One popular activity with families is making memory jars, which are a beautiful, creative way to remember loved ones, so Sophie, our Play Therapy Assistant, is showing you how to make them!
You’ll need
- A bag of table salt
- Coloured chalks
- A jar with a lid
- Sheets of paper.
How to make a sand jar
- Think about your loved one… What are your favourite memories of them? What are the important dates in the year that help you remember them (e.g., their birthday)? Choose 5 or 6 of these to be layers in your jar
- Lay out your sheets of paper – one for each memory or special date – and pour salt onto each sheet until your jar is empty
- Rub chalk onto the grains of salt until they’re the colour you’d like, using a different colour for each section
- Gently pour your coloured salt into your jar in layers – you can move the jar around to create different effects and layer the colours however you like
- Once all your salt is in the jar, tap the jar so that the salt settles and fill the remaining space with plain salt or cotton wool to stop your coloured layers moving
- Secure the lid.
Tip
Make a key to show what each colour represents (you can do this with a sticky label, paper or permanent marker).
Sophie says…
“Creating sand jars gives families a great opportunity to share and explore their memories together and gives a lasting, unique reminder of the person they wish to remember. This activity can also give family members a chance to learn about each other’s favourite memories, which can be very special.”