Brrr!!

Playing with ICE can't be beat... especially during the chilly month of January. We just introduced my little guy to snow, so I knew he'd love this activity.

Materials Needed:

- several big bins/bowls

- measuring spoons, cups, and other fun tools from around your kitchen

- crushed ice and cubed ice- lots of sizes

Once you have everything set up, let your toddler go for it. Be prepared for your kitchen and your kid to get a little wet. 🙂

Sampling the ice was my little man's favorite part.

Grade: A

Kept him entertained again and again all day. This is an activity that requires FULL parent attention though!!... don't want anyone choking on ice cubes. Easy clean up. If you're doing this with other kids, have cups of crushed ice for the kids to eat and have them not eat from the bowls for sanitation purposes.

Language Development:

There is TONS of vocabulary that can be embedded into this activity. Here are just a few of the words that you can introduce to your toddler

color/shape words (depending on color/shapes of bowls, cups, spoons, etc.- try to pick things can are diverse so you can have conversations),
big/little, small, tiny,
cold/wet, ice, water,
scoop, crunchy, smooth,
bang,
HIT (although I learned to avoid this word after he started hitting ice across the room),
bite, lick, slurp, stir,
throw (also one to avoid :)), mix,
fast, slow, etc...

Modified from the activity called "Ice Tubs" in the book Rhyming Books, Marble Painting, and Many Other Activities for Toddlers by Judy Herr and Terri Swim.