Frozen Hearts Sensory Play

I used two bread pans and a bunch of foam and plastic hearts that I found at the Dollar Tree to create this icy cold sensory bin.

I placed the objects in the pan with water, and stuck it in the freezer. The foam hearts floated to the top of the pan and the plastic hearts sank to the bottom of the pan, which would work for this activity, but I wanted more of a layered feel. So after that first part had frozen, I added another layer of water and objects. I suppose you could do that with even smaller layers than I did if you have the time, and want the objects to be evenly dispersed throughout the pan.

My little guy loves hearts right now, and insisted on exploring the ice block while I was setting up for class.
"Ha-ut!" he says.

It was very easy to get the ice block out of the pan. I just ran the bottom of the pan under some water, and within a few seconds it cracked and I was able to slide it right out into the sensory bin.

I made two for my class to explore, and provided some spray/squeeze bottles filled with warm water and paintbrushes as possible excavation tools. I encouraged them to think of other ways they could melt the ice and release the frozen hearts, and some students brought objects from other parts of the room to try out as well.

The bin was open for about an hour or so, and the students kept coming back to it in between other activities. The blocks were only about half melted when center time was over, and so we put them back in the freezer to use again next time.

On a side note, the larger foam hearts in the bin were just there for added play as it filled up with water. We ended up sticking the wet hearts to some glass surfaces near the bin, just for fun.