ice play with a twist

 

We at the 'do! live in a pretty sunny climate. Our winter temps can get pretty chilly at night but for the most part we can get away without a sweater for much of the year. During our week of The Mitten, I thought it would be fun to fill our outside sensory tub with ice and when I found these awesome ice sphere molds from ZOKU on sale an idea was born!

It took me a few days to freeze about 10 spheres mostly because I kept forgetting to do so and partly because it does take quite a few hours. I played with adding a little and/or a lot of food color for variety and got a kick out of each sphere as I removed them from the molds. Really, it takes very little to please me. I wish I had taken photos of them, they were so pretty!

Just before outside play time, I put a little bit of water into our two sensory bins and separated the ice spheres by cool and warm colors (the food color leached out qucikly enough to tint the water so I thought it would be prettier plus we've been working on cool colors and warm colors in the classroom). The kiddos were very curious and there were shouts of "circle ice! spheres! snow balls!"

 

 

It did not take long for the kiddos to realize just how cold the spheres actually were and there was a discussion about how to play with them other than dropping them on the ground to see them break (which did happen rather quickly because ice balls!) After a little debate the children realized mittens would work and after much running around was had, one of the kiddos returned with a single mitten on his hand followed by others, each one bearing only one mitten a piece (or a glove). I loved that...thank you happy thrift store mitten find!

After the mittens got completely soaked, the kiddos returned to the room to retrieve another mitten (I am just now wondering where did all those mittens go?) to continue their investigations.

 

 

 

Play narratives came out, color matching, rich language, songs, math, and science all made an appearance. They had so much fun I think I need to make more...once I remember where I put the mittens...

fizzy ice fun in the classroom

 

Back in May we had some seriously hot weather for our town. The kiddos got a bit lethargic and so I brought out a class favorite and added a bit of ice to the mix.

 The kiddos love mixing colors and experimenting with baking soda and vinegar. They spent about 30 minutes noodling around. We began with ice cubes and watercolor and then a couple of drops of vinegar was added along with a smattering of baking soda. There were a lot of Oooooohs and Aaaaaaahs.

They become so involved they don't even complain about the scent of the vinegar. They were also completely happy with their first color choice and did not ask for other colors like they usually do. Yay for science!

Fun with ice...or snow!

 For those of you in the middle of the summer heat, you can do this project easily with a store bought block of ice or your own homemade block. I used a frozen juice can. Those of you with access to snow, I say get yourself a bowl-full and let your wee ones have a go at it!

What you need:

*block of ice, store bought or homemade

*a cup of salt

*liquid water color or watered down food color

*containers for your "paint" (i used disposable ice cream cups from a local scoop shop)

*sponges and/or paint brushes, eye droppers

*a tray with edges (like a cookie sheet with sides)

*squirt bottle(s)

*paper towels or clean scrap rags

scrumdilly-do it!

This is super easy, super delightful, wet, messy and scientific to boot! Place a paper towel or rag on top of your tray/cookie sheet. Add you ice block and get ready for some fun! The rag/towel will keep the ice from scooting all over the place. You can of course do this project outside. A kiddie pool would probably be a blast for your wee ones. If using snow you can pile up your mound on the tray or keep it in your bowl, it is up to you.

 

Set out your supplies and let your kidlets have a go. Paints should be in accessable cups. Add some paint and salt to a squirt bottle for variety. Adding salt to the top first, then brushing all around your ice with some salt water will help speed the melting process along. The salt will also create cracks in the ice which will hold the paint color for a little while. It looks mighty nifty!


Ice droppers would be awesome for snow. A sponge brush works best with the ice as well as a squirt bottle. I add all the different elements so that I can ask the kidlets questions. "What do you thing will happen if we squirt the ice with a stream of water? What if we used a mist? Which brush will help melt the ice faster? What would happen if we added salt to the paint first? What if we used hot water?"

 

If the block gets too muddled with color, pour some clear water on it and have your wee ones start all over again! I did this when my three your old friend came over to play. We took it outside for some more exploring.



He spent the rest of the day checking every half hour or so to see if it had melted yet. Make sure to say things like "Hey! What kind of science are you doing? Are you a scientist? Why is the ice melting? How long do you think it will take to melt to nothing?" All in all let your kidlets explore and have fun. If your wee ones are too small or you don't have any color on hand, hand them some sponge brushes and a bowl of water and let them paint the sidewalk. Tell them they are observing the act of melting at work! Most of all...have fun!

Coming up, summer fun with chalk!