Ice Hunting!

The temperature dropped below freezing over night. Quick! Let's go on an ice hunt.

We went out armed with her new magnifying glass to investigate. The first spot we checked was the large mud puddle in the driveway. We struck the ice jackpot! Not only was there ice in the puddle it was thick enough to hold her weight. M was so happy to twirl, glide and slide on her own personal ice rink, that I thought we would have to wait for it to melt before she'd stop.

When she had finally had her fill, and with the promise of a cup of hot chocolate, we headed into the house. What did I see? A small red wheel barrel that had a frozen hunk of ice in it! Ah ha, a perfect ice sensory bin for Miss M! I have seen a number of different preschool blogs post about putting their water tables outside to freeze, and then bringing them in for exploration. We don't have a water table, so I didn't give it much thought. The wheel barrel was such a perfect substitute for us, I couldn't pass it up. FYI you could also just put a plastic storage tub outside when a cold snap is headed your way.

We had a quick cup of cocoa and then it was on to more ice skating. Only this time it was M's babes that were skating.

As it started to melt we got out some small wooden mallets, that I picked up at a thrift store. I had originally planned to use the mallets with her and some play dough. I'm happy to say that they also worked very well for breaking up ice. I'm very glad that I'd put down towels, as the ice chips started to fly. Safety glasses wouldn't have been a bad idea either. We hacked and picked until we had freed a leaf that was trapped within the ice. *good idea for next time, put small natural items or toys in the water to be unearthed after it freezes.*

When we were done, I added some more water to the wheel barrel and placed it back outside for some more chilly fun another day.

As a side note, we also blew some bubbles while it was below freezing.  On sciencemadefun.net they say that the bubble will shatter when it lands.  Ours did not shatter, they acted more like plastic wrap.  The bubbles floated through the air and as it traveled, it froze.   You could watch the color change from transparent to a milky white as it froze.  When they landed, the air slowly leaked out.  It was very interesting, and we will be doing it again.

Have fun outside the box!