Ice Ornaments
Making ice ornaments is a fun and creative way to enjoy winter outdoors. By freezing water with natural items like leaves and berries, you can create beautiful decorations that reflect the season’s beauty and connect you with nature.
What Do you Do?
- Go on a nature walk to gather small natural items. Avoid picking live plants or damaging trees.
- Use this as an opportunity to discuss what’s safe and respectful to collect.
- Place the natural items into the containers, arranging them as desired.
- Lay a loop of string or twine into each container, ensuring part of the loop sticks out of the water when it freezes.
- Fill the containers with just enough water to cover the items.
- Ensure the string is submerged enough to freeze securely in place.
- Place the containers outside in freezing temperatures
- Carefully pop the frozen ornaments out of the containers.
- Hang them on tree branches outside, adding a sparkly, festive touch to nature.
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What Do You Need?
- Small containers or shallow pans (e.g., muffin tins or plastic lids)
- Water
- String or twine (cut into loops)
- Natural items (e.g., pinecones, leaves, berries, twigs, evergreen sprigs)
- freezing temperatures outside
- Scissors
Safety Considerations:
Ensure the collected natural items are safe to handle (e.g., no toxic plants). Use caution when handling scissors or breaking ice out of containers. Ensure that children are not breaking pieces off the plants or trees. Encourage them to only use materials laying on the ground.
Benefits:
Physical: Encourages outdoor activity during material collection. Develops fine motor skills through arranging materials and handling string.
Emotional: Sparks joy and a sense of accomplishment in creating beautiful ornaments. Fosters a calm, meditative experience while working with natural materials.
Intellectual: Teaches about freezing and the properties of water turning to ice. Promotes learning about local plants and environmental stewardship.
Spiritual: Encourages connection with nature and appreciation for the bea