Ice play in preschool

Today, we enjoyed a little ice play.

Sometimes the simplest of ideas can be the most enjoyable for young children. The teacher in this class set out a bowl of ice with some cups, smaller bowls, and spoons…

The children scooped the ice from one container to the other…

And some children used their hands to pick up ice cubes….

What makes an activity like this so successful is that it is truly all about discovery, exploring, and play…

We won’t be able to hang this up on a wall when we are finished but we can talk about our experience…

And during the process of our ice play we discovered the ice was cold and when it melts, water runs all over the table and down on the floor!

And when the teacher isn’t looking, we can place an ice cube on the handle end of our spoon and it suddenly becomes a Popsicle!

Can you see all the learning (and fun) going on just from some simple ice play?

I am linking this post up to The Play Academy!

By Deborah Stewart|2011-01-14T00:00:20+00:00January 14th, 2011|

About the Author: Deborah Stewart

Deborah J. Stewart, M.Ed. has been working and teaching in the field of early childhood education for over 30 years. Deborah currently owns and teaches in her own part-time, private preschool called The Children’s Studio. Deborah’s deep passion for teaching and working with young children is documented and then graciously shared with millions of readers around the world through her blog and other social networking communities. Deborah believes that young children learn best through play and exploration and embraces this belief in all that she does in her own classroom so that she can effectively and passionately share rewarding, real- life, tried-and-true practices with other teachers, parents, and leaders across the field of early childhood education.

16 Comments

Arti Ohri January 14, 2011 at 2:43 am - Reply

Debroah!
this was just great…am going to try this activity at my kindergarten classes…will post u pictures soon ..am sure the children will be overjoyed.
- Deborah J. Stewart January 14, 2011 at 7:22 am - Reply
  
  I would love to see the photos Arti!
Little Wonders' Days January 14, 2011 at 6:25 am - Reply

They look like they are having a tea party. We’re going to do this today. Thanks for sharing!
- Deborah J. Stewart January 14, 2011 at 7:24 am - Reply
  
  An ice tea party!
Alison January 14, 2011 at 9:34 am - Reply

I know my two little girls will love this .. we are home alon this weekend and I think this would make a great time filler!
- Deborah J. Stewart January 14, 2011 at 3:51 pm - Reply
  
  I think they will love it Alison:)
Nora January 14, 2011 at 12:49 pm - Reply

You could create an easy art project from this – Have each child color a paper with crayola markers prior to getting out the ice. Then bring out the ice and let them use the ice on their paper. It only will take about 5 minutes for the art work to be completed, then they can continue exploring at will.
- Deborah J. Stewart January 14, 2011 at 3:51 pm - Reply
  
  You could definitely add another aspect to this process! Good idea Nora!
Angela January 15, 2011 at 12:43 pm - Reply

Love, Love, Love this idea and how simple. I will be posting this idea on my website and doing it with my daycare. They will love it!
Thanks Debroah!
https://www.daycareheadquarters.com
Angela
- Deborah J. Stewart January 16, 2011 at 1:54 am - Reply
  
  I am so glad you will be sharing this with your daycare children Angela!
stephanie a. January 18, 2011 at 6:23 pm - Reply

That’s a wonderful way to expand on indoor water play! I love it…thanks for sharing the idea… I like what you said, sometimes the simplest activities can be the most gratifying.
- Deborah J. Stewart January 18, 2011 at 8:19 pm - Reply
  
  Hi Stephanie,
  Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comment!
[email protected] January 20, 2011 at 1:37 pm - Reply

Thanks for sharing this Deborah. It just shows how often the best toys are resources are free! And I like the sneaky popsicles 🙂
- Deborah J. Stewart January 21, 2011 at 7:15 pm - Reply
  
  They are pretty sneaky for sure:)
abbie January 22, 2011 at 8:55 am - Reply

Such a simple idea but so fun. Stopping by from Child Central Station.
Your ideas for the classroom are so great.
- Deborah J. Stewart January 22, 2011 at 9:40 am - Reply
  
  Thank you Abbie – I am so happy you stopped by!