Ice Painting for Kids
I love activities that can be done year round.
Especially process art that doesn’t require loads of prep work (who has time for that?) and doesn’t require step-by-step instructions.
In the winter it can tie in with a snow and ice theme and in the summer it can be added to a cool outdoor activity on a hot day.
It’s also great activity for the beginning of the school year when young children are learning how to use paints
Ice painting is probably one of the most simplest painting activities around, and yet it is always popular with kids.
What you will need:
- A large piece of ice, frozen in your choice of plastic container
- Watercolors
- A plastic tray to catch the puddles
Setting it up:
Pour water in your plastic container and allow it to freeze overnight. (One for each child, or for the amount of children who can fit at your art table at one time.) Right before starting this activity, remove the ice from the container onto a tray. Place watercolors on the tray next to the ice, along with a paintbrush.
Tip: Have a few of these ice blocks in your freezer at all times. This way they will be handy at that last minute when the kids have extra energy, or when a playdate needs some extra fun.
The process:
Invite your children to brush the watercolors on top of the ice block.
Observe:
Notice what happens with the watercolors as the ice starts melting. The texture starts changing, as do the colors.
When finished:
Either leave it as is, or press a piece of paper on top to make a print. Then, simply place the ice in the sink to melt. Clean up is a breeze!
Simply dump everything into the sink, rinse, and let the ice melt.
If you have more children who’d like to do this activity, put the ice back on the tray after being rinsed. So easy to reuse (until it melts 🤣).
Now you see why this is such a popular activity!
Ice Painting Using Shaped Pans
Since we’ve done the above ice painting activity, we’ve tweaked it using different shaped pans!
Simply find the shape you want, fill it with water, put it in the freezer, and proceed as we did above.
Here are two examples:
Christmas Tree Ice Painting
Gingerbread Man Ice Painting
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So fun! My kids had a blast using watercolors on ice blocks this summer. It was a great way to stay cool. I totally agree, the color mixing that takes place on the ice and in the tray is totally delightful.
Hello! I loved your link on Sow Sprout Saturday! After looking at this post I decided I needed to do something with ice with my kids. Here is what I decided to do http://sowsproutplay.com/activities/hidden-letter-icy-sensory-bin/ . Hope you enjoy!
Sabrina @ SowSproutPlay.com
Love that idea, Sabrina! Am going to share it on my wall. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
So simple and fun!! My kids will LOVE this! Thanks Sheryl. 🙂
Could a canvas be pressed onto the ice painting?
Possibly! I’d make sure the watercolors were really intense, though. Great idea!
This is awesome. Wouldit work with powder paints or just water colours?
Aw….now you’ve got me thinking! Powder would be awesome!
Any tips on the easiest way to remove the ice from the plastic dishes/containers? I’m imagining that being tricky! Am I thinking too much into it? 🙂
Hi Sara! After we took the trays from the freezer, we ran warm water over them to melt the ice a bit. They then slid out of the trays.