First, thoughts and prayers go out to the those affected by the many fires out there. We are far from the fires. Despite our distance, the thick smoke in the area is intense. It is hard to imagine what it must be like close to the site of the fires. So definitely thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved.
This Ice Smashing fun is brought to you by a mama who wants a fun activity, wants to get the kiddos outside for a little bit, and wants to help them get some energy out :)
What You'll Need:
An ice cube tray
Letters or numbers (I used the small magnetic letters)
Tools to break or melt the ice
A cookie or pizza sheet (if your letters/numbers are magnetic)
And if you want to add in a book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a good one!
(Also, looking back, you may want your little ones to wear sunglasses or something to protect their eyes when they crush the ice!)
Start by putting the letters/numbers in the ice cube tray, add water, and put in your freezer. You may want to put random letters in the ice cube tray or favorite letters or, and this is what I did, letters that spell their name. Plan to do this the night before you plan to have your little ones get their ice smashing on.
Talk to your little ones about the activity. You could say, "The ice cubes have letters in them. The letters will spell our special words. It is your job to figure out how to get the letters out in our to spell the special words!". Oh boy, that got the excitement going in my preschooler! I then said, "Let's collect tools that might help us get the letter out". We gathered (toy) hammers, screwdrivers, and other tools! Once we had all our items, we went outside to get to work. As the preschooler was hard at work with his hammer and chiseling with his screwdriver, he looked over at his baby sister and saw her licking the ice with great melting success. He then joined in the licking and looked to me to check if that was OK. Hey...I just said we needed to get the letters out! :)
Once we got the letters out (and our letters spelled my preschooler's name), I started by putting the first letter of his name on the left side of the pizza sheet. He recognized that the remaining letters belong in his name and went to work spelling his name with assistance, as needed.
How to address speechdevelopment:
-As you uncover each letter, say the name AND sound of each letter
-When you say the sound of each letter, talk about items that start with that same sound. For example, R makes a rrrr sound. Racecar starts with a rrrr sound.
How to address languagedevelopment:
-Concepts, concepts, concepts! Talk about: hot/cold, wet/dry, whole/part, before/after, first/then
-When spelling the words, work on sequencing. First is the letter J, then the letter U.....last is the letter E
-Asking and answering questions. "What happens when you lick the ice cube?" "The ice melts a little when you lick it."
-Vocabulary! Label all the items and actions
Happy ice smashing (or licking)
XOXO,
Julianne