Who doesn’t love ice cream?
It’s the perfect sweet treat for a hot summer day, or really any day for that matter.
Not only is it delicious, but it can also provide a fun and educational experience for young children.
We’ll explore Ice Cream Activities for Preschoolers that are perfect for young children.
Ice Cream Sensory Bin:
Create a sensory bin filled with different types of ice cream-themed items, such as plastic scoops, sprinkles, and pom-poms in various colors. Encourage preschoolers to use their senses to explore and play with the items in the bin. This activity helps with developing fine motor skills and encourages imaginative play.
DIY Ice Cream Cones:
Provide preschoolers with paper cones and various art supplies, such as paint, markers, and glitter, to decorate their own ice cream cones. This activity promotes creativity and self-expression while also reinforcing shape recognition and color identification.
Related: 20 Best Preschool Activities for Opposites
Ice Cream Play Dough:
Make homemade play dough in different ice cream colors, such as pink for strawberry, brown for chocolate, and yellow for banana. Encourage preschoolers to use their imaginations to create different ice cream treats using the play dough. This activity helps with developing fine motor skills and encourages imaginative play.
Ice Cream Taste Test:
Set up a taste test station with different flavors of ice cream and let preschoolers sample each one. Encourage them to use their sense of taste to describe the different flavors and textures of the ice cream. This activity promotes language development and sensory exploration.
Related: 20 Amazing Large Group Activities for Preschoolers
Ice Cream Science Experiment:
Fill a large bowl with ice cream and let it melt. Encourage preschoolers to make observations about what happens to the ice cream as it melts and discuss the science behind it. This activity promotes critical thinking and scientific exploration while also reinforcing the concept of cause and effect.
Ice Cream Math:
Use plastic ice cream cones and scoops with numbers and dots to create simple math problems for preschoolers to solve. This activity reinforces number recognition and basic addition and subtraction skills.
Ice Cream Truck Dramatic Play:
Set up a pretend ice cream truck using a cardboard box or play kitchen. Provide preschoolers with play money, ice cream cones, and toppings to encourage imaginative play and role-playing.
Ice Cream Art:
Use different shades of construction paper and paint to create a giant ice cream cone mural. Encourage preschoolers to use their creativity and artistic skills to design their own unique scoops of ice cream.
Ice Cream Storytime:
Read a book about ice cream, such as “Should I Share My Ice Cream?” by Mo Willems or “Curious George and the Ice Cream Surprise” by H. A. Rey. Encourage preschoolers to participate in discussions about the story and ask questions about the characters and plot.
Ice Cream Science Experiment #2:
Freeze different liquids, such as fruit juice, milk, and soda, in ice cube trays. Encourage preschoolers to make observations about what happens to the liquids as they freeze and then melt. This activity promotes critical thinking and scientific exploration while also reinforcing the concept of states of matter.
Ice Cream Cone Sorting:
Provide preschoolers with a variety of plastic ice cream cones and scoops in different colors and shapes. Encourage them to sort the cones and scoops by color, shape, or size. This activity reinforces basic math and sorting skills.
Ice Cream Bar:
Set up an ice cream bar with various toppings, such as sprinkles, gummy bears, and chocolate chips. Encourage preschoolers to create their own ice cream sundaes and discuss the different flavors and textures of the toppings.
Ice Cream Dramatic Play:
Set up a pretend ice cream parlor using a cardboard box or play kitchen. Provide preschoolers with play money, ice cream cones, and toppings to encourage imaginative play and role-playing.
Ice Cream Writing:
Provide preschoolers with a variety of ice cream-themed writing prompts, such as “If I could invent a new ice cream flavor, it would be…” or “My favorite ice cream memory is…”. Encourage them to use their imaginations and writing skills to create their own stories.
Ice Cream Freeze Dance:
Play music and encourage preschoolers to dance and move like ice cream. When the music stops, everyone freezes in their ice cream pose. This activity promotes gross motor skills and encourages physical activity.
Ice Cream Patterning:
Provide preschoolers with different colored and sized scoops of ice cream and cones. Encourage them to create patterns with different colors and sizes. This activity reinforces patterning skills and encourages creativity.
Ice Cream Measurement:
Provide preschoolers with measuring cups and spoons and different types of ice cream. Encourage them to measure out specific amounts of ice cream and compare the different sizes. This activity reinforces measurement skills and encourages math exploration.
Ice Cream in a Bag:
Have preschoolers help make their own ice cream in a bag by combining ingredients in a plastic bag, then shaking it until it turns into ice cream. This activity promotes sensory exploration and encourages scientific experimentation.
Ice Cream Story Stones:
Create story stones with different ice cream-themed images, such as ice cream cones, scoops, and toppings. Encourage preschoolers to use the story stones to create their own ice cream-themed stories. This activity promotes language development and encourages imaginative play.
Ice Cream Alphabet Match:
Create a set of ice cream cones with uppercase letters and a set of scoops with lowercase letters. Encourage preschoolers to match the cones with the correct scoops to reinforce letter recognition and basic reading skills.
Ice Cream Shop Math:
Set up a pretend ice cream shop with price tags for different ice cream flavors. Provide preschoolers with play money and encourage them to make purchases and count out the correct amount of money for their ice cream. This activity promotes math and money skills.
Ice Cream Number Hunt:
Hide small plastic ice cream cones or scoops with numbers around the room or outside. Encourage preschoolers to search for the numbers and then put them in order. This activity reinforces number recognition and counting skills.
Ice Cream Cone Counting:
Create different colored paper cones and provide preschoolers with small pom-poms or beads to place inside. Encourage them to count the number of items in each cone and compare them. This activity reinforces counting and number skills.
Ice Cream Name Art:
Provide preschoolers with ice cream-shaped cutouts and encourage them to write their names on the scoops. Then have them decorate the scoops with various art supplies to create their own unique name art. This activity promotes name recognition and creativity.
Ice Cream Fine Motor Skills:
Provide preschoolers with plastic ice cream cones and different colored play dough. Encourage them to roll small balls of play dough and place them on the cone to create their own ice cream scoops. This activity promotes fine motor skills and encourages imaginative play.
