*Disclaimer: While water beads are a super fun and engaging sensory experience, they can be very dangerous if swallowed (or costly if put down your drain), so PLEASE use with caution and very close supervision! NEVER let children play with water beads alone.

**This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. View our full disclosure policy here.**

Water Beads
Large Water Beads
Colored Cups
Funnels
PVC Tubes
Measuring Cups
Scoops
Small Bottles
Ice Cube Trays
Balloons

Light Pad

Clear Tray

Mr. Bubble Foam Soap
Toy Hammers and Screwdrivers

Water Bead Sorting:

We started out the week by filling our Under Bed Clear Storage Bin with regular water beads and

giant water beads. Then we used our colored cups for sorting and exploring.

Water Bead Tubes & Funnels:

Next, I added in a few funnels and PVC tubes. The best part about this play idea was that it kind of forced my girls to work together because one had to hole the tube/funnel while the other dropped the water beads in.

Water Bead Scooping:

Our next play idea was simple but kept the girls so busy! I added a few measuring cups

scoops, and empty tupperware containers and the girls had a great time scooping, dumping, and exploring.  They especially loved that the beads bounced as they dropped them in the containers.

Water Bead Filling:

After the girls were done filling up the large containers, I challenged their fine motor skills by adding in small empty bottles for filling. 

Water Bead Counting:

We used ice cube trays next for some counting practice. First, Madelynn practiced counting one bead into each spot. Then we predicted how many beads would fit in one spot and then filled and counted to find out!

Water Bead Balloons:

I wasn’t too sure how this one would work out, but after trying water balloons last week, I wanted to find a way to use balloons again. First, I stuffed a bunch of water beads into several regular balloons. Next, I blew up a few of the balloons with air.  Then, I filled the rest of the balloons with water. The air filled balloons made great shakers, and the water filled balloons were fun to swirl around.

Water Bead Light Play:

For this activity we brought some of our water beads indoors to play with on our favorite clear tray with some stretchy sharks and mermaids. Then I placed our light pad underneath the tray.

Soapy Water Beads:

Another fun and messy sensory addition to our bin was Mr. Bubble Foam Soap. The girls loved trying to grab and wash the slippery soapy beads as the bounced all over the bin.

Frozen Water Beads:

After washing all of the soap off of the water beads I threw them in the freezer overnight.  The next morning we took them out and threw them in our bins.  They slowly thawed out as Madelynn tried to break them up with her hands and by throwing them in the bin. Beware that the frozen beads are super tempting for littles to put in their mouth! My youngest had to sit this activity out after a few minutes since her first instinct was to try to lick them…To be fair they did look pretty delicious

Water Bead Smashing:

After about 15 minutes of exploring the frozen beads I added in our toy hammers and screwdrivers. This was enough of a distraction so Miss Aubrey was able to join back in.  The girls worked together for this grand finale activity. They LOVED smashing and crushing the beads.They were definitely destroyed afterwards so this is a good final activity to try when you are ready to toss a batch of beads.

Do your kids LOVE water beads? What are your favorite ways to play?

If you missed our  previous themes, you can catch up here:

Sensory Summer

The post 10 Ways to Play with Water Beads {Sensory Summer} first appeared on Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten.

**This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. View our full disclosure policy here.**

Fine Motor Tools
Colored Bowls
Colored Cups
Pom Poms
Water Balloons
Play Dishes
Ice Cube Molds
Food Coloring
Alphabet Beads

Sand Castle Molds
Princess Toys
Liquid Watercolors
Paintbrushes

Jello Packets
Popsicle Sticks
Clear Cups
Sponges
Scrub Brushes
Soap
Toy Car

Water Scooping and Dumping:

We started out the week by filling our Under Bed Clear Storage Bin with water. Then I added some fine motor tools, colored bowls, and colored cups for simple scooping, dumping and exploring.

Pom Pom Splash:

For some reason little Miss Aubrey is obsessed with pom poms or “fuzzballs” as Madelynn likes to call them.  I thought it would be interesting to explore with them in the water.  The girls liked to swim with them, squish them between their toes, squeeze out the water and sort them by color. 

