Making your own Ice Exploration activity.  All you need is a rubber container, some of your child’s toys (avoid using “delicate” items) and water.  Fill a container with water and the toys.  Do not overfill with too much water.  Leave at least 2 inches from the top, giving enough space for the water to expand when it freezes.

 

How are we going rescue these creatures out of the frozen ice?  We used paintbrushes, toothbrush, salt, tweezers, eye droppers with warm water and our hands to get them out.  It was a lot of team work and patience.  It was hard work.  The children (in the above photos) spent over a half hour working together to get them out.

Some questions to ask your child during the activity:

I wonder how are we going to get these out?

How did they get stuck in there?

What is happening to the ice?

What happens if we add warm water or salt to it?

Can you see more with a magnify glass, look closely into the ice, “What do you see?”

How does the ice feel?

Asking open ended questions invites children to use their own imagination.  There are no rights or wrongs.  Let them explore freely with all of their senses, touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. (with supervision of course!)

Together with your child, have fun exploring and experimenting with ice!