Water Sensory Play With Colored Ice

We’re trying to save money this summer by using the air conditioner less, so finding cool-down activities is at the top of our to-do list everyday. A few days ago, we headed out to the deck with a bin filled with water, a few of kiddo’s bath boats and some toy fish. However, our water sensory play activity quickly turned into a science lesson!

We started with plain water from the tap, but he wanted “blue water” because we always see boats in blue water. Ha. We added a bit of food coloring, and swished his boats and fish around in that for a while.

He then wanted to add the colored ice that we’d used for a painting activity to the bin as well. Cool idea! First we added a couple of blue cubes, and that turned the water even bluer. Then, he added yellow. He was so excited and shouted, “Mommy, it’s green!”

He then added purple, orange and red ice cubes to the mix to ultimately end up with a greenish-black color. Even though he has ice in his drinks frequently, he was fascinated to watch them disappear as he mixed. He asked, “Where did they go? Mommaw’s house?”

Anyone who goes anywhere goes to Mommaw’s house in his mind. It’s the coolest place to be.

So that started a cool discussion about how and why ice melts. He still liked his explanation better, though.

And I wish I’d kept my camera out longer, because he then grabbed his bottle of bubbles and added them to the bin for some soapy fun. He washed his boats and his fish. He asked if he could add my shoes, and I let him because they weren’t cloth, and they were black. No worries about staining.

And after it was all said and done, he spent a good 1.5-2 hours playing with our simple little water bin on a hot summer day. I’d call that a success.

Looking for more activities to help you cool down? Try our ice painting activity, too!