I have been trying to plan to spend more time with my children. And a lot of that time ends up being themed activities cause I’m weird like that.
So you might see kid projects popping up more here and there.
Starting with today. Our theme for our first week {last week} was snow and ice.
We had high temperatures in the teens and lows below zero. Instead of whine about it – so tempting, I decided to plan projects around it. It actually made me excited that it was cold enough outside to freeze stuff in the middle of the day! 🙂
Here is an overview of some of what we did.
We learned about icebergs {thank you google images and youtube for providing great visual aids} and then made some of our own with a few toys thrown in them for added fun.
They were only half frozen by afternoon so we decided let them sit overnight.
The next morning…
…we tossed them into a tub of water and observed.
Our dining area was a bit wet by the end, but it was so worth it.
My five year old had an informal q and a lesson about buoyancy and phases of water. My two year old learned a bit about hot and cold, that ice melts in warm water, and about what sinks and floats.
I love that it provided lessons that appealed to both of my kids’ ages in one shot.
And…most importantly, they had a blast.
This activity was a big winner.
On another day we made salt scapes. We read snow related books and then drew a “snowy” scene.
We added salt, like glitter to add texture to the pictures.
Snowmen seemed to be the subject of choice that day. 🙂
On another day we made “juice-sicles.” I got the idea from Parents magazine. You simply punch four holes at the top of a cup so you can slide yarn through to make a hanger. Then make a small hole at the bottom, string some thread through and knot it at both ends. Hang it outside…we chose our fence, and pour in some juice.
The juice drips down and freezes overnight. The next morning you have a juice-sicle!”
The kids loved eating it and the extra that was still in the cup.
This is great to do in the late afternoon. It is still warm enough so the juice doesn’t freeze right away so you get good drips.
Disclaimer…I don’t home school or anything {even though I highly respect homeschoolers}. My oldest is in public school and I don’t feel the need to actively supplement what he learns there. So…although I try to make our activities a bit educational, there is no lesson plan or developmental reasoning to any of my plans. Just fun stuff.
I love the frozen toys! We don't have snow, but I'll bet we can find some space in the freezer.
sounds like fun! it's little things like that that make me wish we lived in a cooler climate… but then i see pictures of ice & think about having to trek out in that, and i'm happy again to live in sunny florida 🙂
ps. you can also paint with watercolors & then drop salt on the paper & watch the colors move 🙂
This is a perfectly timed post, since I'm badly in need of activities to keep us all from going crazy! My boys are going to love these!
My daughter will love making juice-cicles! Thanks for the great ideas.
What fun, cute ideas! Thanks for sharing. My 7 year old was looking with me and loved the juicecicle idea!
You can tell your boys loved every minute of these activities! I'm impressed you're already doing learning activities. Way to go, my friend!
I love this activity! I post preschool activities on my blog and wanted to let you know that I used one of your photos (without your children pictured) and linked it to your blog. You are an amazing momma and I look forward to visiting your site often! As in everyday!
Fun activity!
I have a 4 year old grandson that I watch every Monday afternoon and evening. His mom goes to school.
He loves the icicles that melt on the house and he loves to carry them around..the bigger the better.
I'm going to have him help me make these juice-cicles. Cool idea~!
Ben loves to play in the water.. We could do what you did with the frozen iceburgs …so much to do with
this is pretty much the coolest thing I've seen. seriously. that is so cool. I love it!!!
Your blog is beautiful and so creative! Glad I found it on I Am Momma Hear Me Roar!
Too bad it doesn't get that cold in Florida!
Great Ideas 🙂
That is SO awesome, the juice-cicles! SOOOO neat! I love the ice burg idea too!
Love the snowmen. How did you adhere the salt? Thanks!
How did you adhere the salt? Elmers Glue? Spray glue? I am doing a unit on snow for first graders and this looks like a really fun activity.