After writing an article about dramatic play on igloos, i came up with a really fun idea for our homeschool.

Did you know that Eskimos don't live in igloos? Well, actually they do, but not in the type of igloos that we think. The word "igloo" means "house." So, in that sense, they do live in igloos. But they no longer make houses of ice.

Also, did you know that some Eskimos don't lke being called by that term? They find it offensive. Many people living in Canada prefer the term "Inuit," which means "the people." However, those living in Alaska, still prefer "Eskimo," since groups other than Inuits live there.

We learned about Eskimos and Inuits. I got most of my information from these two links:

http://www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/features/croads/eskimo.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuit_culture

We talked about how an igloo could keep someone warm. I personally have experience making snow forts as a child. They were always so warm. They cut off the wind and you never felt like you were surrounded by snow. I talked about this with my kids. Then we set out to make an igloo of our own.

NOTE: I had to do a lot of this myself, but i think that older children could do it with a little patience.

We happened to do this right after Easter. We had leftover packaging from Cadbury mini-eggs. I filled the bottom container with water, put the top on, and stacked them in the fridge to make mini-ice cubes.

You could probably do this with regular ice or use specialty ice cube trays to make some. We made a lot. In fact, this cut was heaping when we started, plus we had two trays still full. I took several days to make ice, because i wanted to have enough.

Next, i drew a pattern on a piece of cardboard. You can use the printout that i made if you want. I expect it'll get all soggy and blurry, since it is printed. I recommend putting down some napkins or even a thin towel to catch some of the melt-off that is bound to happen.

Make a ring of salt on the napkin and then place your first layer of ice. Put salt over several cubes and begin building the second layer. Don't salt the entire circle at once, because you won't be able to place ice all the way around the circle at one time. After you sprinkle salt, hold a cube where you want it. You'll need to hold it there for a few seconds and then it should stick.

Salt makes ice melt. But ice on ice is cold, so it will refreeze again, as long as you didn't use too much ice. This is a great science experiment that goes along with this lesson. You can also talk about how salt is put on the roads in the winter to melt ice (at least in the north it is!).

After about four layers, begin moving in towards the center, just slightly, though, so the whole thing doesn't topple. Also, after about four layers, you can cover over the hole that was left for the door and begin making a complete circle. Leave a hole in the top and build the doorway.

Ours didn't quite make it past this point. Three-year-olds don't quite get the concept of "Don't bump the table." Even if it is said over and over again. ;)

Anyway, this is a fun activity and we had a blast doing it! As always, send me pictures if you do it, too, and i'll post them!