Last year’s winter brought several ice days where schools were closed, events were canceled, and some businesses even shut their doors due to ice in Texas. Yep, most Houstonians just don’t like driving on the slippery roads, and honestly, are we all that prepared to do it? Others argue that it’s all just fine and should be business as usual. But that’s another post.
Since the temperatures have dropped this week and there is precipitation in the forecast today, most of us are stuck indoors and probably getting a bit of cabin fever. So while we may not have achieved “ice day” status yet, let’s be proactive and get prepared — just in case! Here are a couple of ice-themed activities to try today AND hang on to in case the temps drop below freezing too.
Ice Day {Dare I say “Frozen?”} Themed Shaving Cream Painting
This has been one of our favorite Pinterest finds. Grab some foam shaving cream, food coloring, a cooking sheet, and you are in business. The kids love dropping in the food coloring and swirling the foam, and I love the gorgeous art that comes out of the process.
Materials ::
- Foam shaving cream
- Food coloring
- Card stock
- Cookie sheet
Directions ::
- Squirt a thin layer of shaving cream over the entire cookie sheet.
- Carefully squirt drops of food coloring across foam. Use blue, green, and red + blue {purple} for “winter” colors.
- Use a fork or popsicle stick {really whatever you have available!} to swirl colors together.
- Place a piece of card stock into the foam, and be sure to press all over to coat underside of paper.
- Pull paper up. Use a plastic fork to scrape shaving cream off paper. You will find a beautiful winter “ice day” design underneath!
Exploring Temperature Changes with Water
Materials ::
- Plastic containers
- Small plastic toys
- Water
- Medicine droppers {or small cups}
Directions ::
- Talk about what might happen when water gets super hot and super cold.
- Measure 2 cups of water, then bring to a boil and allow to boil 5 minutes or so. Point out the steam above the pot.
- Carefully pour water back into measuring cup and point out decrease in water. Explore together what happened to the water.
- As a separate activity, pour water into plastic containers {recycle those yogurt containers!} and place tiny toys inside. As a side note, guess whether each will sink or float.
- Place in freezer, and go paint with shaving cream or try out some of these other creative indoor play activities!
- Place containers in a tray and talk about what happened to the water. Fill one bowl with warm water and one with cold. Using medicine droppers {or small measuring cup}, drop water to melt the ice and “rescue” the toys. Predict whether warm or cold water will melt the ice faster.
And there you have it! You have done arts and crafts, sensory play, and science while stuck inside on an ice day. Pat yourself on the back, and go watch Frozen for the afternoon!
So it hasn’t been that terribly cold here this Winter, but how did you spend your ice day last year? What are you surefire ways to stay sane while stuck inside?
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