Ice sensory activities are so much fun and can help children develop their fine motor and problem-solving skills, heighten their creativity, and even expand their vocabulary. While simply playing with ice cubes can entertain some kids for awhile, introducing the challenge of rescuing their toys from ice will keep their attention.
For those who like to skip the manual and go right to assembly, here is the whole activity illustrated in three photos:
 Freeze some toys. |  Equip your children with some age-appropriate tools. |  Challenge your children to rescue their toys! |
For further info, read on! I'll list some of the benefits below after explaining the set up.
Here's what you need:
Here's what to do:
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 While these dinosaurs were fun to rescue, I didn't notice they had seams in them and continued to leak long after the ice had melted. |  A big chunk of ice takes a bit more patience as it won't chip as easily and there is more ice that needs to be melted before any toys are released. |  When a toy finally gets "rescued", the big proud smile of accomplishment is priceless. |
If you're wondering about how this activity can help your child, here are some benefits:
- Fine motor skills: Playing with ice helps children develop their fine motor skills, such as their grip strength, hand-eye coordination, and dexterity.
- Sensory development: Playing with ice stimulates all of the senses, including touch, sight, hearing, and [sometimes] taste. This helps children learn about the different properties of ice, such as its coldness, its slipperiness, and its sound when it melts.
- Language development: Playing with ice can help children learn new vocabulary words, such as "cold," "wet," "melt," and "solid." It can also help them develop their descriptive language skills as they try to describe the different sensations they are experiencing.
- Problem-solving skills: Playing with ice can help children develop their problem-solving skills as they try to figure out how to get the ice chunks to do what they want them to do. For example, they might try to figure out how to melt the ice faster.
- Creativity: Playing with ice can help children use their imaginations as they create different scenarios and stories.
- Relaxation: Playing with ice can be a calming and relaxing activity for children. The coldness of the ice can help to soothe them, and the repetitive actions of playing with the ice can be very calming.
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