Travis used to love hammering into ice as a toddler, and today was Veronika’s first opportunity to do the same. This time, as a twist, I made the game edible.
The night before, I froze berries in individual compartments of an ice cube tray. I also made one larger block of ice full of berries in a Tupperware container, hoping to add some variety.
It was a hot and humid morning to head to the patio with our icy treasures. I simply set the blocks of ice out on a shallow tray, and gave Veronika her toy hammer and screwdriver (to serve as a chisel).
At first everything was frozen solid, so she wasn’t very interested after an exploratory tap or two.
But thanks to the weather it all soon started to melt. This was great because it meant Veronika felt like her hammering was really making a difference, even though the sun honestly did most of the work.
When she reached the first berry, she immediately needed to give it a try!
Whoops! The blackberries were a little sour. Then she discovered she could mash and smoosh the berries that had been released from the ice. This was even more fun!
The melting ice cubes became almost like paint, too, since the dark blue of the berries left swirls of color behind.
All in all, this was a gorgeous pause in morning sunshine, part sensory play and part snack!
joyful parenting 