Even when it’s hot outside, my kids want to be outdoors! They love fresh air as much as I do and would honestly rather be doing outdoor activities rather than laying around inside all day. (I actually like the sound of laying around but that’s not an option with my adventurous kids!). So I always try to come up with several activities that we can try out each week. This watercolor painting with ice cubes was actually pretty fun. It’s nice and cool and it didn’t take many supplies to make. I bet your little ones will love giving this cool summer art project a try!
Colorful Paint Ice Cubes Tutorial
A summer art project for kids can be a wonderful way to encourage creativity, explore different artistic techniques, and keep them engaged during the break. Here’s a fun and creative summer art project idea to try. Watercolor painting encourages children to express themselves freely through art. They can experiment with colors, shapes, and techniques to create unique and imaginative artworks.
Supplies Needed for your Colorful Ice Cubes:
- Ice Cube Tray
- Measuring Cup
- Water
- Food Coloring (we actually used a couple different vegetable powders as our dye- beet powder, spirulina and turmeric)
Instructions On How to Make Colorful Ice Cubes for Painting:
Painting with ice cubes is a very quick activity to throw together but the longest part is waiting for the water to freeze!
Grab your supplies and head to the kitchen. The measuring cup will make it easy to pour into your tray without spills. The amount of water you need will depend on how many “cube” spots you have.
I filled the measuring cup up about 1/3 of the way full and added a teaspoon of vegetable powder coloring. If you are using liquid food coloring, I would add 5-7 drops to that 1/3 cup of water. You definitely want lots of color from your frozen cubes so go ahead and add a little more than you think you should!
Once you have mixed up your water and coloring, pour into your mold to create your colorful ice cubes. I only filled each mold up about halfway so that it wold freeze more quickly. If you have a good amount of time to wait for them to freeze, go ahead and fill the molds up all the way so that they last longer.
Do this watercolor ice cube making process again with as many colors as you would like and until your tray/molds are all filled.
Next, pop the ice cube molds into the freezer and wait. This could easily be done overnight or done while nap time is going on.
Let The Watercolor Painting With Ice Cubes Begin
Once they the watercolor ice cubes are frozen, you can head outside with some white paper. Pop the watercolor ice cubes out and let your kiddos commence to painting with ice cubes. They can wear rubber gloves if you don’t want them to get the color on themselves. Since I used natural pigments, I just let them have at it with their watercolor paint cubes. Manipulating the ice cubes to create different strokes and patterns strengthens their control and dexterity.
Conclusion
Engaging in art activities like watercolor painting can be calming and therapeutic for children. It provides an outlet for self-expression and allows them to unwind and relax, reducing stress and anxiety. Overall, watercolor summer art projects offer a host of benefits for children, stimulating their creativity, enhancing their fine motor skills, and providing a fulfilling and enjoyable way to spend their summer days. It is a fun new twist on something they are familiar with and to encourage their creativity and art skills.
Do you kids enjoy watercoloring? Do you think they would enjoy this painting with ice cubes summer art project for kids?
More art projects:
Marcie W. says
What a fun way to get creative while staying cool. My children are a bit older, but would definitely still enjoy such an artistic activity.
Deb says
What a great idea. I was looking for ways to make water colour painting a bit less messy than having cups of water out. This will be perfect for my little guy. I also love that you use natural food colouring!