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Creative play with ice for toddlers
A child’s eyes light up when he or she sees something common used in a new way. A common object like a piece of ice will become a source of fun and exploratory learning.

If you start playing simple games with common objects, your child will begin to look for creative connections in other parts of her daily activities. That is, she’ll learn, by following your lead, to think of multiple uses for one object—a key concept for good critical thinking…and it’s fun and virtually free.
Here are a few ideas for simple play with ice:
As you can see, the suggestions above are just old-fashioned fun. Fun that brings you and your little one closer together and shows your child that one thing can have many enjoyable purposes.
By Anne Oxenreider
Here are a few ideas for simple play with ice:
Ice bath
- Fill various plastic containers (yogurt cups, non-dairy whip cream tubs, and ice cube trays) with water add a few drops of food coloring and freeze.
- Fill the bathtub with warm water and let your child get in. (A wading pool in the summer works well too.)
- Put the ice forms in the bathtub and let her play with them as they dissolve. It’s smart to keep a few in the freezer as reserves because your little one will ask for more.
Ice Melt
- Place a block of ice in a pan. (Use two or more cups of water.)
- Give your child a salt shaker and a dish of rock salt.
- Let her shake or spoon the salt on the ice and then watch patterns form on the ice as the salt causes the ice that it touches to melt quickly.
Ice Paint
- Mix a small amount water-based paint (like poster or tempera paints) with water to form a unified, watery mix. Make a small amount of several different colors.
- Fill one or two ice cube trays with the various colors of the diluted paint.
- Freeze.
- Provide several sheets of large paper for your child to “paint” with the ice cube.
- Keep a sponge handy and expect messy, paper-falling-apart fun.
As you can see, the suggestions above are just old-fashioned fun. Fun that brings you and your little one closer together and shows your child that one thing can have many enjoyable purposes.
By Anne Oxenreider
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