Seeing Stars: Ice Play with Shapes and Colors

Lately we're seeing stars all over the place! Or, more accurately, L is seeing stars and pointing them out to the rest of us. (This has really been quite the adventure lately, with July 4th coming up.)  Stars are really the first shapes L has learned to identify correctly and consistently, so I figured why not take this new found love of wonderful stars and make a day of it!


I found a star ice mold recently and snatched it up, knowing that L is really digging stars at the moment.  I made several batches of ice cubes stars, using food coloring to make an assortment of colors.

For added fun, I lined our sensory tub with aluminum foil. This added a nice sparkle and of course provided that amazing crinkle!

L got busy exploring right away! One of the first things she noticed was the the color from the ice stars came off on her fingers.

Even Zephyr joined in the fun!

This activity provided so much discussion! We talked about the different colors of the stars, how cold the ice felt on our hands, and about the colored water that was left in the bottom of the tub.

L also quickly discovered that the stars could double as some nice body paint...

...or deck crayons! By the end of this activity, we were all sufficiently wet and stained, which was all part of the tremendous fun! Ice play proves to be a hit time after time!