Themes

Thank you to Cheryl from Cheryl's Sweethearts for sharing this unit with me and letting me put it on my themes page. She has such great collections of ideas from her and her friends. I will Add things as I find them. If you would like to see something added here just send me an email @ dlayton@mo-net.com Please sign my guestbook for using these ideas. Teach away!

_{Freeze a large block of ice. Put
into water table. You may want 2 or 3}

_{blocks. Dissolve salt in warm
colored water. Pour into spray bottle. Let}

_{kids spray the block and see what
happens. You could also use pipettes if}

_{you are worried about spray bottles.}

_{Squirt bottles with fine tips are
really cool. Color the water and make it}

_{warm. If you squirt in one spot,
you can create tunnels pretty much}

_{instantly. Kids can work cooperatively
to connect their tunnels.}

_{Put in some Fisher Price little
people and let them slide down the ice}

_{tunnels and "play" in
the ice. I also found that sports bottles (like Gatorade,}

_{etc.) work well--the children can
usually squeeze from them easily.}

_{Another thing you can do with the
big block of ice is to sprinkle rock salt}

_{on it and let the children drip
liquid water color on it with eye droppers or}

_{pipettes. The rock salt makes
tracks and the color follows the paint}

_through.

_{Ice sculptures-Freeze different
colors, shapes of ice them put them in one}

_{container and let the kids "sculpt"
with paint brushes and toothbrushes.}

_{Re-freeze the ice in a big container
so that every time it is used, it is a}

_{different shape.}

_{Put water in ice cube trays and
begin to freeze. When cubes are about}

_{halfway melted stick 1/2 of straw
in the middle of cube. This will be a handle to}

_{hold. Line tables with newspapers
and pass out fingerpaint paper. Put paint}

_{on paper and let children "swirl"
the ice cube around on the paper. When the}

_{cube starts to melt I usually ask
the children wht's happening to your ice cube?}

_{Why is it melting? what is the
paint doing?}

_{Make "ICE CASTLES"....freeze
colored water in different kinds of containers}

_{(milk cartons, margarine tubs,
Bottles, etc.) peel off the container and let}

_{the children stack and make their
own ice castles.}

_{Place ice cubes in zip lock bag.
Let children crush the ice with a mallet}

_{or hammer. Pour flavoring over
the crushed ice and eat with a spoon.}

_{Hide ice cubes in the sandbox.
Encourage children to find them.}

_{Have ice cube races. Make colorful
cubes with food dye. Devise an incline}

_{using a smooth surfacce like a
vinyl tile. Race the ice cubes down the}

_incline.

_{Freeze large blocks of ice in
trays without dividers (remember those?).}

_{Unmold and allow children to sprinkle
salt on them. Observe the fantastic}

_{shapes produced by the uneven melting.}

_{Have an ice cube melt race. Give
each child a cube and encourage them to}

_{find ways to quickly melt their
cube.}

_{Create ice cube rivers. Make a
sand mountain and place ice cubes on top.}

_{Watch the melt water make rivers
down the side of the hills.}

_{Create ice cube pictures on the
hot sidewalk. Look at the design made by}

_{the melted cube on the walk.}

_{Give children cubes and containers.
See how many cubes the children can fit}

_{in each of the containers.}

_{Iced Toys: Freeze one large or
several small toys in a block of ice (can}

_{use the large butter containers,
etc., for this) Let the children use butter}

_{knives or metal spoons to chip
the ice away. Tip make sure that the toy}

_{will stand up to the water and
freezing process--metal or plastic construction}

_{is best or seal it in a plastic
bag.}

_{Sword in the Stone: Freeze a plastic
sword inside a block of ice and let the}

_{kids take turns trying to remove
it. You can create a mini version using}

_{cocktail swords frozen in ice cube
trays of juice. * Read the story The}

_{Sword in the Stone before hand.

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