Earlier in the week it was frigid here in East Tennessee. We even hit a rare 18 degrees, where my cats came inside to sleep on the heat registers. But even then, kids still need to get outside.
And what a better way for them to experience freezing temperatures than by creating ice danglers outside your door? We did this and my girls watched them melt, knowing just when it wasn’t freezing anymore.
When they were completely gone, they assumed they no longer needed a coat. Kids and coats right? Mine never want to wear them. But when they actually SEE that it’s 18 degrees outside, it’s a different matter.
We’ve made these before using food coloring and muffin tins. But this time I was inspired by The Artful Parent to use bits of nature instead. This project is featured in The Artful Parent calendar, which we have hanging in our kitchen, providing us with a years worth of creative inspiration.
While there was still a dusting of snow on the ground, we went outside with baskets to gather some supplies to decorate our ice danglers. We picked up berries, pinecones, flowers from our winter bushes, leaves and cut sprigs from the neighbor’s discarded Christmas tree. The last one sounds strange. But hey, we make the best out of our in-town living!
Back inside we gathered up some cake pans and play pots, from their play kitchen, for them to layer their nature designs. Then I added water and a jute string for hanging. Then, either put it outside and watch it freeze or just stick it in your freezer (which we did).
After they were frozen we hung ours outside, after dark, to see what the morning would hold.
When they looked outside in the morning and saw them still frozen, they were convinced they needed a coat! As the day warmed up they saw them melting. It was a lesson in temperature that happened right before their eyes. And it was fun!
