US US US We use cookies on this website to improve your shopping experience. We use cookies to remember log-in details and provide secure log-in, collect statistics to optimize site functionality, and deliver content tailored to your interests. Click accept to give your consent to accept cookies.
It can be tempting to think that scientific experiments are only for ‘big kids’, but I firmly believe that even toddlers and preschoolers can start to develop key science-based skills given the correct activity. This is one of our all-time favorite ways to enjoy a science experiment, and all you need is a few basic ingredients. Here are all the details for this fun colorful ice cubes experiment.
Kool-Aid, we used six different colors/flavors (this adds great colors… and lots of smells too!)
Small pots or containers
Toothpick or mini kebab stick for stirring
Selection of sequins (glitter, beads, pom poms or even small toys will also work)
Tray or container to help contain the mess
How to make the colorful ice cubes:
The great thing about this activity is that it naturally lends itself to so much fun sensory play, whilst also working your child’s fine motor skills hard. Start off by adding a little of each color Kool-Aid powder to your containers and then invite your child to squirt on some water with their Twisty Dropper™. My 3-year-old gave the cutest little gasp as she saw the water change color. She also loved that the Kool-Aid made ‘yummy smells’ as well. After she added water to each container she used a little kebab stick to give them all a good stir.
This is the point where we started to talk about the science experiment we were creating. I explained that she had made some lovely colored water and that water is a liquid. I asked her to predict what would happen if we put her colorful water in the freezer overnight. She told me that she thought the water would get very cold and freeze. This was a great start and led to us talking about the difference between the water which is a liquid, and ice which is a solid. It may seem like such a concept is too complex for your preschooler, but I’m a strong believer in the power of exposure. Just by involving my preschooler in the discussions, she is being exposed to the vocabulary and I am positively modeling interest and skills associated with science.
After our discussion, we transferred the colored water into an ice cube tray. This was another great way to get her hand muscles working. We were also able to link in some color mixing as she decided to invent a few new colors by mixing the ones from her containers. I always love watching children’s amazement when colors mix together to make new colors.
The final stage of making the colorful cubes was to add some sequins and confetti. This is optional of course, but it makes it really fun when the ice cubes melt because you can then try and rescue all of the runaway confetti. Once the ice cube tray was full of colorful and sparkly liquid, we put it in the freezer and left it to freeze overnight.
Once you get the ice cubes out of the freezer tip them into a large bin and have the fine motor tools, warm water, and salt at the ready. Before you add anything to try and get the ice cubes to melt, take the opportunity to explore what has happened to the water overnight. A great way to do this is to use your senses. Ask your child what they can see has changed, and also how it feels different from before. Communicating their findings is a scientific skill within itself!
Now comes the fun… let’s get melting! Let your child add the salt and warm water using their hands and the fine motor tools. The Squeezy Tweezers™ were great for distributing the salt over the ice. I took the opportunity to explain why the salt helps to melt the ice while she played. Again, I’m not expecting her to learn these facts but just the exposure is a great start.
As the colorful cubes melted it was so neat to see the confetti coming loose and floating in the water. The colors also all started to mix in the bin. The Handy Scooper™ was such a fun tool for scooping up the cubes and water and watching it drip through, leaving the confetti inside the scooper.
The more warm water my preschooler added, the quicker the ice cubes melted. I asked her what she was noticing and she did a great job of using her senses to describe the changes. There was so much scientific vocabulary being used!
Wrapping up the investigation:
As with any science experiment, it is important to reflect on what we predicted would happen. We ran through the process of freezing the water so that it became a solid ice cube, and then how adding salt and warm water helped the solid to melt back into a liquid. So much learning in this fun hands-on sensory activity. We hope you give it a try too!
It can be tempting to think that scientific experiments are only for ‘big kids’, but I firmly believe that even toddlers and preschoolers can start to develop key science-based skills given the correct activity. This is one of our all-time favorite ways to enjoy a science experiment, and all you need is a few basic ingredients. Here are all the details for this fun colorful ice cubes experiment.
Kool-Aid, we used six different colors/flavors (this adds great colors… and lots of smells too!)
