Hot Or Cold

About this activity

Here are some activities to do with early years children to explore hot and cold.

 

1. Ice Melting Experiment

Activity:Children explore how ice melts.

What to do:Give each child an ice cube in a small tray. Provide different items such as salt, warm water, spoons, or hands to see what helps the ice melt faster.

Adult questions:

- What does the ice feel like?

- What is happening to the ice?

- What made it melt faster?

Recording:Children can draw the ice before and after it melts or mark-make what they observed.

Learning:Children learn that ice is very cold and melts into water when it gets warmer.

2. Hot and Cold Water Play

Activity:A simple water investigation to compare warm and cold water.

What to do:Fill one bowl with warm water (not hot) and one with cold water. Children place their hands in each bowl and talk about the difference.

You can add cups, spoons, and toys for exploration.

Adult questions:

- Which water feels warmer?

- Which one feels colder?

- What happens when we mix them?

Recording:Children can draw the bowls and label them hot/warm or cold.

Learning:Children begin to understand temperature differences.

3. Hot and Cold Object Hunt

Activity:A science hunt around the classroom or outdoor area.

What to do:Children search for objects that feel cold (metal, window, water bottle) or warm (their hands, sunlight on a surface, warm cloth).

Adult role:Adults supervise and encourage children to touch safely and talk about what they feel.

Recording:Children draw or write what they found and say whether it was hot/warm or cold.

Learning:

- Observation skills

- New vocabulary (hot, warm, cold, freezing)

- Understanding materials and temperature