Nancy gave me this great idea for coloured ice cubes that is suitable for both my 16 month old and 3 year old. If you haven’t bought food colouring yet, you may want to consider it. So many useful things you can do with it- painting, play-doh, ice cubes and of course, desserts!
All kids love water play and the coloured ice cubes add another dimension. Kids can use various sizes of spoons and ladles to move the ice cubes from bowl to bowl, mix them around, and watch as they melt and change the colour of the water.
Both my kids were focused intently on seeing what they could do with the ice cubes. My 3 year-old daughter enjoyed seeing what colour the water would turn when different coloured ice cubes were added together, and my little guy loved splashing, mixing, feeling the coldness of the ice cube against his skin, and of course giving the water a taste (with a very sneaky look)!
Materials: Ice cube trays, food colouring, bowls/ tupperware containers and various sized spoons and ladles.
Cost: Just over $2 for one small bottle of food colouring. I found ice cube trays at Loblaw for $1- $2 each.
Activity Steps:
- Pour water in the ice cube trays and use 2- 3 drops of food colouring for each cube (more for yellow).
- Stir with a chopstick or skewer to make sure the colour is mixed in well. Freeze.
- Take out the ice cubes, putting the same coloured ice cubes in the same bowl.
- Take out more bowls and tupperware containers, different sized spoons and ladles, and even a small strainer if you have one.
- Put a bit of water in each bowl and let your child do the rest!
Tips:
- Put old towels or waterproof covers on the floor if you are inside, and have more towels handy. I used the waterproof mattress covers for my kids’ beds.
- I always dress my kids in clothes that have already been stained or pajamas that they’ve almost grown out of.
- Use white bowls or clear tupperware so the colours of the ice cubes and water can be seen better.
Yay! Looks like they really enjoyed it! I love the photo of your son tasting the water… it’s nice that it’s safe, so no need to worry.
Great idea Nancy! Any other suggestions for using food colouring? He enjoyed the Q-Tip painting but in the end preferred to pour the little containers of “paint” on the paper which really upset Nahla! I was thinking of getting an easel from Ikea ($25), putting it outside when it’s warmer and give them both bigger containers of “paint” with paintbrushes, put them on either side of the easel and see how they do!