Earlier this week, I shared a bit about my Seasonal Living with Littles resource with you. In Seasonal Living, we learn about and celebrate each solstice and equinox, and enjoy seasonal crafts and activities. Today, I thought I would share a winter solstice activity with you. This activity is wonderful for children of all ages and a wonderful way to get outside and enjoy the beauty of nature.
Seasonal Living with Littles
This winter solstice activity is one of the activities from Seasonal Living with Littles, my resource to help you weave seasonal beauty, play, and learning into your days with young children. Within the Seasonal Living resource, you will:
- Learn about the solstices and equinoxes with ideas for celebrating those special days.
- Curate seasonal nature tables, offering your little one a quiet, reflective space.
- Appreciate poetry and art with beautiful printables.
- Enjoy nature-filled crafts, including monthly sensory bins and weekly crafts and activities.
- Plus, some crafting time just for you! These crafts are perfect for displaying on your nature table or in your child’s bedroom.
You can grab a Free Sample of Seasonal Living with Littles and take a peek at the Spring section, including the beautiful artwork and poem that goes along with it. When you enter your email address below, the sample will be sent to you immediately, and you’ll be brought to the How Wee Learn shop so you can read a bit more about the resource.
Winter Solstice Activity: Nature Ice Hangings
Below, I share with you exactly how we made these beautiful ice hangings, as well as some activities you can enjoy afterward for more learning opportunities with your little one.
Materials
To make your winter ice hangings, you will need:
- pie tin or other baking dish
- water
- freezer
- nature items, like pinecones, pine branches, sticks, etc.
Instructions
To start, head outside with your little one and collect some nature items! You could do this right in your backyard or head out for a winter nature walk. You could even bring along this nature scavenger hunt printable!
After you’ve collected some pinecones, greenery, small sticks, or other nature items, it’s time to head back inside and create your ice hangings.
Fill a pie tin or another shallow baking dish with water. We filled ours with about 1/2 an inch of water, but you could make yours thicker if you want. The more water you use, the longer it will take to freeze but also the longer it will last outside.
Now your little one can arrange their nature treasures in the water.
After you’ve arranged your nature items, cut a piece of twine approximately 8″ long, fold it in half, and place the loose ends in the corner of the water. You will be able to use this to place your ice hanging on a tree or bush after it is frozen.
Carefully move your tray to the freezer and leave it overnight to freeze.
You could also use this as an opportunity to chat with your little one about what happens to water when it gets super cold. How long do you think it will take to completely freeze?
Once your ice hanging is completely frozen, carefully pop it out of the pie tin or dish. If it doesn’t come out easily, you can pour some warm water on the back of the pie tin or dish to help loosen it.
Now head outside to hang up your beautiful ice hanging!
Extension Activities
While this activity is lots of fun for little ones all on its own, you could also extend the learning with some of these activities:
- Make a prediction: Guess how long you think it will take for your ice hanging to melt. Look up the weather forecast for your area to help you make your predictions. Depending on where you live, you could observe your ice hanging once an hour or a couple of times a day to see how it changes.
- Create an ice hanging with seeds: You could create another ice hanging using seeds and watch as the birds or other animals enjoy a winter treat as your ice hanging melts.
- Add some paint: If your little one has never tried painting on ice, they are in for a treat! This is a wonderful opportunity for your child to explore different sensory experiences.
Seasonal Living with Littles
If you enjoyed this winter solstice activity, you will love Seasonal Living with Littles! This resource is available individually or as part of The Everything Toddler Bundle.
Thank you so much for reading, sweet friend!
xo
Sarah
Leave a Reply