Preschool Science: Melt Ice Cubes

The other day, Oliver and I decided to do a last minute science project. He loves the ice dispenser in his grandma & grandpa's fridge, and I tried to tell him that ice is just frozen water. So, we decided to experiment!

Please be aware that microwaves can create hot pockets in liquid. So, if you do this project with your preschooler, you will want to make sure you check the temperature and stir the ice water to prevent those really hot pockets from forming!

Step 1: Oliver got ice from the ice dispenser. So fun! We used crushed ice because it would melt faster (more surface area). 

Step 2: Oliver put the cup of ice in the microwave. He heated his ice for 30 seconds, and then he stirred it. There was already some water in the cup after 30 seconds!

We microwaved the ice three times at 30 seconds. After the third round, all of the ice melted.

Step 3: Drink!

Oliver was really excited that he "made" water. I considered refreezing it to show him how water can go back from liquid to solid. Ultimately, I decided he wouldn't have enough patience to wait for water to freeze, so we didn't perform that experiment.

For dinner, we boiled water for rice. Oliver likes to watch, and I pointed out the steam to him. I explained how the steam is water, too. It can be solid, liquid, or gas, depending on the temperature! I think he mostly just thought it was neat to use the ice dispenser and microwave, but he also seemed to grasp the concept that water gets solid and turns to ice when it's really cold.

I love preschool science!

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 1: Ice Cubes

I decided to start a new mini-series on my blog because of Oliver's new stage. It's hard to entertain him for more than a couple minutes at a time. That's exhausting for me! I'll pull out the blocks, and he'll walk away after a few minutes and start something else. By the time I get the blocks put away, he's done with his second activity. He's a whirlwind, and the house is a mess at all times!

My goal is to find new and cheap ways to capture my son's attention and stimulate his growing mind. I plan on reading some idea books and websites, and then I'll test my favorite ones out on here! I'll try to keep up with this series daily.

Today, I started with something easy and nearly free. It's an idea from a book that my cousin gave me called The Toddler's Busy Book by Trish Kuffner.

I decided to freeze colored ice cubes for Oliver's bath!

If you already have an ice cube tray and food coloring (like I did), it's a very (very) simple way to throw something new and unusual and your little one. Just fill the tray with water as normal and then put a few drops of coloring in each square. Stir it up and freeze. Voila! As an added bonus, she says you can stick a few hard plastic toys in them for your kiddo to discover. Just be careful to keep an eye on your toddler because they can choke on the ice cubes if they shove them into their mouths.

The ice cubes melted almost immediately. That could have been my fault because I only gave them four hours to freeze. They felt completely firm, but maybe they would have lasted longer if they were in over night.

The melted cubes left the bathwater a gross, green color (although it didn't dye my son's skin or white-blonde hair). Oliver was a little curious about the cubes, but they lost his attention after a minute, which was good since they were almost gone by that point. They melted too quickly for Oliver to discover the Duplo Lego that I'd frozen in one of the ice cubes, so that part of the activity was a bust. However, because the activity was so simple (a big bonus!) and unique, I give it a grade: C-.