I titled this little fellow, my preschooler. It’s summer now and this is when you appreciate the parks and community resources around you. It’ s no good thinking that anyone is going outside in the heat of the daytime. No go before 7:00pm! So as parents we really have to be resourceful.
On the weekend plan your activities before hand. There are a few things we don’t usually do that we might try out. Cooking is one. Simple dishes, popsicles made together. Lots of recipes on the web. Or a special project with others. I saw this one on the web and thought it should be shared.
BUILD MINI ICE SCULPTURES!
Get ready for a cool activity! With this arts and crafts project, your child can build an ice sculpture that’s so fun she may not even realize she’s learning about science. Great for summer when ice really melts quickly!!so you can store this in the freezer when done
What You Need:
- Plastic containers of different shapes and sizes
- Food coloring
- Kosher salt and table salt in salt shakers
- Turkey baster and container of water
- Gloves/mittens
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What You Do:
- Several days before undertaking this activity, freeze water in plastic containers of varied shapes and sizes. For extra interest, add food colouring to some of the water. Don’t fill right to the top.
- Un-mold the ice on a table by letting it melt a bit. It’s about to get messy and wet, so you might want to do this outside.
- Have your child build sculptures with the ice. If there’s more than one child challenge them to work together.
- Let your child experiment with the salt and water to see how it affects the ice. (Salt helps make ice melt, and can be used to make ice shapes stick together.)
After your child sees first-hand (literally) how such a simple thing as salt can have such a big effect on ice, she’ll be looking at the world wondering how other objects interact. Without even knowing it, she just conducted a science experiment and art project all in one!
Adapted from “The Weekly Curriculum: 52 Complete Preschool Themes” by Barbara Backer (Beltsville, MD: Gryphon House Inc., 2003). www.ghbooks.com