Bath-berg fun

Here's another fun (and easy!) toddler activity I was inspired to try after reading Counting Coconuts. I call it the bath-berg.

It's really just a cup filled with small objects (river stones and magnetic numbers) and water that I've frozen to form a mini ice-berg. I give it to Miss L at bath-time and she gets to watch the ice melt, extract the objects and then play with them.

Why I chose stones and magnetic numbers 

1. They're small. 
2. The water isn't going to damage them. 
3. Miss L loves river stones.
4. River stones are a natural object that are normally found in water.
5. The magnetic numbers stick to the side of our metal bath so Miss L gets to practise identifying which number is which and ordering them from 1-10. 
6. The magnetic numbers are colourful and add a splash of fun to the bath-berg.

What I like about it

1. This is such an easy activity to put together. At the end of bath-time I just scoop up all the stones and numbers into the cup, re-fill it with water and put it in the freezer. After a while I may change out the objects, but these ones are working for now.
2. There are so many variations I could do, like change out the objects inside, change the shape of the container, or give Miss L tools to help her extract the objects faster (eg. salt or a little hammer).
3. It doesn't add any chemical into her bath, unlike her other fun bath extras like food colouring and bubbles.
4. There's a science lesson involved as she gets to learn about two of the states of water - liquid and frozen. Already she's asked where the ice disappears to.
5. It costs nothing to make.
6. It gives Miss L a chance to practise numbers.
7. It makes bath-time even more fun and exciting for Miss L. She requests the bath-berg every time now.