second, third, inside, outside, top, bottom, same and different).  I had students predict what jar will settle first, second, and third. We talked about where the glitter is at the beginning (bottom). I had students choose 2 jars and compare and contrast them.  We also targeted same and different through this activity.  For my older students I had them compare and contrast all three jars. The reason I added the pipe cleaners was to give more things to compare/contrast. We talked about how some of the pipe cleaners are on the inside and others are on the outside.  We also discussed the different glitter colors as well as the colors and shapes of the pipe cleaners. 

P.S. The kids LOVED them!

If you choose to join me in making glitter jars and have other creative ways you are using them in therapy please post them in the comments! Now go get shaking!