Ice Bricks

The concept itself is easy, but it took us to great places today. My son is really interested in building things lately - particularly tunnels, bridges, and caves.  Considering its 100+ in our backyard I wanted an activity that was fun, cool, and inspired his love of building.  My conclusion - ICE BRICKS!!  Yes, I thought about putting things in them, adding scents, and even making them EDIBLE (we might have to try that one), but since the primary goal was building, I just kept it simple.  Last night I decided to freeze water and food coloring in loaf pans of different sizes.  This morning, my son and I opened the freezer to this discovery!  (Wish I had a picture of his face when that happened).  So, we loaded them in his tractor and set off to explore them on the back porch.  (See pics under OUTSIDE PLAY album).  He built bridges and tunnels and smashed them with a hammer (his favorite).  Then, of course, we had to put them in the sensory table where he explored them more, added salt, and listened to the "music" it made.  My son LOVED this and when it was all done, he immediately told me "I want to do some more".  So, we went in TOGETHER and looked for different shapes to freeze.  He was very anxious to get it done, so we only added cups.  After nap he was eager to check out his bricks, so we went with it.  Little did we know the surprise that was waiting for us.  The middle of the cup molds had not frozen completely and we were amazed at the "balls" inside each cup....which lead to holes in the bottom....which lead to him being able to pour out the liquid inside.  He built many many things - towers, bridges, tunnels, a flower, etc.  There were so many abstract concepts that we talked and learned about and explored together.  WHAT A DAY!!!!  :)