Nothing beats the sizzling summer heat better than your favorite beverage on ice.
Ice is cheap, easy to make and extremely versatile. In fact, as a parent, ice can be one of your best friends. Not only can it help cool off your sweaty son, reduce the swelling on an injured ankle, and lessen the sting of a bug bite, with a little creativity ice cubes can also be an affordable boredom buster for kids.
An inexpensive and easy way to add spice to an ordinary paint project is to place it on ice.
Painting with ice; what kid wouldn’t want to get in on that?
To create ice paint, simply fill a clean ice cube tray with tempera paint, and place it in the freezer for at least three hours. Ideally, you should allow the paint to freeze overnight; however, if you are making up a batch at the last minute, you could fill the ice cube tray with a mixture of half-paint and half-water. Just keep in mind that diluting the paint will reduce the vibrancy of the colors, so if you want to maintain the paint’s brightness, don’t add the water.
Once the cubes are frozen you can use them in a variety of ways. One of the most affordable is to simply have your kids rub the colorful cubes on sheets of cardboard or card stock. The heat from your children’s hands will help melt the paint. They can then use their fingers to design mini masterpieces.
Another fun option is to spray some shaving cream on a clean table or countertop and add a few cubes of frozen paint on top. As your child handles the ice it will begin to melt and mix with the shaving cream. The more he mixes the shaving cream and the frozen paint, the better the color will be incorporated. Kids love playing with shaving cream and there is no cheaper way to add a pop of color to the fluff than adding in frozen paint cubes.
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