Painting Ice is a great no-prep sensory activity to set up for your child! This is a great sensory activity that will encourage an exploration of colors and fine motor skill development!

My daughter LOVES painting. She would do it everyday if I let her. 

She loves the different colors, she loves the brushes, she loves seeing her pictures hung up on the wall. She ESPECIALLY loves painting objects. 

Yeah, if I hand her some paper and paints she’ll be entertained for 10 minutes, maybe a little more. As a WFHM I’ll take whatever I can get most days! 

If I give her an object though? That’s bought me at least 20 minutes of mostly independent play. 

I say mostly because she always has to show me what she’s painting and how it’s going. 

Buying a new object for her to paint everyday of the work week can get expensive fast though! Even if you get stuff from the dollar store that is still $1.25 a day, $6.25 a week, 25 a month. 

The cost isn’t the only thing to consider. You also have to think about storing all of these things! The first handful are cute. 25 a month is just too much and likely to upset your kid when they realize you tossed their art. 

Considering I’ll be lucky to get half an hour of quiet out of this activity, it’s just not worth it. 

Instead, I find random things around the house we can paint! It usually has no cost (other than the paints) and if we throw it away my daughter doesn’t usually care. 

My favorite and most no-prep painting activity is painting ice. 

My daughter loves ice activities and we always have an abundance of ice in the freezer. 

Education Benefits

Painting is a great fine motor skill activity. It is also a great way to practice writing and holding a pencil without actually using pencils. 

Mixing different paints is also a great way for your kiddo to explore colors. While they are painting you can point out what colors mix together to make new colors. “Look! You put the red with the blue and it made purple!” 

How it works

The setup for this activity is easy! 

I usually get a cake pan and fill it with ice. You could also use a bowl if that is easier for you. 

You have a few different options paint wise. 

At a glance, it might seem like the easiest option is to break out the acrylic paints. All you have to do is toss a few colors on a plate and call it good. 

That being said, clean up with the acrylic paints can get a little tricky. 

You don’t want to put acrylic paint down your sink because they are likely to clog your pipes. Anytime I use acrylic paint I usually dump the melted ice down the sink and then toss the soggy paint in the trash.

Not super difficult, but a little inconvenient.

Another option you could do is using food coloring! Mix a couple drops of food coloring in small bowls of water and you’re ready to go! 

Clean up with this is a breeze because you can toss everything down your sink.

While the food coloring option is pretty easy to set up and clean, the colors will not be as vibrant or noticeable as the acrylic paints. 

It’s still a fun option! Just something I wanted to point out to prevent any disappointment. 

Supplies:

• Colored water or acrylic paint
• Paint brushes
• Bowl or cake pan 
• Paper towels for clean up

That’s it! 

Like I said, one of the easiest activities to set up. 

What are your thoughts? Did your kid love this activity?