This ice painting activity for kids is lots of fun and a cool and unique way to get children to paint. It’s so simple to prepare and they will love creating vibrant colours and mixing them to make new colours.
You might remember a long time ago, Possum (currently aged 5 years), did some painting with ice cubes. It was so much fun we couldn’t wait to do it again, but this time include Boo (aged 2.5 years). If you haven’t tried this idea with your child, you should give it a go today!
Recommended ages: 2 years +
(Strict and active supervision required)
To make ice paints you will need –
- ice cube tray
- water
- food colouring
- cling wrap
- toothpicks (or craft sticks)
How to make ice paints
Begin by adding 8 – 10 drops of food colouring into the ice cube tray sections. Obviously the more colouring you add the darker the paint will be. Keep in mind that the colouring could stain hands as it melts later.
Add a small amount of water to each section of the tray and use a toothpick to mix together the water and the food colouring. Be careful not to mix the colours!
Ice painting activity for kids
How to prepare ice paints
Once you have the coloured water prepared, very carefully wrap the whole ice cube tray in cling film. I did two layers of cling film.
Carefully poke a small hole through the cling film and add half a toothpick, which will later act as a handle for the paints. I reversed the half toothpick after making the hole, so the pointy end was exposed. I felt this would stop the toothpick falling off later.
Freeze for 24 hours.
How to remove ice paints from tray
Remove the ice paints carefully and by sitting the bottom of the ice cube tray in warm water. This will melt the surface of the ice cubes and they will plop out easily. Do not twist the tray, as you would normally do to remove ice, as doing that will likely crack your ice paints.
It’s painting time!
Once you have everything ready, get your children prepared with a smock, a large sheet of paper and a cloth, which is recommended as they can use it to wipe their hands.
Exploring with ice paints
It was lots of fun watching my girls use the ice paints. They did lots of different pictures and enjoyed the whole process as much as the end product. They loved –
- mixing the colours together to make new colours
- the sense of urgency as the ice paints began to melt
- the cold sensation felt at their finger tips
- the soft colours the ice paints created and how easily they could layer the paint
I loved it because –
- using the toothpick required lots of great use of their fine motor skills
- they could be as creative as they liked
- the activity would be great for reluctant writers or children who struggle to try new things
- it teaches children about colours and mixing colours
- sensory awareness was high
I absolutely recommend doing this ice painting activity with your children. It’s so much fun and incredibly easy to prepare. My girls loved the unique approach to painting, it was unlike anything they’d really tried before.
Is this unique type of painting with ice be of interest to your child?
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That looks like so much fun, especially as it’s colder they won’t melt as fast! I miss this stage of my kids life.
Thank you Kat. It was lots of fun and something the girls have asked to do again.
Hi there Katie
I often try out and appreciate your ideas.
I have a playgroup at home so new and fresh ideas are always welcome.
Thank you for sharing. Your ideas are always practical and I usually have all the ‘stuff’ at home or in the school room.
Luv Des
Desire, thank you so kindly for sharing your feedback with me. You have totally made my week. X
Hi, at wgat age would it make sense to start trying this?
Hi Katie. Lovely to hear from you. I would recommend doing this with a child who isn’t likely to put the ice into their mouth. Of course it’s safe, but you don’t want to end up with a child who looks like they’ve eaten a rainbow. Hehehe My youngest daughter is 2.5 years old and was fine to do this.