What’s the idea?
Combine water play and sidewalk chalk with this fun DIY ice cube coloured chalk in rainbow colours.
What’s the story?
Summer means ice blocks melting in the sun, splashing in the water, and making the most of the outdoors.
Chalk drawings on the pavement are a staple summer activity, so combining ice play and chalk is a great opportunity to make summer crafts more enjoyable.
The use of rainbow colours is also a timely opportunity to talk about and celebrate equality.
People should do this because…?
Making your own ice cube coloured chalk is easy to do and will provide children with hours of fun cooling off in the summer! It’s also a great exercise to show how different ingredients cause different reactions.
This craft project is appropriate for kids of all ages. For toddlers and preschoolers, this activity provides tactile and sensory play, and for older children, it helps teach how colours mix, and simple science experiment effects.
How do you do it?
- In a bowl, combine equal parts cornflour and baking soda. Mix well.
- Spoon the cornflour and baking soda mix into ice cube trays, filling halfway.
- Add a few drops of food colouring into each ice cube segment. For pastel colours, add less, for brighter colours, add more.
- Fill the remainder of the tray with water and mix each ice cube carefully until well combined.
- Freeze the ice cubes for at least 4-6 hours.
- Pop frozen cubes out of trays for kids to play and draw with on the pavement.
- To add a scientific experiment to the mix, use vinegar in spray bottles to spray lightly on the melting ice chalk, and watch them fizz and bubble!
Stuff you may need
• Cornflour
• Baking soda
• Food colouring
• Ice cube trays
• Vinegar in a spray bottle
• Water
Links to other stuffer pages
Links to other articles on the web
https://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2013/05/play-recipe-ice-chalk.html
