Our coffee shop activity with sand, soap and water provides hours of open-ended, imaginative play for kids of all ages. Last Friday was a P.A. day so a few of our “graduates” joined us for the day. Because of the … Continue reading
Last year, we played around, melting ice with salt and water, with our Ice Age Bin which completely captivated the hooligans for well over an hour. I’ve been itching for the weather to warm up so we could do it again, but I wasn’t sure if this year’s crowd would get into it as seriously as last year’s did.
Well, I’m happy to say that they loved it just as much as the gang did last Spring, and this year, I made our ice block quite a bit bigger, and they were at it for 2 solid hours. Yep, you read that right. TWO solid hours.
If you’re looking for an activity to keep your hooligans engaged for a good looong time this summer, THIS is the one for you! It’s really easy to prepare, and won’t cost you a thing!
We froze our ice in layers, over the course of a couple of days, adding a few items to the water, placing the container in the freezer, and repeating with another layer when the previous one was frozen. 
When our ice block was frozen, I decided to make it bigger, so I placed it in a larger container, and we added cold water and a few more items and popped it back into the freezer. On Friday, I ran a little hot water over the container and our large ice block slipped right out.
I set out an assortment of tools for the hooligans to dig their frozen treasures out of the ice:
I placed everything in a shallow storage container, and set it on a small bench in the backyard.
The first thing the hooligans went for was the coloured salt. They sprinkled it liberally all over the ice block which started the melting process.
Then they used the syringes, baster and test tubes to pour the hot water over the ice.
The salt mixed with the water, and turned everything an icy blue, which was really neat.
As the salt ate away at the ice, and the warm water did its work, deep wells started to form in the block, and the ice took on a bumpy, crystalized texture.
The hooligans worked with their “knives” to cut and chop and dig at the ice.
They tried digging the treasures out with their fingers, but soon learned that the most efficient way to get to the goods was with the water.
The syringes and turkey baster required lots of co-ordination and fine motor control, and they concentrated and gave it their full effort.
The little girls wandered away from the activity from time to time, but I am not kidding when I tell you that the boys did not leave the bin once in the two hours that it took them to complete their mission.
They worked away, pouring and digging, and hollering excitedly when they freed something from the ice. The shells and stones and crystals produced small celebrations, but the loudest cheers would go up when they got a dinosaur.
I refilled their bowl with warm water once, and after that, they were happy using the water and melted ice in the bin.
After about an hour and a half, I moved the activity into the shade and at that point, I flipped the ice block over to see if they wanted to go at it from the under-side.
The littles loved the smooth feel of the bottom of the ice block after working with the bumpy salt-eaten side, but the boys flipped it back over, preferring to continue with their mission as they had been.
Slowly, the ice block got smaller and smaller, and they were able to break off chunks of ice, and hold them to remove whatever was encased in them.
And finally, at almost the 2 hour hour mark, they freed the last of their treasures.
I’m so thrilled that this activity went over this well two years in a row. I’m already thinking of doing it again this season. I just have to think of what to freeze in the ice to put a bit of a different spin on it.
Isn’t it wonderful that a simple activity like this can engage a child for so long? Their determination and perseverance truly impressed me. And, it was a ton of fun and learning, and a great way to keep cool on a hot morning!
If this is your first visit to Happy Hooligans, I’d love for you to pop over and LIKE us on facebook. I update my page daily with easy and affordable arts, crafts and play ideas.
You can follow me on Pinterest too! I have over 90 boards dedicated to all kinds of kids’ crafts and activities, as well as some personal interest boards too.
See you there!
This coloured water activity is one of our warm weather favourites. We do this activity every year, and the hooligans always love it.
I like it because it’s so simple and virtually cost-free, and yet it’s educational, entertaining and provides lots of opportunity for learning and fine and gross motor development.
Gather your supplies:
Now fill your bottles almost to the top with water. We used the garden hose for this, which was an activity in itself, and then we added several drops of liquid food colouring to each container. We popped the lids on and…
…sang the shaky song: ”Shaky, shaky, shaky, shake it all you can. La la la la la la. La la la la la la la, HEY!” Lots of la la’s there because we’ve never bothered to come up with a second line to the song.
Now they can pop open the bottle tops and and squeeze, squirt, dribble and mix their little socks off.
We have lots of great stuff going on here! Water play for one; I’ve never met a kid who doesn’t love some good, old-fashioned water play.
Fine motor skills are put to the test, opening lids and twisting the tops on and off the bottles.
Lifting those heavy bottles, holding them high and squeezing the water in to the bowls give those little arms and hands a work out.
And of course, there’s the colour-mixing. Kids are always fascinated by this process, and I have to say, as much as I’ve seen it a thousand times, it always looks a little magical to me too.
What a fun way to get some learning in while having fun and keeping cool on a warm Spring morning!
If this is your first visit to Happy Hooligans, I’d love for you to pop over and LIKE us on facebook. I update my page daily with easy and affordable arts, crafts and play ideas.
You can follow me on Pinterest too! I have over 90 boards dedicated to all kinds of kids’ crafts and activities, as well as some personal interest boards too.
See you there!
Now that we’re enjoying summer-like temps, we’re starting to get back into our favourite fair-weather activities, like this clothesline activity that I set up in the backyard this morning.
The hooligans often play with my basket of wooden clothespins. They’re excellent for developing fine motor skills, hand muscles and co-ordination. For today’s activity though, I brought out our camping clothespins. They’re bright and fun and colourful, and they’re slightly easier to squeeze open than the wooden ones.
What you’ll need for your clothesline activity:
String your rope up between to trees, posts or deck rails, and you’re good to go.
The hooligans had a great time washing their cloths, squeezing the water out and hanging them up to dry. 
The baby had fun simply splashing in the water.
And someone even decided to wash her socks! This makes me think it would be fun to bring the doll’s clothes out, and let the hooligans “launder” those. Maybe tomorrow. 
If this is your first visit to Happy Hooligans, I’d love for you to pop over and LIKE us on facebook. I update my page daily with easy and affordable arts, crafts and play ideas.
You can follow me on Pinterest too! I have over 90 boards dedicated to all kinds of kids’ crafts and activities, as well as some personal interest boards too.
See you there!