Small pots or containers
Toothpick or mini kebab stick for stirring
Selection of sequins (glitter, beads, pom poms or even small toys will also work)
Tray or container to help contain the mess
How to make the colorful ice cubes:
The great thing about this activity is that it naturally lends itself to so much fun sensory play, whilst also working your child’s fine motor skills hard. Start off by adding a little of each color Kool-Aid powder to your containers and then invite your child to squirt on some water with their Twisty Dropper™. My 3-year-old gave the cutest little gasp as she saw the water change color. She also loved that the Kool-Aid made ‘yummy smells’ as well. After she added water to each container she used a little kebab stick to give them all a good stir.
This is the point where we started to talk about the science experiment we were creating. I explained that she had made some lovely colored water and that water is a liquid. I asked her to predict what would happen if we put her colorful water in the freezer overnight. She told me that she thought the water would get very cold and freeze. This was a great start and led to us talking about the difference between the water which is a liquid, and ice which is a solid. It may seem like such a concept is too complex for your preschooler, but I’m a strong believer in the power of exposure. Just by involving my preschooler in the discussions, she is being exposed to the vocabulary and I am positively modeling interest and skills associated with science.
After our discussion, we transferred the colored water into an ice cube tray. This was another great way to get her hand muscles working. We were also able to link in some color mixing as she decided to invent a few new colors by mixing the ones from her containers. I always love watching children’s amazement when colors mix together to make new colors.
The final stage of making the colorful cubes was to add some sequins and confetti. This is optional of course, but it makes it really fun when the ice cubes melt because you can then try and rescue all of the runaway confetti. Once the ice cube tray was full of colorful and sparkly liquid, we put it in the freezer and left it to freeze overnight.
Once you get the ice cubes out of the freezer tip them into a large bin and have the fine motor tools, warm water, and salt at the ready. Before you add anything to try and get the ice cubes to melt, take the opportunity to explore what has happened to the water overnight. A great way to do this is to use your senses. Ask your child what they can see has changed, and also how it feels different from before. Communicating their findings is a scientific skill within itself!
Now comes the fun… let’s get melting! Let your child add the salt and warm water using their hands and the fine motor tools. The Squeezy Tweezers™ were great for distributing the salt over the ice. I took the opportunity to explain why the salt helps to melt the ice while she played. Again, I’m not expecting her to learn these facts but just the exposure is a great start.
As the colorful cubes melted it was so neat to see the confetti coming loose and floating in the water. The colors also all started to mix in the bin. The Handy Scooper™ was such a fun tool for scooping up the cubes and water and watching it drip through, leaving the confetti inside the scooper.
The more warm water my preschooler added, the quicker the ice cubes melted. I asked her what she was noticing and she did a great job of using her senses to describe the changes. There was so much scientific vocabulary being used!
Wrapping up the investigation:
As with any science experiment, it is important to reflect on what we predicted would happen. We ran through the process of freezing the water so that it became a solid ice cube, and then how adding salt and warm water helped the solid to melt back into a liquid. So much learning in this fun hands-on sensory activity. We hope you give it a try too!
These fun, vibrant and tropical colored toucans are a great tool to teach young children all about early math! Designed for ages five and up, young children can learn the fundamentals of fact families with these simple activities that turn math lessons into engaging, hands on games!
Each Toucan to Ten set comes with ten numbered toy toucans and 120 addition and subtraction fact cards. Made from durable, wipe-clean plastic, the toucan toys of Toucans to Ten are strong enough to last year after year, and come with 120 fact cards that keep each play session fresh.
The set also comes with an activity guide, which is really helpful for those of us who have never taught our children before. Additionally, you can design these math games to be as simple or challenging as you see fit for your child.
Before beginning, it is helpful to read through the Toucans to Ten activity guide and to assess where your child is on the scale of math readiness. At five, my daughter has a basic understanding of numbers and counting, but we have not done much addition or subtraction with her at all, so we kept our games relatively simple.
START WITH A DEMONSTRATION
Before working on the activities, start with a demonstration of basic use.
