Here is a fun and simple sensory ice play activity to try this winter! These ice spheres look just like Christmas bauble ornaments, making this the perfect sensory activity to try this holiday season! They are so easy to make and will keep kids entertained and working on their fine motor skills for a long time.
Yes, I love setting up ice sensory play activities! They look so beautiful and inviting, which is why kids are so drawn to them. Both of my boys are fascinated by ice. They love to watch it melt, feel how cold it is, and they really love freeing pieces stuck inside ice!
So far we have freed flowers from ice for summer and spooky eyeballs for Halloween. I was so excited to try this idea for winter and have even more ideas for spring!
Supplies:
- Evergreen Pieces
- Berries, This is one of the only times that I recommend getting fake pieces of nature. I recommend fake holly berries because they are poisonous to humans and animals if consumed.
- Fine motor tools
- A tray or pan to hold the ice ornaments
- Twine
- Sphere Ice Molds
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RELATED: Check out Pine Needle Sweep {A Fine Motor Christmas Activity}
Here’s How We Set Up This Sensory Ice Play Activity:
Step 1:
Put evergreen pieces and fake holly berries in the ice sphere trays. You could also use red plastic beads or glass gems in place of the holly berries.
Then you will want to put the black cover on the ice sphere tray and pour water through the top.
You will see that I looped pieces of twine once the trays were filled with water. I also used the twine to push down the pieces of nature, to make sure they weren’t blocking the hole from filling up the mold with water.
Step 2:
Freeze the molds and set them out in a tray! You might want to let them sit out for a minute before starting the activity or else those tiny fingers will stick to the ice and it can hurt a bit.
Step 3:
Bring out your fine motor tools to unfreeze the pieces inside the mold! We used warm water and a dropper, tweezers, and scoopers for this activity. We are a huge fan of this fine motor set and use it allll the time!
First, my boys squirted some warm water on the icy ornaments. It really brought out those beautiful colors inside the chunk of ice!
At this point, they were touching the ice and trying to pick out the pieces.
After about 30 minutes of playing, the tin started to look like winter sensory soup! The bits and pieces were slowly freed and a good time was had by all! This sensory ice play activity was a hit.
Pin this activity to save it for later!
I hope you give this sensory ice play activity a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.
∼Tara
Looking for more pine activity ideas?! Check out:
A Simple and Adorable Holiday Wreath for Kids
Pine Needle Sensory Writing Tray
