Ice Castles
Age : 3 and up Prep Time: 15 minutes
Activity Time and location:
Part 1:
20 minutes(inside) Part 2: 20 minutes (inside or outside)
Materials:
Items to make ice in: Grocery bags, old milk bags, yogurt containers, plastic containers of different sizes (lids are not necessary), milk cartons and small garbage cans.
Other materials include: Food colouring, q-tips, small plastic plates, water jugs, trays (4 -8) to carry out the containers of water, twist ties for the grocery bags, snow and towels.
Steps:
Part 1
1. Have the children fill up bags and plastic containers with water of different colours.
2. Put water filled containers on a tray and bring outside when the weather is below -5C.
3. Let the water freeze.
Part 2
1. Once the water turns to ice, take the ice out of its plastic bag or container.
2. Let the children explore how the ice has formed.
3. Make an ice sculpture with the blocks of ice. Put snow in between the ice blocks to help the ice to stick together.
Questions to Ask Children:
• What will happen when we take the water outside?
• How did you make the colour orange? ( and any other colour that is not on the table)
• Why did the container break? ( often the ice will break the original container)
• How can we make the blocks of ice stick together? Why does that work?
Helpful Hints:
• The more ice blocks the better.
• To do this activity with younger children just make smaller ice sculptures.
• Food colouring can be messy. I found that putting a little bit of food colouring in a small plate works best and have the children dip a q-tip into the food colouring and then into the water.
• I found that the table gets very wet. Putting down a towel helps keep the table and children a little drier.
Christmas Tree Forts
Winter forts are fantastic for getting children to be physical, social, and creative all at the same time. They need to work together and problem solve the best way to create a winter fort. If there is not a lot of snow, just use old Christmas trees found within your neighborhood in early January.
Age : 3 and up Prep Time: 15 minutes Activity Time: 30 - 60 minutes
Materials:
Christmas Trees
Hand saw or scissors
Logs
Packing Snow
Blue recycling boxes, (different sizes)
Bienenstock Natural Playground’s Wacky Post
String or Twine
Steps:
1. Cut or break off the christmas tree branches with the children. The amount of assistance needed will depend on the age of the child. Supervision is always needed. It is also helpful to have some branches cut ready to explore and put on to the fort.
2. If there is enough snow make giant cubes from recycling boxes and stack. Place Christmas tree branches on the top for a roof or on the ground for a fort floor. If you have Wacky Posts in your playground, use them as a frame for the snow blocks and for the roof of your fort. When making the roof use twine or heavy string as a frame to place the branches across.
3. If there is not enough snow make the walls of the fort with the christmas tree branches. Tie twine or string between to posts and hang the branches.
4. Use logs for seating in the fort.
Questions:
• Discuss the construction of your fort. Ask if the big snow blocks should be on the bottom or top? How many snow blocks will be needed on the bottom? How many up top. Why is this number different? How many layers of blocks do you need? Where will the door be? Will there be any windows? How many people do you think will fit into this fort.
• Discuss why winter forts are needed. Why is a winter fort important? Who uses winter forts? What is this fort used for?
• Discuss the christmas tree braches that are used. If using different types of christmas trees compare the similarities and differences of the branches and pine needles. Discuss and compare sizes.
• Discuss the possibility of winter wildlife coming to use this fort for shelter. Who would come and live in the branches and why?
Helpful Hints:
• Use 2 or 3 different size and shapes recycling boxes to make the snow cubes. Make sure they are not too heavy to stack.
• Some branches can be very heavy and challenging to work with. The lighter ones are easier to work with especially if you are using twine or string to hang your branches from. Letting the children figure out what happens when you use a heavy branches versus lighter ones is also great!
• I found that having 2 walls to the fort was plenty as it gave the children more room to move within the fort.
• Once created the children can decorate the fort with hanging Ice art or pine cone bird feeders.
Hanging Ice Art:
Children can frame in a winter item (pinecones, pine needles, dead flower heads) found outside in ice.
Age : 3 and up Prep Time: 15 minutes Activity Time: 20 minutes
Materials:
Pie plates 4inch, 6 inch, or 8 inch
Pipe cleaners or wire ties (can purchase the wire ties at home depot)
Materials that you find in nature: leaves, pine needles, small pine cones, berries, small sticks, dead flower heads.
Water
Bag
Masking tape or labels
Lunch tray
Marker
Cup
Steps:
The goal is to encase an item that you fine in nature in ice and hang it from a railing or fence
1. Collect items from the playground into a bag.
2. Do the rest of the activity inside as little hands may get too cold. Label the bottom of the pie plate with the child’s name or put the name tag on the pipe cleaner used to hang the ice art.
3. Pour water into a disposable aluminum pie plate.
4. Place the object found in nature in the water.
5. Place the pipe cleaner 2 to 3 inches in the water. You may need to attach an additional pipe cleaner/wire when hanging your Ice Art.
6. Place on a lunch tray and place outside for 24 hours.
7. When frozen, remove the pie plate.
8. Hang Ice Art on a fence or railing with the pipe cleaner/wire
Helpful Hints:
• Do this activity when the weather is -5 and colder. If the ice art is hanging directly in the sun it may start to melt and drip, which may be another great lesson for the children.
• The ice art usually will last 1 to 2 weeks depending on the fluctuations in the weather.
• Do not make the ice art too thick. If the ice is too thick then it looses it’s clarity. The depth of the pie plate is perfect for keeping the ice clear.