Line up the toucans in order, 1 to 10, and separate the cards into two piles, for both addition and subtraction. Count the toucans together with your child, pointing out each number as you go, in order to introduce or reinforce number recognition.
Once you have mastered counting and number recognition, you can move on to addition! Start with the stack of addition problems and select a card. Read the math equation aloud (“3 + 2 =”), and then solve, using methods best suited to the child’s ability level.
Together with your child, tap each toucan slowly until you reach the sum, 5. Then, place the card inside the corresponding number toucan’s back (my kiddo loved this part!). You can also pull the first 3 toucans forward to denote the first number in the equation. Then, one at a time, add 2 more toucans to the group (4, 5) while counting aloud.
LET THEM SOLVE INDEPENDENTLY
Once you have given your demonstration and solved a few problems together, try having your child use the toucans as counters in solving a fact. For example, when solving 5 + 3, you would start by counting your toucans from 1-5. Next, you would separate them from the group. (Note: this reinforces one-to-one-correspondence, an important skill to develop in early childhood education).
Next, add 3 more toucans to the group. Pause for a moment and then ask your child, “Now, how many toucans are there in all?” Point out that the number on the final toucan in the group is also the answer!
Let your child solve more addition facts before moving on to subtraction. You can also refer to the activity guide for many more ideas!
Over time, and the more practice your children get playing these sort of math fundamentals games, the greater their understanding of fact families (the sets of math facts created using the same numbers) will be.
Once you’ve tried these games with your children, I think you will agree - these tropical toucan toys sure do make math fun!
These fun, vibrant and tropical colored toucans are a great tool to teach young children all about early math! Designed for ages five and up, young children can learn the fundamentals of fact families with these simple activities that turn math lessons into engaging, hands on games!
Each Toucan to Ten set comes with ten numbered toy toucans and 120 addition and subtraction fact cards. Made from durable, wipe-clean plastic, the toucan toys of Toucans to Ten are strong enough to last year after year, and come with 120 fact cards that keep each play session fresh.
The set also comes with an activity guide, which is really helpful for those of us who have never taught our children before. Additionally, you can design these math games to be as simple or challenging as you see fit for your child.
Before beginning, it is helpful to read through the Toucans to Ten activity guide and to assess where your child is on the scale of math readiness. At five, my daughter has a basic understanding of numbers and counting, but we have not done much addition or subtraction with her at all, so we kept our games relatively simple.
START WITH A DEMONSTRATION
Before working on the activities, start with a demonstration of basic use.
Line up the toucans in order, 1 to 10, and separate the cards into two piles, for both addition and subtraction. Count the toucans together with your child, pointing out each number as you go, in order to introduce or reinforce number recognition.
Once you have mastered counting and number recognition, you can move on to addition! Start with the stack of addition problems and select a card. Read the math equation aloud (“3 + 2 =”), and then solve, using methods best suited to the child’s ability level.
Together with your child, tap each toucan slowly until you reach the sum, 5. Then, place the card inside the corresponding number toucan’s back (my kiddo loved this part!). You can also pull the first 3 toucans forward to denote the first number in the equation. Then, one at a time, add 2 more toucans to the group (4, 5) while counting aloud.
LET THEM SOLVE INDEPENDENTLY
Once you have given your demonstration and solved a few problems together, try having your child use the toucans as counters in solving a fact. For example, when solving 5 + 3, you would start by counting your toucans from 1-5. Next, you would separate them from the group. (Note: this reinforces one-to-one-correspondence, an important skill to develop in early childhood education).
Next, add 3 more toucans to the group. Pause for a moment and then ask your child, “Now, how many toucans are there in all?” Point out that the number on the final toucan in the group is also the answer!
Let your child solve more addition facts before moving on to subtraction. You can also refer to the activity guide for many more ideas!
Over time, and the more practice your children get playing these sort of math fundamentals games, the greater their understanding of fact families (the sets of math facts created using the same numbers) will be.
Once you’ve tried these games with your children, I think you will agree - these tropical toucan toys sure do make math fun!
Shop UK Site 
