# Build with Colored Ice Blocks > Freeze food-colored water in shaped ice trays, popsicle molds and cups, then let kids stack, line up and build towers, trains and 'cupcakes' on a white towel outdoors. A cool, colorful summer building activity. - URL: https://www.funlittles.com/ice-activities-colored-ice-blocks/ - Ages: 2–6 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium - Time: prep 10 min, activity 1 hr - Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class · one batch serves about 2 kids - Skills: building, fine-motor, sensory-exploration, colors, ordering, creativity - Cautions: food-dye ## Materials (one batch) - Water (household) - Food coloring - Assorted ice cube trays (stars, circles, cubes) - Popsicle molds (optional) - Cups for freezing ice cups (household) - 1 piece White towel (household) - Pans or trays to hold the ice (optional) (household) ## Safety - Small ice shapes (circles, stars, small cubes) can be a choking hazard for toddlers. Expect kids to put the ice in their mouths and supervise closely. - Food coloring stains. Use a towel you don't mind turning colorful, and expect colored hands and clothes. - Ice is very cold. Let kids take breaks to warm their hands. - Melting ice leaves puddles. Watch for slippery surfaces. - Playing outdoors in high heat: offer shade, drinking water and sun protection. ## Before you start - Color water with food coloring in several colors. - Pour the colored water into a variety of ice cube trays (stars, circles, cubes) and a few popsicle molds, then freeze until solid. - Freeze colored water in cups for a second set of 'ice cups'. Keep them in the freezer until later in the play. ## Steps 1. Set out the colored ice stars, circles, cubes and popsicles outdoors. 2. Let the kids explore the ice first: touch it, hold it, and expect a few licks. 3. Lay a white towel on the table as the building surface. 4. Invite the kids to build: line up blocks, stack towers and knock them down. 5. Try putting the small circular ice on top of the regular cubes. 6. Make creations like an ice train or an ice 'cupcake'. 7. When interest dips, bring out the ice cups from the freezer. 8. Build new structures using the ice cups as bases. 9. Admire the sparkling structures and the colorful towel left behind. ## Tips - Set out exploration materials in phases instead of everything at once. The fleeting interests of younger kids just don't go with the all-at-once approach. - Hold back the ice cups and introduce them later. They spark interest and start a new set of structures. The cups were a hit! - Use a variety of ice cube trays to add interest and patterns while the kids build. - Our kids thought the ice was Kool-Aid and started licking right away. Plain colored ice is bland, so they lost interest in licking within a few minutes. - Our toddler preferred arranging blocks horizontally, and built small towers just to knock them down. Our preschooler loved stacking. It's a good time to show ordering, or just let them explore. - Lay out a white towel and you'll have a colorful piece of cloth at the end. - In the sunshine the ice structures literally sparkle. - Simply holding a bunch of them was fun. ## The original post by TurkeyMom (2013) The high temperatures have really kicked in around here and we are looking for ways to cool down and have fun. Ice activities definitely did the trick earlier when we painted with **[ice popsicles](https://www.funlittles.com/toddler-activities-summer-art-activity/)** and made **[ice jewelry.](https://www.funlittles.com/ice-activities-summer-ice-jewelry/)** Today we are sharing ice based building activities for kids. My two kids had big fun building and creating with colored ice cubes. The only preparation I did was to freeze different colored water (colored using food coloring) I used a variety of ice cube trays to add interest and patterns while the kid go about building with the ice cubes. Here are our stars, circles, cubes and a few popsicles we used in our ice activity. Obviously the very first they did was to squeal excitedly and start licking on the ice cubes. My kids are sour hungry and LOVE sour food and they really thought I made the ice with Kool-Aid. Unfortunately they were plain colored ice and with in a few minutes they lost the interest to lick bland ice - although my younger continued for a lot longer than the older. The older one was intrigued with the color and the sheer number of ice cubes available for playing. She adores building activities. When they were ready to build and create with the colored ice blocks ( read stopped exploring the ice cubes with their mouths) I laid out a white towel. I figured we will have a colorful piece of cloth at the end of fun ice activity. ### Building activities : Invitation to explore and create structures with ice. I observed that my toddler was very much into arranging her blocks horizontally than vertically. Having said that she would build a small ice tower and then knock it down in a very typical toddler fashion. My preschooler was interested in stacking up and creating structures with the blocks. She was particularly interested in using the small circular ice on top of the regular cubes. Good time to show ordering or as always equally great to let them explore and unleash their creativity. It was great to see when simple building activities for kids take up an entire afternoon ( in a good way!) She continued to make more structures with star ice and circular ice. Here is her ice train Her ice "cupcake" Of course it looks like a cupcake!. It was a fun afternoon and this ice activity kept the kids cool and happy. Once a good amount of time has passed I brought out a new set of ice blocks- ICE CUPS! IThey were the best kind of ice building materials. I froze colored water in cups and they looked oh-so-beautiful. Many ice cup structures were created. such as this one. The sun was shining and the ice structures were literally sparkling. It is fun to add a small twist to any building activities.The introduction of ice cups was a great starting point. I have learned out to set out exploration materials in phases instead of everything out at once. The fleeting interests of younger kids just does not go right with that approach. In this ice activity, I held out the ice cups in the hope that its introduction will spark interest and will initiate a new set of structures . I was right. The cups were a hit! Our colorful outdoor table.. Hope you have fun with ice this summer in your very own backyard.