 Water Balloons:
So my girls have never played with water balloons before because the choking factor freaks me out a little bit, but I decided to give it a try this week and keep a close eye on Miss Aubrey. I grabbed a pack of these Water Balloons from Target and goodness gracious the inventor of Bunch O’ Balloons is a genius! It was seriously amazing being able to fill 20 balloons in 5 seconds. They squirted each other a bit, but mostly had fun smashing them on the ground while I quickly picked up all the pieces so Aubrey didn’t try to eat them

Water & Ice Kitchen:
Next, I used food coloring to make lots of colored water which I froze in different shaped ice cube molds. I threw all of the frozen shapes into our water filled bin with play dishes and the girls made all kinds of delicious concoctions for me to taste.

 Icy Alphabet Soup:
For this activity I froze alphabet beads in ice cube trays and dumped them in our water bin.  The girls scooped, mixed and watched as the letters slowly melted into their alphabet soup.

 Ice Castles:
This was definitely the girls favorite activity of the week. If you have princess fans in your house they will LOVE pretending with these frozen ice castles. First I froze water in sand castle molds overnight. Then we added our small princess toys and the girls loved every minute of it!

 Ice Painting:
After we were a little tired of playing with princesses, I added some liquid watercolors and paintbrushes to our bin and we painted the castles before they melted down too much.

  Ice Painting:
For some more painting fun I made colored ice cubes with Jello! I didn’t want to use liquid watercoloring because I knew the girls would be tempted to taste them.  I mixed 1 cup water with 1 packet of Jello, then froze them in trays with popsicle sticks for handles. Then I taped a sheet of butcher paper on the ground and let the girls paint and taste away! Lots of sticky messy fun that smelled amazing!

 Color Mixing:
For our color mixing activity, I set up cups with a rainbow of colored water.  This activity didn’t last long before all the water was brown, but the girls enjoyed the dumping and scooping the water even after all the pretty colors were gone.

Car Wash:
This was a close second for favorite activity of the week. We needed to clean up our sensory bin and patio from all the color play anyways so this made a perfect ending activity. I filled our bin with fresh water, sponges, scrub brushes, and soap. Then I turned out hose on low and the girls scrubbed and washed their Cozy Coupe Car until it was sparkling and new!

Do your kiddos live in the water all summer long? What are your favorite ways to keep water play interesting?

If you missed our  previous themes, you can catch up here:

Sensory Summer

This summer we are spending a whole week at a time using the same sensory bin full of materials and coming up with different ways to play every day. See you next week for our last bin of the summer, water beads!

The post 10 Ways to Play with Water and Ice {Sensory Summer} first appeared on Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten.

But sometimes I have to suck it up and take one for the team, because they are only little once and boy do they love playing in the sand. So I scooped a good chunk of sand out of our sandbox and filled our bin for some Sensory Summer fun! Here are 10 fun ideas to try to keep them so busy they’ll forget to throw sand

**This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. View our full disclosure policy here.**

Play Sand
Mini Baking Pans
Whisks

Measuring Spoons

Measuring Cups

Wooden Spoons

Funnels

Empty Water Bottles

Scoops

Sand Castle Molds

Sand Shovels and Rakes

Construction Vehicles

Magnifying Glass

Small Plastic Toob Toys

Sticks

Leaves

Light Pad

Clear Tray

Paintbrush

Water Table

Sand Pies:

We started out the week by filling our Under Bed Clear Storage Bin with sand. (I could have just let them play in our sandbox each day, but I knew our last activity was going to be adding water and I didn’t want to deal with a muddy sandbox for weeks.) We just watched a Daniel Tiger episode where they made “sand pies,” so we made a little bakery with wooden spoons, mini baking pans, whisks, spoons, and cups. The girls had lots of fun baking and pretending just like their buddy Daniel Tiger!

Build and Smash:

While Madelynn loves building, Aubrey loves smashing, so to encourage them to play together I pulled out our sand castle molds and sand shovels and rakes. Madelynn built elaborate castles, and then I had them hop in the bin to stomp and smash each one.

