This FROZEN craft post has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.
FROZEN the movie? Yeah, it’s *kind of* a machine. About 8 months ago, we found out my son would have to go under general anesthesia for some oral surgery, and I promised him a color-changing Elsa toy. Who knew that this many months later he’d still be THIS infatuated, and that the Elsa doll would be SO hard to find? Luckily, Walmart is stocked up again with aisles, displays and endcaps featuring lots of FROZEN stuff, from bedding and wall decals to back-to-school clothes and lunch boxes. And, of course, TOYS!
We still haven’t found the exact Elsa we’re looking for, but we did get our hands on the complete story set of FROZEN figurines in the Disney aisle.
Perfect for the kids to share, and even more perfect for the fun sensory activity I had in mind…
Elsa’s Ice Castle Sensory Activity
Hot summer afternoons call for outdoor play, so I put together a simple sensory activity for the kids. (We’re getting creative to fill these last days of summer!)
Supplies:
- one sandcastle-shaped sand bucket
- water
- blue glitter (optional)
- tissue paper
- zippered plastic sandwich or snack bags
- ribbon or tape to wrap the bags
Instructions:
Fill sandcastle-shaped bucket half way with water, shake in glitter and stir. Wrap each figurine in tissue paper, place each inside a sealed sandwich bag with the air squeezed out. Tie each with a ribbon to keep the bag tightly wrapped and place in the water in the bucket. Allow to freeze. Once frozen, fill the bucket the rest of the way with water, add glitter again, and freeze. (Because figures float, freezing half at a time allows them to freeze in the middle of the ice.) When fully frozen, place outside and wet bucket with a hose to release castle.
After we ran some water over the bucket to release the ice, I challenged the kids to figure out how to rescue the figurines from Elsa’s castle!
They rubbed the ice with their hands and feet, poked it with a stick, kicked it around, even tried to lick it. It was fun to watch, and hard not to help. Although I did nudge a little to help my son remember how we got the castle out of the bucket. Once he caught on, all it took was a little time, a little sunshine, and a little help from a watering can and all of our FROZEN friends were safely rescued!
My poor baby girl got bad guy Hans on her first try…I felt kind of bad, although as you can see, he got a few kisses…
All was good, though, because she also got the Anna and Olaf toy.
And once our ice castle was broken and the remnants were melting over the plants in our garden, we needed a place for our new FROZEN friends to live, so we raided our tissue paper stash again to build them a crinkly, crunchy ice cave to call home!
Easy Crinkle Craft: Tissue Paper Ice Cave
Supplies:
- blue and white tissue paper, cut into 2″ squares (amount needed will depend on how big your cave is)
- plastic gallon jug
- hot glue gun/glue
- one sheet of glittery blue scrapbook paper (you can buy a single sheet at most craft stores for about .39)
Instructions:
Cut plastic jug into the shape of a cave (or just cut in half to make an ice mountain.) Dot with hot glue, one or two dots at a time, placing crinkled paper on glue before it dries. Alternate blue and white paper as desired. Once covered with crinkled paper, use sheet of scrapbook paper as a base to play on.
*TIP: Complete your playset with the Arendelle background from the toy’s packaging. Just cut it out and use it as shown in the photos here.
I would call this a sensory craft because of all the texture and opportunity to teach adjectives (crunchy, crinkly, pointy, fluffy, etc.) My son was an expert crinkler by the time we were done making it together! (See his poor hand below, bruised from his IV. I’ll be happy to never do that again!)
Soon, it will be time to snuggle up again in our FROZEN pajamas and FROZEN fleece blankets, but until then, we’re going to enjoy these last days of summer while we can. Thanks to #CollectiveBias for the #FrozenFun challenge!
This is a great idea! My nieces are obsessed with Frozen. The ice activity would be a great one for them on a hot day. Thanks for sharing!!!
Kelli A recently posted…Win a #Family 4pk #BuffetDinner and Get Colorful with Ryan’s, HomeTown Buffet, Old Country Buffet and @Crayola
Oh my goodness, these look like so much fun! My kids would have to fight with me to play with them … Lol!
Danielle recently posted…Toddler Crafts Ideas (Not Requiring Scissors!)
How fun! Looks like your kids — who are adorable, by the way! — were having the best time!
Lois Alter Mark recently posted…my buick bucket list trip: parnassus books
i love these ideas!! the ice cave is adorable. super cute. and we have the figure set. it’s awesome because its tiny and easy to bring places.
Brett recently posted…Monitoring driving habits #StraightTalkTesters #giveaway
I agree Brett! We just put them in a little metal lunchbox and they are totally portable! Just have to make sure we don’t lose Elsa. THAT would be a catastrophe!
Well that’s a fun way to incorporate play and the love of the movie. I like the little dolls, those would be great stocking stuffers (not that I’m thinking of Christmas or anything).
These look like so much fun! I love how you incorporated these activities to go along with the movie.
This is awesome, my daughter is a Frozen fanatic. Love the ice castle. She wants these dolls too!
Mama to 5 BLessings recently posted…Staying Organized With Our Family Road Trip Binder
Oh my goodness! How fun is this project! MUST do it with my kids now! Pinning!
Taralyn recently posted…What to see in Gettysburg if you only have a day!
My kids love Frozen so much! This would be a great activity for my kids too!
Amy Desrosiers recently posted…Three Cheese Manicotti Recipe Featuring Victoria Marinara Sauce
My kids would love this!!
Lisa recently posted…RSVP for the #MyMarianos Twitter Party 8/21
What awesome and fun crafts. The kids look like the had a blast. So cute.
Debbie Denny recently posted…Park City is a great place to live – What you need to know!
Super cute idea for the little ones to have some fun in the sun! I love it! It’s still one of my favorite movies to sing along to – it’ll never get old!
Annie {Stowed Stuff} recently posted…Perler Beads: The Latest Kid Craze
The kids surely looked like they enjoyed themselves. Great crafts btw. My toddler is a huge Olaf fan so may try the crinkle ice cave with her.
Amanda Love – Growing Up Madison recently posted…Glitz and Glam! – Back to School in Twinkle Toes by Skechers
Looks like fun. My daughter is a big frozen fan!
Shanna recently posted…Back to School with the Trio AXS Tablet (Did Someone Say FREE T-Mobile Data Plan?)
I absolutely love this idea. I cant wait to do it with my friends 4 year old. Thanks for the great idea.
What fun looking activities. My niece is a big Frozen fan, so I bet she would love them.
Catherine L. recently posted…3 Ways to Legitimately Make Money from Home
Love, love, love this! I have a few Frozen enthusiasts at my house, this is great! Pinning to our All About Kids board!
Lori Who Needs A Cape? recently posted…Creamy Pineapple Pretzel Dessert
Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for pinning! 🙂
This is SUCH a fantastic idea and I love it! We just moved to the beach. This would be a FANTASTIC thing for us to take to the beach to keep the kids occupied in the sand while Mommy & Daddy rest! I love that your little boy loves Frozen, my 3 year old son does too! #client
Summer Davis recently posted…Why I Won’t Stop Talking About Robin William’s Death
This is so genius! Pinning right now…
Kristi @ And Babies Don’t Keep recently posted…Extra, Extra {that time I was an…extra…}
What a fun idea! My grandsons would get a kick out of feeling that ice!