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SummerPreschoolers52 Comments
Painting with frozen paint on a hot day is a fun and creative way to beat the heat! Its a great summer art project for kids when it’s really hot outside!
Summer is heating up and we are trying to find creative ways to stay cool.
So far, George has played with ice cubes (a simple sensory activity for babies) and Henry discovered a healthy snack of fruit in a frozen ice excavation.
Find 30 more classic summer crafts for kids to make!
The kids even managed to keep cool while creating art!
I’ve seen a lot of ice cube paintings out there, where you color some ice cubes with some food coloring. It often gives a watercolor effect, often very pastel.
For this art project, I was looking for a something a little more… vibrant!
So we got artsy with some frozen paint!
This is a great summer art project for kids on a hot day! If it’s too hot outside, get them active indoors with 12 indoor gross motor activities.
Easy DIY Frozen Paint
Instead of just coloring ice cubes, we froze entire cubes of paint.
I used Crayola washable paints (affiliate link), it’s our fave. Then I added just a dash of water to top it off.
I stuck with our favorite combination of colors: blue and yellow. They make Henry’s favorite. Green.
When I topped off the paint with water, the colors kind of combined in the ice cube tray.
But they were only green on top, underneath was still yellow or blue.
Looking back, I only needed to freeze about 3 cubes of paint. So we have 9 more in the freezer waiting for another hot paint day!
I stuck the paint in the freezer for about 20 minutes and then added the craft sticks.
I’m not quite sure how long they took to freeze. We stuck them in the freezer in the morning, and they were ready after nap, at around 4 p.m.
Hot Sun and Frozen Paint
To start painting, you just pop them out of the container like you would a regular ice cube and let the heat of the sun do its work! The cube is your paintbrush!
Don’t forget to slather sunscreen on the kids before heading out to do this art project!
It took a little bit to get going because the paint was, well, frozen. Once the heat got the paint cubes melting, they melted on the canvas so brilliantly!
Very vibrant!
It didn’t take long for Henry to dive in with his hands to mix the colors together.
Along with making green, Henry made rivers of blue going through the green. He made rows of corn in fields.
And he made a huge mess! This was definitely a messy, messy activity!
We had the pool out for the day, so cleanup was simple and fun!
Henry jumped in and cooled off while he scrubbed himself clean!
While Henry was enjoying painting, George enjoyed his ice cubes. They had a moment or two without any sibling rivalry.
It was nice. For a moment.
Henry continued being nice to his brother and was very specific that he made his piece of art for George’s room. He was also very specific in how it hung and which side was up.
Some more painting with frozen paint cubes:
- Painting and melting ice at Logan and Kalia’s Baby Blog
- Frozen Tempera Paint at Color Color Color
- Painting with Ice at Busy Toddler
How do you cool off with your kids on a hot day?
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Mia says
Interesting activity! Especially since its a sensory activity for the kids. My daughter’s school activity for remote learning also has a similar activity as this one. And its really fun seeing them enjoy doing their art work. Cleaning up for all that mess was worth it.
Megan Case says
Love this idea. We live in Atlanta, GA and it is H-O-T right now!!!! Going to freeze some paint right now! Thanks for the great idea! BTW- Have you found a good cheap source for canvases?
Choices for Children says
We did this with toddlers for a play group we host. It’s a great activity for a hot day!
http://choices4children.blogspot.com/2014/06/frozen-paint-pops.html
Debra Giddens says
I just loved the ice painting with my two year old , it was just messy fun.
Jamie Reimer says
That’s fantastic to hear Debra! Share a photo if you think of it!
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Araceli Castaneda says
what type of paper did you used?
Jamie Reimer says
For this project we used a cheap canvas (affiliate link: http://amzn.to/17EEtUK). But usually we use just a roll of butcher paper.
Araceli Castaneda says
what time of paper did you used , I love the activity, but the paper must be something thick because is ice melting on a paper. please let me know.
Thank you.
wendy burnett says
great idea, but did they not try and eat the paint ice lollys
Jamie says
Wendy- surprisingly, no. They didn’t put it in their mouths. I had George (almost 1 at the time) busy with just ice cubes that he was mouthing the entire time.
Anonymous says
What kind of paint did you use? Acrylic, tempera? Or does it matter?
Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas says
I LOVE this idea! We did lots of creative art with frozen paint too. It was just so much fun. :) Love the huge canvas that was made and that he put it in his lil brothers room – so sweet!
Thanks for linking up to the Sunday Showcase – can't wait to see what other fun ideas you link up this week! See you tonight for an all new linky party!!
Bernadette
Mama Pea Pod says
Fabulous! Looks like wonderfully messy fun! I'm featuring this this week, from last week's Outdoor Play linky.
Melissa @ The Chocolate Muffin Tree says
Great post! Love the whole story from beginning to end….the rivalry… the hanging of the painting!
Mandi says
Oooh, I'm so happy to see this more brightly colored take on the frozen paints I've been seeing!
Yummy Mommy Mia says
Thanks for the link! While a bit messy, it's a great summer activity and clean up can be fun too! :D
learning table says
What fabulous messy fun! Henry's painting is beautiful!
:0)
{I found you on the outdoor play linkup}
The Craft-Arty Kid says
Very cool! What a fun way for kids to enjoy painting
RedTedArt says
I LOVE the colours you chose.. think working with just two primary colours always looks so great! And what fun to play with ice like that!!
Thanks for linking to Kids Get Crafty!
Maggy
OneMommy says
Looks like lots of fun, and definitely an outside activity! LOL
katepickle says
Oh freezing paint is a great idea… love the vibrant colours!
sooz says
What kind of paper did you use?
MaryAnn says
I wasn't sure that the paint would freeze hard enough. I wonder if liquid watercolors would freeze? I'll have to try it.
Thanks for the fun pictures!!
MaryAnn Kohl, art book author
http://www.brightring.com
maryannfkohl.typepad.com/blog/
Miss Lisa says
Fun! Didn't know paint froze? I just might have to try this in my little classroom (but outside!)…thanks for sharing! Your boys are so stinkin' cute!
Esther says
Yay! Cooool painting! Last week We made kool-aid ice cubes and stamping with the ice cubes. I missed to keep Popsicle sticks and so it was little difficult to hold the ice cubes.
Joyce says
I was just thinking of doing this. I've been seeing a lot of icecube painting and I thought "I should just freeze paint, I wonder how that would turn out!" Thanks for showing us all. We are definitely doing this. Thanks for the post!
Rashmie @ MommyLabs says
Love this activity! Gorgeous colours!
Stacy@{share and remember} says
Just great!! Love the colors!