You have come to the right place if you are looking for fun, engaging and exciting Ice cream themed activities to do with toddlers, preschoolers and kindergartners. Our activities are widely used by teachers, moms, dads, child care providers and more!
All our activities are available at no cost and are free to print and share. Select below to get started.
Ice Cream Arts and Crafts
Art:
Glue a large triangle (the cone) on a piece of paper and fingerpaint the ice cream scoop. Fun twist: Instead of using paint use REAL ice cream to paint with!
Handy Cone
Make an ice cream cone (triple scoop) with a child’s handprint. Have the child trace/cut his/her handprint out on three pieces of paper –depending on what flavor of ice cream he/she likes.
Then he/she can glue these overlapping and upside down on to a brown ice cream cone-shaped pattern. Make a cone by making a long triangle and rounding the bottom point.
Ice Cream Cone Clowns
You will need:
Ice Cream
Ice Cream Cones
Cupcake papers
Cherries, nuts,and mini chocolate chips, or other cake decorations.
Scoop ice cream into each cupcake paper. Let each child place cone “hat” upside down on scoop. Children can make facial features with the decorations of choice.
Ice Cream Games and Activities
Sensory Table:
Get inexpensive tub of ice cream and scoop into the sensory table. Let the children play in it! Yucky but fun.
Game:
Give each child a scoop of ice cream or 2 in a bowl. Have them sit at a table that they fit comfortably at. Make them keep their hands behind their backs and eat the ice cream with only their mouths!
Video tape or take pictures.
Science:
Go out on the sidewalk (on a hot sunny day) bring a plastic bowl, metal pie tin and a glass dish. Put one spoonful of ice cream on each and on directly on the sidewalk (or black top).
What will melt first, second, third?
Why do you think we got the results that we did?
If the ice cream is different colors will it make a difference?
Scream Relay
Teach the kids: “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” Divide the class in half and have a competition. Which team can say it the loudest. Then have them all say it together. Have a third party judge and they will be able to see that working together, they make the most noise.
Graph everyone’s favorite ice cream.
Favorite Flavor Voting
On paper plates glue construction paper ice cream cones. Have 3 or 4 flavors such as vanilla. chocolate, strawberry, blueberry, for example. Give each child a pinch type clothes pin (we call them voting sticks) and invite them to clip their “voting stick” on their favorite flavor of ice cream.
Ice Cream Recipes and Snacks
Home Freezer Ice Cream
Who says it has to be summertime to enjoy ice cream? Not your kids, that’s for sure! Everyone loves ice cream, and what better way to beat the cold weather blues than with some cold treats? Gather your kids around, get out the ingredients and have some fun. Don’t forget to pull out all your favorite toppings. You can use anything from sprinkles to crushed candy bars to cookies.
Fresh fruit is an excellent topper for a fresh bowl of homemade vanilla ice cream. Try bananas or strawberries sliced and thrown on top. Or add them to the blender with a splash of milk for a fabulous shake.
Anything is possible. Have fun with it! Let the kids help pick the toppings and make it a fun day for everyone!
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups milk
3 eggs
2 cups heavy or whipping cream
5 teaspoons vanilla extract
In heavy, 3-quart saucepan with spoon, combine sugar, flour, and salt. In medium bowl with hand beater or wire whisk, beat eggs and milk and eggs together until well blended; stir into sugar mixture until smooth.
Cook for about 15 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the spoon, being sure that the custard does not boil or it will curdle; cool.
Stir in 2 cups heavy or whipping cream and 5 teaspoons vanilla extract.
Freeze and Enjoy!
Alternative Ice Cream Recipe
This one is a lot more fun to get the kids involved with!
Vanilla Ice Cream (Basic recipe)
1 pint of half and half cream
1/1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
The result will be two cups of smooth and creamy ice cream.
Variations To make a flavored ice cream, add one of the ingredients below:
3 tablespoons of your favorite flavor of instant pudding
1/3 cup of fruit (for example, bananas, strawberries, peaches)
3 of your favorite cookies, crushed into pea-size pieces
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
A 1 lb. and a 3 lb. coffee can, both with tight-fitting lids
8 cups of crushed ice or small cubes of ice
1/2 cup of rock salt (plus the ingredients in the above recipe)
1. Mix the three basic ingredients together. Pour them into the one-pound coffee can. Add a variation if you want. (The can will be about three-fourths full.) Place lid on securely, and set the small can inside the three-pound can.
