Ice Cream Activities for Toddlers

Hi friends!

Summer just wouldn’t be the same without snow cones, popsicles, and my personal favorite…ice cream! In fact, the twins and I have had some chilly fun this summer already with some ice cream-inspired activities. So pull up a chair, grab a couple of spoons, and see what we’ve got for you today!

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Activity #1: Big Red Ice Cream…on a Slide?!?!

I’ve you’ve ever lived in the South, you may be familiar with Big Red soda. If not, I’ll try to explain it to you…it tastes a bit like cream soda, a little like bubble gum, and a lot like small town Texas. In fact, in my little home town, one of our chants during high school football games was “Go Big Red!” (our school colors were red, black, and white) and the hallways of our high school were littered with Big Red soda cans and Big Red gum wrappers during homecoming week. So, in a nutshell, I thought I knew all about Big Red until I married my husband, who introduced me to homemade Big Red ice cream. And ya’ll…it is SO stinkin’ good!

When brainstorming for our frozen treats theme, I decided that the twins could not live another moment without tasting this summer goodness for themselves, so we whipped up a batch together. In my quest to impress the hubs, I have tried lots of different recipes for Big Red Ice Cream, but I really love one I found at HERE at Tasty Kitchen- very easy, no eggs or cooking were required so the twins were able to help with every step. I followed the recipe to make a full batch and used frozen strawberries instead of fresh to cut down on time. We have also made this recipe with crushed pineapple, which got the hubby seal of approval as well. If you aren’t fond of Big Red (for shame!) or can’t find it in your area, any variety of strawberry soda would work just fine.

Once I had the batch made, we used the coffee can method to make some of it ourselves. We took about three cups of the mixture and put it in a small metal coffee can (1 lb size), duct taping the lid shut securely. I stuck the rest in the fridge to use in our electric ice cream maker later on, but if you were working with a group the batch does make enough for two cans. Then, we put the small can inside a larger (3 lb) coffee can and packed layers of crushed ice and rock salt all around it. And then it was time for a little fun!

We took the can outside and got busy making ice cream. The object is to keep the can in motion by rolling or shaking it for a good 8-10 minutes. We started out rolling it on the lawn, but the can was a bit heavy for the twins and they quickly tired of pushing it around the yard. They did give it the old college try, though…anything for ice cream!

I was looking around the yard for a sloped area that might make rolling a bit easier when it hit me…our slide! I had no idea if it would work or not, but I was determined to try…I wanted the twins to stay interested so they could have the satisfaction of (hopefully) discovering that the liquid had frozen into ice cream inside the can because of their efforts. So, I had the twins climb up into their play fort and roll the coffee can down the slide over, and over, and over. They thought this was GREAT fun, and luckily Mimi was here to help retrieve the can for the kids so I could snap a few photos of the operation.

After about 10 minutes, the ice was pretty much melted and we decided to open the can and see if our zany method was successful. I had my doubts, but lo and behold…

…it really worked! We rushed inside for a bowl while the pink stuff was still nice and frosty, and the verdict was…

YUM!

This is a method of making ice cream that I used quite a bit with my speech therapy kiddos- we used it for social skills groups, language targets (retelling the steps of the process, following oral and written directions, problem solving), and even articulation (say targeted sounds in words or sentences when it’s your turn to roll the can). It’s a very versatile activity that the kids looked forward to every year! But I have to say, we never tried using a slide 😉

Activity #2 Ice Cream Sensory Play

Our next activity happened very much on a whim. I was planning an ice cream themed art invitation for the twins but not really “feeling it” that afternoon. Luckily, we discovered our Little Pnuts FANTASTIC summer shipment on our porch and were delighted to find this Hape Ice Cream Shop included in the goodies. I am totally smitten with this little play set- it includes three little bowls, three miniature ice cream cones, a tablespoon-sized scoop, and a handy bucket to store it all in. My mind immediately went to sensory play- this would be the ideal accompaniment to all sorts of sensory mediums! (Click HERE for more information on using sensory play to build language skills in toddlers)

I quickly took inventory of our supplies and decided to try my hand at some ice cream dough inspired by Play Create Explore. You can find her original recipe HERE...I’ve been wanting to try it since I first saw it- so easy and so amazingly realistic! Her version uses hair conditioner and cornstarch, but since this was not a planned activity, I did not have any extra conditioner to use. However, I did have some ancient body lotion, which I thought might work just as well. I followed the measurements from her recipe, substituting the lotion for the conditioner, and whaddayaknow? It worked! I added some watermelon Koolaid powder (only half the packet) leftover from our watermelon-themed activities to give the dough a pale pink color resembling our Big Red Ice cream, and was happy to find that the Koolaid smell masked the smell of the lotion very well. We ended up with a soft, fragrant dough that looked remarkably like ice cream. So fun! Thanks, Play Create Explore!

To accompany our “ice cream,” I threw together a tray containing rainbow aquarium gravel, assorted pony beads, gems, red wooden beads, and two small glitter shakers. And then we got down to business making yummy cones and sundaes.

 

I’m still in shock that nobody tried to taste it. It looked THAT real!

Activity #3: DIY Ice Cream Play Set

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