Today we made the story room into an ice cream shop, and made “ice cream cones” out of coffee filters and colorful plastic balls! We counted scoops, talked about flavors and colors, and made it into a game emphasizing early literacy.

We sang a song called “You Be The Ice Cream,” and then we read a book called Ice Cream Summer by Peter Sis. It’s kind of a long book but we abridged it and did hand movements for each of the things that the boy describes. By the 11 o’clock group, I had this book down to a science and cut it in half, and it worked well! (Apologies to the earlier groups who were my guinea pigs today!)

We sang another song about sweet treats:

If all the raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops,
Oh, what a rain it would be!
I’d stand outside with my mouth open wide
Going Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!
If all the raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops,
Oh, what a rain it would be!

If all the snowflakes
Were candy bars and milkshakes…

If all the sunbeams
Were bubblegum and ice cream…
(Source: http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=3630)

And we talked about ice cream flavors with a flannelboard rhyme:

ice cream flavors

We have ice cream, the best in town,
Let us begin with chocolate brown.
Now, let us scoop us some bubble-gum pink,
It is sweet and yummy, the best, some think.
Here is ice cream minty and green,
It is the creamiest I have ever seen.
Yellow ice cream is lemony and tart,
We like its taste from the very start.
Vanilla white is a popular flavor,
It tastes very good to an ice-cream craver.
Ice cream, ice cream, what a cool sensation,
We love ice cream in any combination!
(Source: http://stepbystepcc.com/foods/icecream.html)

Toddlers sang a song to the tune of “Do Your Ears Hang Low?”:

Do you like ice cream? (Hold hands out, palms up)
Do you like it in a bowl? (Use hands to make bowl shape)
Do you like to eat it fast? (Pretend to hold a spoon and eat fast)
Do you like to eat it slow? (Pretend to hold a spoon and eat slow)
Do you like it with some syrup (Pretend to squeeze a bottle)
With some sprinkles, or some nuts? (Pretend to shake a jar)
Do you like ice cream? (Hold hands out, palms up)
(Mailbox Magazine)
(found at http://onelittlelibrarian.blogspot.com/2014/08/toddler-time-yummy-ice-cream.html)

We read another book called Wemberly’s Ice Cream Star by Kevin Henkes, featuring the character from Wemberly Worried. In this book, Wemberly is worried her ice cream will drip on her new dress, so she devises a solution that will work for her.

We did another flannelboard story, this time about counting:

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!”
(Source: http://www.preschooleducation.com/ficecream.shtml)

five little ice cream cones

We flipped our “ice cream cones” (coffee filters) upside down and put them on our heads to be party hats, and sang about how fun it is to celebrate with friends! We sang and clapped and danced to “Can’t Wait to Celebrate” by Jim Gill.

I really wish I had a photo of everyone wearing their coffee filter cone hats! Thank you so much parents, for always being ready to get silly and playful with your kiddos. It enhances their experience and helps them to make a connection that reading/talking/singing = FUN!

Toddlers watched the short film “Max Drives Away” from our Springtime with Max and Ruby DVD. The story is book-ended by Max wanting–and eventually getting!–ice cream for breakfast.

Hope everyone is staying cool this week!