ice exploration

with there being so much snow and ice around, it becomes natural to wonder more about what ice is. Last week we asked the children how we could make ice and we placed the ice tray in front of them - they said it needed to be in the freezer. So we asked if it needed anything else? No they all said - so we put the empty ice-trays in the freezer! The next day they were surprised that there was no ice even though it did feel cold. But what was needed? The children wondered and wondered. So we returned to the documentation - there on the wall was the photo documentation of the previous week's ice/snow project. We had taken in snow and then waited - it had turned into water. We then put it into the freezer to see if we could make snow again - but it froze into ice. "We need water" We added various things to the ice-tray including the pine needles of the Christmas tree that had once stood in the square outside the preschool! The children we fascinated by the fact it felt soft.

Today, after a weekend in the freezer, we took out the trays to see what had happened. It was HARD and it was COLD - there was ICE!

We examined the ice on the light table - how things were stuck inside them; how some cubes were connected together with small twigs; how things started to fall out of the ice, and how hands got wet.

Fascinating to see how two cubes could be connected with a twig bridge!

all sorts of things hiding in the ice - including the left over Christmas tree bits, pine cones, beads, feathers and cotton wool.

Also fascinating to see how the cubes of pine needles held their shape when the ice had all melted - they collapsed the moment you touched them.

There have been talks about making ice-art. How we are going to do that....? Hmmm, time to think and observe the children. First will be our Love Tree art piece - and maybe this will trigger how to proceed with the ice-art!!