Ice cream activities for kids

Everybody loves ice cream, especially in hot weather. Summer-themed activities are really motivating for children. We offer some tasks that can engage your preschoolers and help to develop useful skills. All activities are DIY and can be easily organized without buying expensive toys.

1. Roleplay "Ice cream stand"

It is a mess-free activity that can occupy my active child for 15-20  minutes and more. For this game you will need:

• a table or a box that will serve as a stand
• ice cream scoops (I made balls from tissue paper)
• plates or cones
• a spoon or tweezers
• coins and a cash register (optional).

Although we have a limited choice of flavours, only blueberry, cherry and vanilla, the game is fun. First, I play the Ice cream song by supersimplesongs.com. Then, I order how many scoops for me, and after that stuffed toys come to choose from. So we strengthen motor skills and practise counting.

2. Ice cream scoops patterns.

Patterning is a great way for developing observation skills, problem-solving, and math sense. The "scoops" are made from felt but you can also use coloured cardboard paper. Make one big card and several pattern cards. To make the game more interesting I choose the card with the ice cream cone which I want and Tony makes it for me.

3. Colouring pages.

I downloaded a colouring page from planningplaytime. My son doesn't like colouring so that was a great way to motivate him to use crayons. And we traced numbers 1-10.

4. Popsicle craft.

Ask a child to cut out some pieces from tissue paper and then glue them onto a cardboard template. I attached a popsicle stick to the template. Woo, a la! It is ready. After that, we can use it for role plays.

5. Playdoh ice cream cones.

This activity is feasible even for toddlers. The cones are made from toilet paper rolls. Tony decorated playdoh ice cream with buttons and beads. Manipulating with small objects is really cool for improving fine motor skills.

We can sell these cones or treat our stuffed toy friends.

The activities I described are really simple and easy to organize. I hope your kids will enjoy them immensely!