Being a mom in the summer is a blast. There is so much to do, and Henry and I have been making the most of our warmer months.
But, sometimes, it’s just necessary to stay home. And last week, I was trying to think up something new for Henry to do without leaving the house. I’m not typically a “Pinterest parent.” I don’t do “school” for Henry and I don’t focus on organized learning. Instead, we do a lot of exploring and talking and singing. We just go with the flow, you know?
But on this day, we had exhausted the toys, the sand table, and the trains by 10:30 a.m. (It’s seriously true.)
It was then I remembered something I had seen somewhere (it had to be Pinterest, right?). Alphabet ice cubes.
This is so simple that I wanted to share.
I added food gel to water and froze it in alphabet ice cube molds. (I bought these at Hobby Lobby earlier in the summer.)
After a couple of hours, I just popped them out into a bowl. They were so fun looking that Henry nearly melted down waiting to get into the tub. (Get it? Melted.)
I put the letters into the bath tub and let Henry play with them as long as he was interested. He was cracking up at the “cold.” Not really interested in the alphabet yet, but that’s okay. It’s like alphabet osmosis going on. Then, we turned on the bath for easy clean up.
I love a craft that cleans up after itself, don’t you?
I want to be a mom like you.
Last summer when my oldest was 2 I would give her a shallow bucket of water and tons of measuring cups and spoons. Her favorite part was when we added ice cubes. She’d chase them around til they melted then ask for more! So entertaining. And science right? 🙂
I’ll bet my son would love this. Thanks for sharing.
So fun! It’s times like this that I wish Ramona didn’t have 2 a’s in her name. We can never spell it with just 1 package of letters. Oh for shame.
So fun! I have been meaning to do something similar with a fish ice cube tray we have. I love the idea of adding colour. 🙂
so fun! it would be fun just to play with them outside on a hot day as they melt, too!
That is sooo awesome Kim. In my next life, please be my mom!! And please come back as your crafty self 🙂 that’s all.
Love this idea! And yes for not always having a perfectly pinteresty activity for toddlers. You know what makes Nell the most happy? Sitting in her water table and drawing with sidewalk chalk…on herself. You can’t pinterest that s**t, but she has a blast and is happy, so, um, I’m gonna let it happen.
great idea. would be fun to do in a small outdoor pool too on hot summer days.
This looks like fun! And yes, a craft that cleans itself up is a win for sure.
My Henry likes to play with anything in the water. One of my favorite things for him to do when I need him occupied, is to fill up the bathroom sink and let him play with cars, or army men, or whatever in the sink. He will stand on the stool and play for almost an hour. I just go behind him with a towel and wipe everything down and then they bathroom looks clean too.
haha… Katherine was melting down last night because she wanted to, “Go Cool!” (go to the pool… and she actually means “splash pad” but whatevs. Toddlers.) … at like 7:30 pm. Sooo not happening. I gave her a DIY juice popsicle to distract her (emotional eating. It starts young.) 2 licks in, she decided she wanted a bath instead of the cool. Sounded like a good idea to me… contain the red popsicle in the bathtub, right? She totally set her popsicle down in the hot bath water to do something… then picked it up and licked it… over and over. Babies are gross. We ended up with pink bathwater, but a happy, mostly clean toddler. 😉
That is such a cute idea!