• The summer heat can sure be hard to beat some days. I don’t have a pool, so it’s up to my imagination and a hose to keep my kids cool and wet in the summer months. One of our favorite things to do is make an ice block for the kids.

    Basically I take some big containers (just make sure they are of a size to fit into your freezer!) and fill them with water. Then I take some of their smaller toys that are okay getting good and wet and add them to the containers. Then I freeze them overnight. The next morning you can remove your container and set it outside upside down. This will get the ice block just melted enough to release from your container.

    Now the fun part. Letting the kids try and get the toys out. For smaller kids you can let them pour water on it to speed up the process. Bigger kids can get mallets and maybe even a chisel. My kids have plastic versions we got in a tool set. They chip and hammer, pour water to create holes for hours, while they cool off. If you make smaller ice cubes, ones big enough to pick up, the kids get a kick out of their hands melting the ice and leaving a sort of hand print. My dog also enjoys this game, but she prefers to lick the ice over hammering it. Don’t worry, she has her own ice block so she doesn’t take the fun (and add the grossness) to my kids’ block.

    Who knew, ice can be as much fun as an over-sized cardboard box.