Japanese Learning Through Play: Water and Ice

July has brought warm, humid days.
At Cosmo Global Kids, we want to enjoy cooling water activities during the summer.

Our Japanese learning class explored water and ice over two days. The first day focused on touching cold ice; the second explored melting and drawing with it.

The children leaned forward eagerly when they saw the ice. Picking it up themselves, they smiled and said how cold it felt. When we explained that it turned into water as they touched it, they proudly pointed to water collecting on their plates. We then added favorite colors and water to molds and put them in the freezer for the next day.

On day two, we put ice into bottles of warm water and closed the lids. Taking turns shaking them, the children observed the ice getting smaller. They then touched bottles at different temperatures and enjoyed comparing them, pointing out which felt cold.

Next, we drew with the colored ice made the day before. The children remembered choosing pink, blue or green. Watching the teacher demonstrate brought wide-eyed surprise. They became absorbed in making marks with their favorite colors and feeling the ice with their fingertips.