Monday, July 19, 2010

Frozen Fun

I was recently reminded of a very fun activity James and I did last summer (click here to see that post). I decided to replicate it and add few new twists to it, too.

James and I created a frozen block of ice that we filled with colored cubes of ice, plastic gems and some water creatures (that big orange thing is a jellyfish!). The idea was for James to "excavate" the items from their frozen state. :)

Pretty colors in the ice

James LOVED this experiment and tried a variety of techniques to melt the water such as salt, sand, warm water and sugar (obviously I knew ahead of time that some of these wouldn't work, but I wanted James to try them out and discover that for himself!).

Curious hands

Frozen treasures

It was so fun to watch James with this activity because he looked at it so differently now that he's a year older. He definitely took more interest in the science behind it. He quickly realized water and salt were the most effective tools and really went to town with the salt shaker. :)

I laid out a variety of tools as well, such as paint brushes, a sponge, a spatula, a dropper, and a small hammer. (Thanks to The Picky Apple and her post about Ice Smashing for giving me the idea about the hammer!)

We laid chunks of the block out on the patio ledge to watch the sun melt the ice.

We will definitely do this activity again - James learned a few new things and it provided us with 2+ hours of outdoor family fun - oh and it kept us cool on a very hot July day!

38 comments:

Christy Killoran said...

Sometimes, I will put a few little toys in a cup of water and stick it in the freezer. These frozen blocks of ice become icebergs in the bathtub and make bath time a bit more fun!

I'll have to do this with my kids. I love the science aspect and it is a fun way to spend a hot day.

Nathalie said...

I am discovering your blog. Great activities ! Thank you to share it !

Alison said...

How did you get the colours in the ice? I had totally forgot about this activity, thanks for reminding!

Mama to 5 said...

what a cute idea - I will have to try this with my boys, actually my son's 3rd birthday party is this Sunday & we are having a water play party, this would be great to add to it! You are so creative - thanks for sharing!

Homeschool @ sg said...

What a fun & innovative Play! Love it!

Unknown said...

I really going to have to do this fun activity. Your treasures are so cute. Thanks for sharing!!

Marla said...

Oh my goodness!! My daughter will love this!! I cannot wait to try it out! Thank you!

Jennifer said...

Love this idea... saving it for a future summer project for my son!

2 Pequeños Traviesos said...

Awesome activity! {I'd be nice to have a blog carnival hosted by you. You are sooo creative!}
Hugs my friend!

Insightful Brain said...

Oooh! Thanks for posting this! My kids are in need of an activity like this... I keep finding odd things in our freezer (dolls, different foods in strange containers, notes in the ice trays) where my son is experimenting with freezing things. He will love this!

Anonymous said...

oo so much fun! I know Sammy would love this! I think we will do this tomorrow or the day after depending on how long it takes to freeze!!

Eva said...

wow I love it, I've always wanted to try out this activity but never got around to it, thanks for the inspiration :)

Jen said...

This just looks like too much fun! What a cool mommy you are to create these messy activities for James. You encourage me to do the same for my boys. :)

Olives and Pickles said...

That looks like fun!!Great idea..Because I really really really really like your blog, here is an award for you. You can find in my blog.
Enjoy your day!

GianneCurry said...

I saw a version of this on PBS kids with fruit. Fun stuff! I love how the jellyfish looked. Such vibrant colors!

The Sunshine Crew said...

So very cool! My sons would love this activity!

Wanted to know that I have an award for you over at my blog:

http://sunriselearninglab.blogspot.com/2010/07/cool-awards-for-some-cool-bloggers.html

thank you for always sharing your cool, creative ideas! Very inspiring!
Have a happy week:)
Colleen

alljoinin said...

As usual, fabulous blog!!! I have added you as one of my top five blogs at http://alljoinin.blogspot.com/.
Belinda

alljoinin said...

As usual, fabulous blog!!! I have added you as one of my top five blogs at http://alljoinin.blogspot.com/.
Belinda

Cara said...

Your ice block looks like so much fun! I love the idea of using salt to melt it down...I'm going to try that in addition to hammering next time. Thanks for the shoutout!

Jonnia Smith said...

Terrific idea, even for my 8 year-old! It gets pretty hot here in Georgia, too!

Kylie said...

This looks like so much fun. I bet the kids would also love this huge iceberg in the pool.

Elise said...

That block of ice looks so inviting - so colorful and so much to explore.

The Attached Mama said...

That is such a GREAT idea!

TwigandToadstool said...

Oh my GOD!!!! Best idea ever!!!!
We will totally take this one on!
Now off to find interesting things to put into an giant ice block!!!
xo maureen

Michelle said...

We did this the other day and Emily, Juliette and my dad had SO much fun with it! I posted about ours here
http://www.amommysadventures.com/2010/10/frighteningly-frozen-fun.html

Thanks for the inspiration :0)

Stephanie said...

http://shiningourlights.blogspot.com/2011/01/fun-with-ice.html

We did this today and loved it! Thanks for sharing :)

Yummy Mommy Mia said...

We play with ice alot but mostly in the bathtub --I'll give this idea a try, I'm sure it will be a big hit too...
http://logansbabyblog.blogspot.com/search/label/ice

Anonymous said...

I would love to try this out with my daughters. We are moving into a new house with a pool and I could see us doing this poolside!!! Did you just use food coloring or something to add the color? Someone mentioned liquid water color... Have you ever used that?

Counting Coconuts said...

Thank you very much for your kind comments!

@teachingstars: we used regular food coloring. :)

Lori said...

this is definitely on our summer bucket list too. we haven't done it before, but i imagine it will be a huge hit with my sons.
http://mymontessorimoments.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/summer-bucket-list-2011/

inspiredmontessori said...

What a unique and beautiful way to celebrate summer! One of a kind idea!

bgorden said...

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this!! So clever & FUN!! I am totally going to do that next year. I just found your blog, but am enjoying it a lot! I even put up your button. If you want to check it out I'm at www.livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com

Beth

Unknown said...

thats a great idea! :) my son loves water and ice! so this summer we will be trying this activity! thanks so much for the idea! :)

Unknown said...

loved this idea when I saw it on pinterest and it has been on my pin board for a while. We just did our own ice block today and we had fun. I am going to share ours on my blog and will give a link back to your blog with credit for my inspiration. Thanks for sharing:-)

Shawn said...

Hi there -- Just letting you know that I plan to link to this post and use one of your photos in my e-course about summer. You can find out more on my site. My girls love excavating ice sculptures!

Heather said...

LOVe your blog and all of the ideas!
totally doing this one!

Amanda Nickel said...

I like this idea for cell models with older kids.

Katie C. said...

I absolutely love this idea and I plan to try a modified version of it at a family night I am hosting at my library. I have one question though. How did you freeze the toys without them all sinking to the bottom? I'd like to try to disperse the toys throughout the ice if possible. Were you able to do that, or did you just bite the bullet and allow them to all be on one side of the ice block? I'm considering either freezing the blocks in layers or stirring it as it freezes to jumble up the toys. Great idea! Thanks for sharing!!

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