These pictures are not in chronological order because this activity lasted for several days and morphed as the snow fell and the freezing temperatures helped the snow and ice refreeze the ice and water each night when we put the sensory table back outside at the end of each school day. This activity can be done at home by putting snow into a dish pan or bucket and letting your child play. When the snow starts to melt put the bucket back outside overnight. In the morning fill the bucket back up with snow. Dump the bucket of snow and compacted snow/ice from the day before into a bigger bucket and let your child continue to play. Repeat this process for as long as you like. Each time the snow freezes, melts, refreezes and you add more to the refrozen ice pack more layers are added to your homemade iceberg. You can also cut the iceberg in a half and use a magnifying glass and let your child view the different layers of ice. You can also add a small amount of food coloring to the water before setting it out to refreeze to show the different layers of water freezing and layering. The children were very interested in this activity and it lasted for almost two weeks.
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| We added Arctic animals and Native American people to our ice pack for dramatic play and nature science. |
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| In the background we placed pictures of glaciers in the ocean so the children could see that only a small part of a glacier can be seen above the water and the majority of the glacier sits below the water where it is hidden. |
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| The children started to create craters and caves as we began to let the iceberg melt during the day and refreeze outside at night. We would add more snow in the morning when we brought the sensory table back inside when school started. |
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| The children stated to create habitats for the animals around day 3 of the experiment. We started talking about hibernation, why some animals do not freeze in such cold environments and that even though polar bears have white fur they actually have black skin. |
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| Each day the iceberg takes on a new shape depending on how much snow the children add on to the base and how much melting and refreezing has happened the night before. The children has also started to add some blue coloring to the melted water before they set the sensory table out at night to refreeze. They noticed that in the pictures of the glaciers hung up by the sensory table the glaciers seemed to have blue layers and they wanted to create that in their glacier so they started to add blue water to their iceberg. They are enjoying the results. |
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| Exploring the ice world! |
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| I have to admit this is my favorite picture. It looks like snow art. As much as I am looking forward to spring, birds, flowers and green on the trees again, this picture reminds me of a winter wonderland. This picture is also a great seek and find activity if you print it and ask your child to point out the different animals. Try it. |
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| POLAR BEAR! |
