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Review by Ashley Kemper, Common Sense Education | Updated May 2015

Settle Your Glitter

Name: Settle Your Glitter
Item: Settle Your Glitter
Rating: 3
Author: Ashley Kemper

Simple, beautiful tool for emotional regulation

Subjects & skills

Grades This grade range is based on learning appropriateness and doesn't take into account privacy. It's determined by Common Sense Education, not the product's publisher.

Pre-K–8

Great for:

Common Sense says (See details)

Teachers say (2 Reviews)

Take a look inside

3 images

On the opening screen, kids can decide what emotion they're currently feeling.

After selecting their emotion, kids decide whether they are extremely or just a little bit emotional.

Kids shake the iPad and watch the glitter shapes move around the orb while the puffer fish helps kids practice mindful breathing.

Pros: The graphics are beautiful, the interface is easy to use, and the language is spot on.

Cons: It does not collect data to show trends of emotional regulation.

Bottom Line: This tool is a must-have for younger kids who struggle to regulate their own emotion.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

If kids are encouraged to use the app as needed, not as a punishment, and consistently and gradually practice the deep breathing on their own, they will internalize at least one way to regulate themselves. If a student shows signs of growing angry, sad, worried, or silly, teachers can help him or her identify that they're feeling out of control and have them use the tool to calm themselves down. Eventually, teachers should establish a go-to safe place within their classroom where students can begin to use this tool independently. At first, teachers may need to help younger students identify their emotions and practice mindful breathing as they mimic the puffer fish on the screen.

What Is It?

Kids first select their emotion (mad, sad, silly, or worried) and then the intensity of that emotion (not at all, a little bit, very, extremely). Then they shake an animated orb of glitter and watch it move around the virtual snow globe. In the bottom right-hand corner, an animated puffer fish helps show kids when to inhale or exhale to facilitate mindful breathing. Based on the severity of the emotion, the glitter will settle to whichever side the iPad is leaning for a certain amount of time. To finish, the puffer fish will ask kids, "Are you finished?" and kids can decide if they need to keep using Settle Your Glitter until they feel calm enough to return to regular activity.

Is It Good for Learning?

Settle Your Glitter is simple to use, beautiful to watch, and accessible to most. It takes the concept of a calm-down jar used to help kids regulate their emotions and makes it virtual. Giving kids a visual representation of particles settling in addition to having them name how they're feeling empowers kids to calm themselves down. Practicing deep breathing, if done consistently in response to intense feelings, can transfer away from the app and become a habit. Though Settle Your Glitter was created to be used as an assistive tool and does not include much content, the engaging graphics and research-based design make it a great addition to any classroom. It would be especially helpful with students who struggle to identify or regulate their emotions independently.

One improvement would be the option for sound: Some kids will need the rationale in "How to Play" read to them, and some might benefit from calming music, especially if the environment around them is noisy. Also, extension activities to help kids apply what they learn from using the app would deepen its impact.

Rating Details

Overall Rating

Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

The beautiful graphics and smooth animations make it likely that kids will find Settle Your Glitter engaging.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

This research-based tool uses Susan Kaiser Greenland's book The Mindful Child as its foundation. Kids name their emotion and its intensity before practicing one method to calm down.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

No user guide is available, though Settle Your Glitter is intuitive and easy to use. No data is stored about the frequency of emotions, which might be helpful for recording patterns.

Common Sense Reviewer

Ashley Kemper STEM Project Manager

About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

Teacher Reviews

(See all 2 reviews) (2 reviews)

Featured review by
Salina S. , Special education instructor

Special education instructor

Great visual cues to help calm down

I really liked how easy this app was for the children to navigate on their own. The visual representation of the mind clearing and taking mindful breaths were very effective in helping children to calm down. Before you shake the glitter the fish asks you what you're feeling and how intensly. I would have liked for there to have been a way for the app to track the responses to this and when/how often it is being used.

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