** Our research group has not accepted any monetary incentives for our recommendations
Whether it’s the delicious treat or the toy variety, ice cream is a hit with almost every kid. It also lends itself to a variety of play ideas for different levels and many wonderful language learning opportunities (listed in italics).
Simple play:
You stack the ice cream and have your child pull the scoops off the top one at a time. (It came off.)
You nest the ice cream into a tall stack and have your child knock it down. (The ice cream fell down.)
Combination play:
Stack the ice cream on top of each other until it’s a tall tower. Switch the scoops between your cone and your child’s cone. (We’re switching the ice cream.)
Drop the scoops into a big bowl, stir them around with a big spoon, and then dump them out. (It’s in. We’re stirring the ice cream. The ice cream came out.)
Pre-Symbolic play:
Build the ice cream cones and pretend to take a big lick. Try each other’s cones and decide which flavor tastes the best. (You licked my cone. The ice cream is yummy!)
Feed the ice cream to a puppet or have the puppet sneak over and steal a scoop off the top. (The dog is hungry. He’s eating ice cream. He ate it all!)
Pretend to cook the ice cream in a toy oven (or box)! (The ice cream is cold. It’s in the microwave. It’s cooking. It’s getting hot. Uh oh, the ice cream melted!)
Advanced play:
Pretend to have an ice cream store. Come in and request different flavor combinations or scoop amounts from your child. Then switch roles and have your child practice ordering.
Create an imaginary birthday party with the ice cream as the dessert. Make birthday hats out of paper, sing Happy Birthday, and dig in!
Who says the scoops have to be ice cream? Turn them upside down and pretend they are boats or planes. Put a little person or animal figure in the hole and have them sail down a river or fly through the air.
Get the toy here.
