One of the things I love about Montessori Homeschooling is that most activities we do together will cover a wide range of skills and topics. This tutorial on how to assist your child in making colored ice covers topics like science, weather, pouring liquids, mixing colors, and sensory play.

Making colored ice is just half the fun – the other half is playing and exploring with the colored ice afterward.

Areas of learning covered making colored ice:
– Practical Life
– Cultural (physical science, earth science)
– Sensorial

Some ideas for play once you’re done making colored ice:

– Add the cubes to the bathtub and play with warm water. Talk about how ice melts and what happens when ice is placed in warmer water.
– Place the ice cubes in a large tub for the child to break apart, melt, and mix colors.
– Place two different colors in a bowl, watch them melt, and talk about color mixing.
– Have them feel the ice cubes with their hands or pick them up using tongs.
– Add small items like buttons or beads to the water before you freeze them. When frozen, have the child break the ice or melt the ice to retrieve the items.

Step 1: Gather Materials

For this activity you’ll need to gather the following materials before you begin making colored ice with the child:

– 1 Large tub (these bus tubs are an absolute must-have, Amazon Bus Tub)
– Muffin tins or molds (metal or silicone)
– Picture or large canteen of warm water
– Small glass pouring pitcher (child size- sold on Amazon)
– Small funnel ( child size – on Amazon)
– Child-size whisk or spoon
– Food coloring in colors of your choice (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple)

*Optional: Small buttons or beads to add to your liquid before freezing.

*As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Step 2: Prep The Work Area & Place The Funnel

Place the tin (or tins) in the large tub in front of the child. Liquid + Toddlers = Unavoidable spillage. But that’s OK! We know messes will be made when children are learning how to pour liquids, but we still do our best to keep the wreckage to a minimum.

Next, have the child place a funnel in their small glass pitcher.

Step 3: Pour The Warm Water

The child may or may not need your assistance with this next step. If the child has enough strength to lift the full bottle of water and pour it into the funnel, they should do it themselves. My 4-year-old had no problem with that. My 3-year-old, however, doesn’t have enough arm strength to lift and pour the bottle when it is full, so I went ahead and helped her with pouring the first 1 or 2 pours (until it was light enough for her to hold up and do herself), but she was in charge of telling me when to STOP pouring the water (I know it is hard, but resist the temptation to stop pouring if you see they are letting it overflow. This is part of the learning!

step 4: Mix In Food Coloring

After the water has been poured into their small pitcher, add a few drops of food coloring to the water and have the child mix with a spoon or whisk.

When it comes to food coloring- I generally keep it off-limits from the kiddos (for obvious reasons). This time around, my son insisted that he could add the color himself. With close supervision and having had lots of exposure already, he proved to be fully capable. This is a great example as to why Montessori Homeschooling is so rewarding for a child- letting them be in charge of what they believe they are capable of gives them great confidence!

step 5: Pour Colored Water Into Molds

This step is self-explanatory. Have the child pour their colored water into the molds. Let them work at their own pace, filling their molds as little or as much as they would like to.

Step 6: Clean Up As You Go

While we try to keep messes to a minimum, they are bound to happen! Making colored ice can be messy. Have your child clean up their own messes as you complete the activity.

Step 7: Repeat For Each Color

Repeat steps 2-5 for each color. This is a great time to incorporate turn-taking, switching at every color change.

Step 8: Place Molds Outside In Below Freezing Temperatures

Carry the tub with the tins filled with colored water outside into below-freezing temperatures. Have the child pick the mold out of the tub and place it on the ground. Try not to make a big deal if they spill! It should be expected. Older children may spill a little less than younger children, depending on how much practice they’ve already had. Encourage them to be careful, and slow, and to pay close attention to the water as they move their molds to the ground.

Step 9: Check Back Until Frozen

Give the kiddos a high five for their hard work and check back until the water is frozen solid. We let ours sit outside overnight, but depending on what temperature it is outside you may not need quite that long.

During the waiting period, take some time to talk to the children about winter weather and cold temperatures. Some knowledge you could share with them and questions you could ask are:

– Can you tell me what season it is?
– What kind of weather do we have during winter?
– Snow is made in the clouds, just like rain is.
– A thermometer can tell us how cold or hot it is outside.
– Water outside starts to freeze when it is 32 degrees outside.
– What is your favorite thing about the winter season?
– What was your favorite part about making colored ice?

Step 10: Play And Have Fun!

Once you’re done making colored ice shapes- use them for sensory play! There are several ideas listed at the top of this blog post. Did you think of another way to use the colored ice for learning and play? Let me know in the comments below!

If you have enjoyed this tutorial, you’ll love my tutorial on how to include your child in the kitchen making no-bake cookies >>here.<<

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