Ice cream is such an adorable and fun theme to do with kids, especially during the summer. Children will be engaged with colorful scoops, delicious flavors, and hands on activities that reinforce essential preschool skills. These Ice Cream Activities for Preschool include 20+ activities which you can also use as inspiration. Get your kids up to speed in a sweet way with themed math, literacy, fine motor, art, crafts and lots more activities!
RELATED: 20+ Summer Worksheets for Preschool
Preschool Ice Cream Theme
When it comes to planning activities for kids, choosing a theme that captures their imagination and keeps them engaged is extremely important. An ice cream theme is not just suitable for the summer, but can be used during any time of the year as its everyone’s favorite treat!
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Ice cream is a hit with most kids. It is delicious, refreshing and associated with positive emotions. These ice cream themed activites are designed to spark joy and love for learning. This free Ice Cream Alphabet Matching Activity helps kids to learn the uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
Ice cream themed activities are also excellent for keeping the little ones busy during the long break, avoiding summer slide, to use as resources in summer schools or summer camps, and even when travelling.
Here are some tips when completing an ice cream theme:
- Make your own ice cream! I highly recommend this Ice Cream in a Bag Recipe! It’s a clever and quick STEM activity that is also delicious!
- Visit an ice cream shop! Children are visual learners and will love looking at the different items which can be found in an ice cream shop. You can ask them about their experience at bedtime or during circle time. You can also set up this visit as a reward for completing the learning activities.
- Create an ice cream sensory bin for sensory fun! Use shaving foam, cotton wool, colored rice, an ice cream cone, and anything else you can think of for a hands-on sensory activity.
We have tons of fun ice cream activities included in this post which reinforce essential preschool skills, such as color, shape, and number identification.
Once the activities are completed, they can be used to decorate a preschool classroom, nursery, or fridge. As a proud mommy, I know my kids love it when I display their work or art projects. This is because it shows that their work is appreciated.
Ice Cream Activities for Preschool
Ice Cream Math Activities
These ice cream themed activities will teach your kids:
- How to count from 1-10
- Improve color identification
- Recognize Shapes
Ice Cream Number Mats
Practice number identification with chocolate chips!
Ice Cream Shapes Busy Book
Match the ice cream scoop shapes to the matching shape cones.
Scoops Color Matching Mat
Use pom poms or other colored items to match the colors on the scoops of ice cream.
Ice Cream Shapes
Use dot markers to create the shape. Then trace the word.
Ice Cream Literacy Activities
After engaging with these literacy activities, kids will be able to:
- Identify letters and write uppercase and lowercase letters
- Spell their name
- Improve phonetic awareness by practicing beginning sounds
- Practice sight words and expand vocabulary
Alphabet Letter Matching Puzzles
Practice matching the uppercase ice cream to the lowercase sprinkles. Perfect for pre-writing.
Alphabet Popsicle Mats
This is a hands-on literacy and fine motor activity. Trace the letter, then create the letter using craft sticks.
Sight Words Matching Ice Cream
Match the sight word scoops to the same word cone.
Ice Cream Name Craft
Kids will practice spelling their name with the letter scoops.
Beginning Sounds Ice Cream Cards
Practice beginning sounds with these adorable ice cream cards. Match the sound scoops to the correct letter cone.
Ice Cream Beginning Sounds
Use a letter manipulative to match the beginning sounds to the objects.
Ice Cream Art Activities
Tearing Paper Craft Sundae
Tear paper into small pieces and glue them to create a unique sundae. Use different colors to resemble ice cream flavors.
Tissue Paper Sundae Art Activity
Scrunch up tissue paper and glue them to make your own sundae!
Crayon Resist Painting
Use a crayon to trace the dashed lines. Then use watercolor paint to paint over the scoops and cone.
Ice Cream Fine Motor Activities
Fine Motor skills involve the coordination of small muscles, particularly in the hands and fingers, with the eyes. These hands-on activities are a great way to enhance and improve fine motor skills.
Pre-Writing Tracing Cards
Improve pre-writing skills by tracing the ice cream scoops and cones.
Fingerprint Ice Cream
Stamp your fingerprint with the correct color to create the ice cream scoops.
Dot Sticker Pages
Use dot stickers or dot markers to fill in the white circles.
Ice Cream Visual Discrimination Activities
These visual discrimination activities are packed with many ways to develop skills beyond math and literacy. Kids will:
- Identify and build patterns
- Build memory through matching games
- Learn about symmetry and sequencing
Pattern Pom Poms
Create fun patterns using pom poms or magnetic chips.
Popsicle Matching Puzzles
This is a cool way to learn about symmetry. Match the popsicle halves.
Ice Cream Shadow Matching Cards
A fun way to teach the kids about silhouettes! Match the shadow card.
Sequencing Cards
Order the popsicle cards according to the steps they would look like when eaten. Optional cut and paste worksheets.
More Ice Cream Activities
Craft Stick Activity Mat
Add craft sticks to the mats and follow the prompts.
Ice Cream Theme Worksheets
Looking for convenient no prep activities? These worksheets are your answer! Simply print and they’re ready to be used. Many essential learning areas are targeted including counting, tracing, name spelling and color recognition.
WHERE TO GET THIS ACTIVITY
GET THE ICE CREAM ACTIVITIES PACK
Embrace the fun and enjoyment of ice cream with this Ice Cream Activities Pack filled with literacy, fine motor, craft, color, shape activities, and more! Students will be given opportunities to practice letter formation, beginning sounds, counting to ten, matching colors and shapes, and much more.
There’s more treats in store. Check out these yummy ice cream activities on the blog:
