This is shaping up to be a pretty cold winter
here in Illinois and I have been trying to come up with some new things for my
kids to do. We have the standard rainy day activities that we can always fall
back on if necessary, but I have been trying to embrace winter and incorporate
it into some fun new activities for
my family to try out. I wanted to do something other than build a snowman or
create a snow fort or have a snow fight. So I put on my thinking cap on and
started brainstorming in color! A game of hide-and-go-seek with colored ice
marbles sounded like something my children could definitely get in to. So the
boys and I got busy making ice marbles, and they had just as much fun making
them as they did playing with them once they were ready!
What You Need:
Balloons
Water
Food
Coloring
Scissors
Cookie
Sheet {If you plan to bring indoors and experiment with salt}
How to Make It:
Take a
balloon and place a few drops of food coloring into the balloon.
Fill
the balloon up with water and tie the balloon closed.
Toss
the balloons out into the snow or place in the freezer over night to freeze. We
tossed ours outside since we have limited freezer space.
Once
frozen take a pair of scissors and cut open the balloon. Remove the balloon
from the ice marble.
-OPTIONAL-
If you
are planning on playing hide-and-go-seek with the ice marbles simply hide them
around the yard and let the kids go find them. Think of this as an Easter egg
hunt, but with ice marbles and in the snow. Please remember to have a talk about
NOT throwing the ice marbles at one another – as they will hurt and can cause
injury.
If you
are planning on using the ice marbles for a science experiment you will need
salt and droppers {we used old plastic medicine droppers}. Pour some salt over
the ice marbles. Fill up a couple cups with water and food coloring and use the
droppers to dispense the colored water over the ice marbles and watch the salt
create crevices for the water to go through.
My
children loved this activity. They enjoyed hunting for the ice marbles outside.
In fact we played this game a few times until mom got too cold and wanted to go
inside for some hot cocoa. There is nothing better than hot cocoa after playing
outdoors in the winter.
We also
did the science experiment with the ice marbles. We talked about what the salt
would do and then the boys had a blast being mad scientists! They loved using
the old medicine droppers. It was really cool seeing how the salt and water
worked its way through the ice. Next time we do the science experiment we will
not color the ice before hand, as I think it will be easier to see and more fun
to watch the various colors work their way through the uncolored ice.
Have you ever made ice marbles?
