Summer is a special time of the year for kids and families and kids are going to love creating their own unique ice cream combinations and serving up fun for each other. However, if you’re looking for additional ways to play and sneak in some fun learning with your kids while playing with their Ice Cream Sensory Kit from Broccoli Boxes? Have no fear. We’ve got you covered.
I recommend allowing your child to play anyway they wish. Sit back and observe your children at work. You can also narrate what your child is doing for a bit. “I see you are using the rolling pin to flatten the chocolate dough." This type of narration with no value statements can be incredibly important for a child’s language development. Some examples of value statements to avoid during this type of narration include: “I like how you…” or “You are doing a good job at…”.
Follow your child’s lead. You will be amazed where their imaginations will take them! Occasionally, your child may be reluctant to get started or you may wish to subtly steer their play, or maybe your child is asking you to play and you need ideas yourself. Below are a few ideas you can use to get you started.
Book Suggestions:
- Before reading the book, Fox Tails: The Giant Ice Cream Mess by Tina Kugler, engage your child in looking at the front cover. Discuss the illustration and ask them what they think the book will be about based on the picture. Then tell them the title. Ask how the title helps them know what the book might be about. Finally, talk about what the author and illustrator do. In this case, the author and illustrator are the same person!
- This book uses speech bubbles to indicate speaker and dialogue. Introduce your child to this text feature and explain how the bubbles let us know who is talking and what they are saying.
- Mr. Bear’s ice cream truck has a menu on the side of it. This is a good example of environmental print. Ask your child what they think might be on the menu and what they’d like to order from an ice cream truck.
- After reading the book, as your child “What problem did Fritz and Franny have in the story? What could they have done differently to solve that problem?”
- The end of the book has a few activity pages. Your child can learn more about Tina Kugler and practice drawing Fred.
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Kit Suggestions:
- The chalkboard and chalk included in the kit is a perfect tool for your child to dream up their own ice cream flavors and practice writing them down. Depending on your child’s writing development, they can write the flavors, ask for help writing, spell the sounds they hear in the words, ask for your help in spelling, or draw their menu just like Mr. Bear did in the story.
- The many accessories in the kit allow your child to create their own ice cream parlor. You’ll be amazed at what your child will imagine for toppings! Mini pom poms make great marshmallows and the pipe cleaners look like gummy worms when you twist them!
- Ask your child to think about their ice cream shop - is it a store, a truck, or something else? Take turns being the professional ice cream scooper (just like Tina Kugler!) and being the customer.
- Ask your child to investigate the sensory dough. How do they each feel? Smell?
- Ask your child to identify the different colors in the kit and count how many toppings are available.
- Math fun - add scoops to the mini-cone and some to the bowl. Count how many scoops are in each and then add them together to find how many there are total.
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These Ways to Play are not meant to be an exhaustive list, after all the possibilities are literally endless, but more of a starting point. They also don’t need to be printed and checked off as you go, but certainly can be if that’s what works best for you and your family.
After experimenting with a few of these, let me know which one worked best for you!
