Keep 'Em Busy with this Icy Invitation to Play

Ready to introduce a NEW way for your littles to play with the items in their Preschool Winter Crate? Set up this easy invitation to play and let their imaginations lead the way!

• Rainbow penguins from your Explore Penguins crate
• Ice blocks from your Explore Penguins crate
• The snow from your Snowman Science experiment in the Explore Penguins crate
• Your freezer (or a cold night outside!)
• Three containers (we used our IKEA Flisat table, but any combination of three baking pans, cookie sheets, plastic food storage, etc. is fine) 

1) Place a few of the ice block strips in a container with a shallow layer of water ... about halfway up the blocks. Place in your freezer (or outside if you've got the weather we have here!) overnight to freeze.

2) In another container, pour in the snow you made as part of the Snowman Science kit. Drop a few colorful penguins in!

3) Collect all of your other rainbow penguins in a third container.

4) When you're ready, set out all three containers and invite your child to explore! Between the cold ice and the fluffy fake snow, your child will have a variety of sensory experiences as they play, as well as fine motor practice and unstructured number/color/pattern reinforcement with their feathered friends.

You can see we used our IKEA Flisat table to set up this invitation to play, but it is just as fun with a combination of cookie trays, food storage containers, or whatever else you have in your cupboards.