2. Starting with ice, alternate layers of ice and salt between the outside of the small can and the inside of the three-pound can, packing the ice down as you go.
3. When the layers get to the top of the small can, cover the entire lid with ice. Then place the lid on the three-pound can, making sure it fits tightly.
4. Set the can on the floor, and gently roll it back and forth. You may need to wrap a small towel around the outside of the large can so it will stick to your hands. Roll the can for at least ten minutes. The ice inside the can will get watery, but keep on rolling!
5. After rolling, put the can upright. Remove the towel and lid from the big can, and slowly pull the small can out of the big can. Wipe the ice and salt from the lid; then remove the lid carefully.
6. The ice cream will be frozen to the sides and bottom of the can. (If it is not thick enough, put the can in a freezer. Check it every ten minutes or so.) When it is thick enough, stir the icy parts off the sides and bottom into the mixture until it’s smooth and creamy.
Ice Cream Songs, Poems and Finger Plays
Ice Cream Poem
Make flannelboard pieces for this poem by Carrie Lacher:
First we need a cone, (brown triangular felt ice cream cone shape) Nice and crunchy.
Then we need some ice cream,
Sweet and yummy,
Scoop ’em on; stack ’em on’ Up to the sky.
We love ice cream; my, oh my!
First comes vanilla, Cold and sweet. (white felt ice cream scoop)
Then comes chocolate (brown scoop) A delicious treat.
Here’s some strawberry; (red/pink scoop) Orange sherbet, too, (orange scoop)
A super-duper scooper cone Just for you!
One scoop, two scoops, Three scoops, four.
We love ice cream Let’s have some more!
Also have available a blue scoop (blueberry), yellow scoop (lemon sherbet), Etc….and change the words of the poem.
Chocolate Ice Cream Cone
My mama said if I’d be good,
She’d send me to the store
She said she’d bake some Gingerbread
If I would sweep the floor
She said if I would make the bed
And watch the telephone
That she would send me out to get
A chocolate ice cream cone
And so I did the things she said
And then she made some Gingerbread
Then I went out, just me alone
And got my chocolate ice cream cone
While coming back I stubbed my toe
Upon a big old stone
Now need I tell you that I dropped
My chocolate ice cream cone
A little puppy came along
And he took a great big lick
And so I hit that mean old dog
With just a little stick
Then he bit me where I sit down
And he chased me all over town
So, now I’m lost, I can’t find my home
And all because of that chocolate ice cream cone
And all because of that chocolate, (Chocolate-yodel)
Chocolate ice cream cone
“Eighteen Flavors” By Shel Silverstein
Eighteen luscious, scrumptious flavors
Chocolate, lime and cherry,
Coffee, pumpkin, fudge banana
Caramel cream and boysenberry.
Rocky road and toasted almond,
Butterscotch, vanilla dip,
Butter brickle, apple ripple,
Coconut and mocha chip,
Brandy peach and lemon custard,
Each scoop lovely, smooth and round,
Tallest ice cream cone in town,
Lying there (sniff) on the ground.
Ice Cream Cone Flannel board Rhyme
Make felt ice cream cones. Place them on the board as you say the rhyme.
Five little ice cream cones so good to eat.
The first one said, “I’m a summer time treat.”
The second one said, “It’s such a hot day.”
The third one said, “I’m melting away.”
The fourth one said, “Don’t lose your top.”
The fifth one said, “Oh dear , ker-plop!” (Place the last cone upside down.)
Little Miss Muffet
Little Miss Muffet
Sat on her tuffet
Eating a chocolate ice cream
Along came a spider
Who sat down beside her
And said, “Give me some or I’ll scream.”
Dear Reader: You can help us make this theme even better!
All of our theme ideas have come from our imagination and from reader submissions. Please use this form to contact us if you have crafts, activities, games, recipes, songs or poems that you would like us to add to this theme.
