Break the Ice!

Raise your hand if it is hot where you live?!

My little one loves to be outside. Outside all. day. long. Usually, I love it! But when the heat index is 107+...I'd much rather stay inside. It is pretty hard to convince a toddler it is too hot to go outside though, so I've been trying to get creative with things we can do. 

****If you are here for a teaching idea...bare with me, I promise there is one at the end! :) ****

Today, I decided to try freezing toys in water. I found the idea on Pinterest which led me to the Random Handprints blog. I let my little one pick the things he wanted to freeze: Goofy, Chip, and Dale. After we froze them, I had him pick the tools he wanted to use to get them out. He picked spoons, drumsticks, a toy boat, and a frisbee! 

I gave him the containers and he turned them over and started banging them on the ground to get the ice chunks out.

Then it was tool time!

Cutting it with a plastic knife :)

He rolled them around a little bit...

And finally, he decided to throw them! That was by far his favorite part...he loved watching the ice chunks fly everywhere. He finally got all three characters out and immediately asked if we could do it again. So, now we have another batch in the freeze! 

Ok, if you stuck with me this long, you are here for a teaching idea! How fun would it be to freeze the theme for the week, unit you about to study, or even spelling words for the week?? The anticipation of what is in the ice would be so fun for your kiddos!! I can even see using it as an incentive...once students have done whatever is expected, they could break the ice at recess to find a fun treat. 

Possibilities are endless!!

What else would you freeze?!