# St. Patrick's Day Sensory Jars > Kids pour water into jars, tint it green or golden yellow with liquid watercolors, then add coins, beads, confetti, glitter and pom poms while guessing what will sink or float. A simple themed sensory jar to play with and display. - URL: https://www.funlittles.com/sensory-activities-for-kids-st-patricks-day-sensory-jars/ - Ages: 3–6 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium - Time: prep 10 min, activity 20 min - Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class · one batch serves about 1 kids - Skills: sensory-exploration, sink-and-float, predicting, color-mixing, fine-motor - Cautions: ingestion-risk ## Materials (one batch) - 1 piece Glass jars - Water (household) - Liquid watercolors (green and yellow) - Gold and green plastic coins - Confetti - Shamrock confetti - Gold and green bead necklaces - Green pom poms - Gold glitter (optional) - Green glitter (optional) - Shamrock stickers (optional) - 1 piece Spouted measuring cup (household) - 1 piece Bamboo skewers (household) - 1 piece Divided tray or small bowls for the knick knacks (optional) (household) ## Substitutions - Instead of glass jars: Plastic bottles (The author suggests switching to plastic depending on the child's age.) - Instead of coins: Any St. Patrick's Day themed knick knacks you have on hand (The author says you don't have to use the same materials, and going theme-free is always an option.) ## Safety - Use glass jars judiciously. Depending on the child's age, switch to plastic bottles. - Coins, beads, confetti, pom poms and glitter are small parts and a choking hazard. Supervise closely and keep them away from children who still mouth objects. - Bamboo skewers are pointed. Show kids how to stir gently and supervise their use. - Liquid watercolors can stain hands, clothes and surfaces. Cover the table and wipe spills quickly. - Wash hands after play, especially after handling glitter. ## Before you start - Gather the jars (or plastic bottles for younger kids) and set the knick knacks out in a divided tray or small bowls. ## Steps 1. Set out the jars, water, liquid watercolors and a tray of St. Patrick's Day knick knacks. 2. Pour water into your jar using a spouted measuring cup. 3. Add green liquid watercolor, or yellow for a golden treasure jar, and watch the color swirl into the water. 4. Stir the colors together with a bamboo skewer. 5. Sprinkle in confetti, shamrock confetti and glitter. 6. Before you add each item, guess whether it will sink or float. Then drop it in and see. 7. Drop in a pom pom and watch it float. Push it under with the skewer until it soaks up water and sinks. 8. Stir the beads and coins with the skewer and bring them up from the bottom. 9. Display your bright golden and green "treasure" jars. ## Tips - You don't have to use the same materials we did. Just set out whatever St. Patrick's Day themed knick knacks you have on hand, or go theme-free! - Please use the glass jars judiciously. Based on the age of the child, you might want to switch to plastic bottles. - Let the kids enjoy watching the colors mix with the water before they add anything else. - Pom poms are the star. They float as soon as you drop them, and once pushed under they suck up water and sink. Guessing first gets the kids excited to watch. - My 3 year old had a grand time mixing up all the contents, especially stirring the beads with the skewer and bringing them all up. - Liquid watercolors give gorgeous color for both sensory and art activities. ## The original post by TurkeyMom (2014) Sensory Activities for kids are such enjoyable experiences, especially if they don't involve a whole of clean up after play. Ever since we did our [**Spring Potions Jar**](https://www.funlittles.com/spring-activities-explore-outdoors-and-make-flower-potions/) last year, then our [**Fall Sensory Jars**](https://www.funlittles.com/fall-activities-fall-sensory-jars/) the kids and I have been enjoying making seasonal sensory jars. Today we share our latest seasonal sensory activity in the form of our St.Patrick's day themed sensory jars. {Don't forget to check out our **Valentine's day sensory jars** and our [**Snow Jars**](https://www.funlittles.com/winter-crafts-kids-snow-jars/)} Materials - **[Glass Jars](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005T6FBOK/?tag=blmemo-20)** - **[Liquid Waterclors](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0042SWTUU/?tag=blmemo-20)** - **[Gold and Green Coins](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004IAHQ0K/?tag=blmemo-20)** - **[Confetti](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IC7IP0A/?tag=blmemo-20)** - **[Shamrock Confetti](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001NRYVOK/?tag=blmemo-20)** - **[Golden and Green Beads](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003HCY504/?tag=blmemo-20)** - **[Green Pom Poms](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002JPTGZ4/?tag=blmemo-20)** - **[Gold Glitter](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IAHH/?tag=blmemo-20)** - **[Green Glitter](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001QOGZMQ/?tag=blmemo-20)** - **Shamrock Stickers** - **** You don't have to use the same materials for all our sensory activities, especially our sensory jars. Just set out whatever St.Patrick's Day themed knick knacks you have on hand. There is always the option of going theme free! Either way you go these sensory jars are fun and easy to make and the children will have a great time playing with them afterwards ( Please use the glass jars judiciously. Based on the age of the child you might want to switch to plastic bottles) Juts like usual, the children started off by pouring the water using a spouted measuring cup and immediately added the gorgeous liquid water colors. I cannot stress the color of these watercolors enough. They are gorgeous and are great for both [**sensory activities**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/sensory-bins/) and for [**art activities for kids**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/art-projects/). {all our [**liquid watercolor art activities**](https://www.funlittles.com/tag/liquid-water-colors/) here} **** After the fun of watching the colors mix with the water died down, the kids mixed up the colors with bamboo skewers and added the confetti and all the knick knacks. **** We again did an exercise on sinking and floating. They took turns in guessing which item will sink and which one will float. This time my 3 year old had a grand time mixing up all the contents, especially the beads with the skewer and bringing them all up. We also did an amazing "golden" treasure jar with yellow liquid watercolors. Simple sensory activities like these gave our family such bright grins and excitement. Pom poms and the stickers were great additions, especially the pom poms. As soon as you drop those, they float. Once the child pushes the pom poms into water, they suck up the water become heavier and sink. Guessing whether the pom poms will sink or float before experimenting is a bit interesting and it gets the kids excited to watch the floating pom poms sink . Display your bright and cherry golden "treasure" jars. Thanks for reading More [**sensory activities for kids**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/sensory-bins/) on our category page More [**Messy play**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/messy-play-2/) here