Ice play is such a simple and fun way to keep cool in the warmer weather. Not only that but it is frugal and there are tons of ways to explore with ice. We have painted with ice, explored MAGIC ice, enjoyed simple ice and water sensory play, freed objects from ice, and explored with ice and salt just to name a few. Today, we tried something a little different and made sensory ice creatures. This activity was loaded with sensory exploration and non- stop giggles!
OCTO- ICE Sensory Play
Beat the Heat with Ice Play
OCTO-ICE (or monster ice) combines two super fun sensory materials to create octopus ice creatures. OCTO-ICE is simple to make and super frugal, too!
To make OCTO-ICE you will need:
(all materials can be purchased from Dollar Tree)
- Water
- Pasta noodles
- Food coloring if color is desired
- Googly Eyes
- Containers for freezing
To make OCTO-ICE you will first want to prepare you colored pasta. You can read more on how to make multi-colored pasta here. Once your pasta is prepared fill freezer safe containers with water. We used pie pans and ice cube trays, but any freezer safe container will work. Then just add the pasta to the container, allowing it to hang over the sides of the container like octopus legs. Float your googly eyes on top, and then pop in the freezer. After 4-6 hours your OCTO-ICE is ready to play
I popped our OCTO-ICE from their containers, and set the girls up to explore at the table. I knew we would eventually add water, but I first wanted to let them explore just the ice itself.
Rosie LOVED these ice creatures as soon as she saw them!
The frozen pasta was an amazing and new sensory exploration for us. Frozen pasta feels very different, and as it unfreezes it goes through many different texture changes.
The ice and pasta combine to create quite a fun tactile experience that produces lots of giggles. I mean, spaghetti ice is just plain silly, right?
Rosie referred to the small OCTO-ICE as monsters- It definitely did look more like monster ice, too!
Jewel seemed to be in awe of the ice creatures and couldn't stop touching them
We eventually added the OCTO-ICE to our water table. The water added a whole new element of fun and exploration.
I was surprised with how long our the ice creatures lasted. It was a pretty hot day, and the larger pieces lasted for quite a while. Even after they had melted the noodles and eyes were tons of fun to explore in the icy cold water.
Other Ice Activities
