Ice Cube Fun!

I got this fun idea from the blog, Kids Activities Blog.  They talked about how fun melting ice is for kiddos and since we've done an ice project in the past, I knew this was true.  


My boys love, love, love those little bathtub pills.  Ya know, the ones that dissolve when you put them in water and a fun little sponge pops out?!  Well, another thing my boys love is keeping all of the little sponges they've ever gotten from the those colorful bathtub pills.  We have tons of them...tons!  I don't know why they like them so much, but they do.  


*Update...those things we call bathtub pills are more formally known as 'Magic Growing Capsules'...who knew!  The boys just always call them bathtub pills.  So, if you're ever looking for them in the store, the real name would probably be helpful :)  Here's an Amazon link for them:  Magic Growing Capsules.  But don't buy them there...you can get them at Target or Michaels or Jewel (our grocery store) or I'm sure Walmart or even the $1 store have them. Anyhow, I always pay $1 for a pack of 12...ya gotta love cheap bathtub fun!*


So, I decided to make our own bathtub pills, but with ice cubes instead...and little trinkets the boys already own instead of sponges.  So, last night before bed they helped me fill the ice cube tray with trinkets...marbles, Mario guys, dinosaurs, buttons, dice, etc.  This actually turned out to be a bit of a learning experience for Chayce even though I didn't plan it.  He had to decide by looking at our pile of trinkets what would fit in the ice cube try and what would be too big.  When he picked one that was too big, he would put it back in the pile and try again.  It was great, I just sat back and watched him figure it out for himself.  When he found one that fit, he got super excited!  Vann, of course, could tell what would fit by just eyeballing it, but he still enjoyed picking out little treasures to freeze.


After they picked out all of their trinkets for the ice cube tray, we filled it up with water and popped it in the freezer.  And tonight was the big night!  On our way to the tub, I grabbed the ice cube tray from the freezer.  They each picked out three ice cubes.  Then they watched them melt in the warm tub water.  They thought it was great and they can't wait to melt the other ones tomorrow night!  And the best part...we didn't add to our already huge trinket pile.  


I think next time we'll do an ice cube tray and a couple of bowls filled with bigger or multiple trinkets.  That way they can see which melts faster...the ice cube or the block of ice.  

Checking out the frozen trinkets 

When picking out trinkets that fit in the tray, I told them it was ok if a little stuck out on top.  

Alrighty, I'm off to watch the end of the Lions game.  Hope your Saturday was great!