Sand Measuring and Mixing:

My girls love to pretend to make all kinds of concoctions so I threw our whisks, measuring spoons, measuring cups, wooden spoons, and bowls into the bin with the sand. The girls loved measuring, mixing, dumping, and scooping, all morning long!

Sand Filling:

Next, I added in some empty bottles, funnels, and scoops. Madelynn used the funnels to fill the bottles, while Aubrey tried to shake all of the sand back out.

 Sand Construction Zone:

For our next activity, we used our construction vehicles to scoop, dump, and make tracks in the sand.

Sand I-Spy:

Next, I dumped a bunch of small plastic Toob toys (dinosaurs, insects, and planes) inside. I gave Madelynn clues and she had to find the item I was describing. For example: “I spy something green with 6 legs and antennae.” or “I spy something white that flies in the air.” Adding the magnifying glass made it even more exciting.

Sand Writing:

We did a little easy peasy writing with sticks in the sand. I modeled and Madelynn attempted to copy. We practiced all different types of lines to perfect our prewriting skills as we get ready to start preschool next month.

Build a Sand Forest:

This activity wasn’t an original part of my plans but Madelynn came up with it all by herself, and Aubrey was all kind of excited to join in. We found leaves and sticks and tried to pack sand around them to make them stand up.

Sand Light Table:

For this activity we brought a bit of our sand indoors to play with on our favorite clear tray. Then I placed our light pad underneath the tray for an engaging way to practice some more prewriting skills. We tried using a paintbrush and our fingers.

Sand & Water:

Okay OCD mamas, try not to freak out for this one. Both the girls and our bin were a muddy hot mess when we finished with this activity, but it was our last activity for the week so I just hosed everything (kids, toys, patio, etc.) down afterwards and I survived They LOVED getting messy and muddy so it was all worth it for some quality play time.

Do you have a sandbox in your backyard? What are your favorite ways to encourage sand play?

If you missed our  previous themes, you can catch up here:

Sensory Summer

This summer we are spending a whole week at a time using the same sensory bin full of materials and coming up with different ways to play every day. See you next week when we explore, play, and get learn with…water and ice!  Here are the themes and plans coming your way all summer long:

The post 10 Ways to Play with Sand {Sensory Summer} first appeared on Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten.

**This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. View our full disclosure policy here.**

Cheerios

Kix

Fruit Loops

Whisks

Measuring Spoons

Measuring Cups

Wooden Spoons

Funnels

Empty Water Bottles

Scoops

Letter Cards

Number Cards

Shape Cards

Rainbow Printable Page

Colored Cups

Lacing String

Toy Hammers and Screwdrivers

Cereal Measuring and Mixing:

We started out the week with Kix and Cheerios cereal in our bin with whisks, measuring spoons, measuring cups, wooden spoons, and bowls. The girls loved measuring, mixing, dumping, scooping, and snacking all morning long!

Cereal Filling:

Next, I added in some empty water bottles, funnels, scoops. I found a large funnel at the dollar store and chopped off a bit of the bottom so cereal could fit through, then Madelynn used the funnel to fill water bottles, while Aubrey used them as shakers.

 Cereal Numbers:
These number cards from the Target dollar spot made the perfect addition to our cereal sensory bin.

 Cereal Shapes:

We also found these awesome shape cards!

 Cereal Letters:

…and letters too! Target gold mine!

 Cereal Rainbow:

To spice things up a bit I added in Fruit Loops to our cereal mixture. I made this rainbow printable for our Tot School Weather Unit and knew I had to pull it back out for some rainbow building.

 Cereal Patterns:

I started out with a lot of modeling to help Madelynn get the concept. I made a few AB patterns and asked her to finish them.  Then she started to get the idea and made some of her own.

  Cereal Stringing:

Fruit loops are just big enough for threading with lacing string so Madelynn made cereal necklaces.  This was definitely too difficult for Aubrey’s little fingers, so Madelynn strung a few for her and I tied the ends together.  She loved munching them off the string while Madelyn worked hard to make another necklace for herself.

 Cereal Sorting:

Madelynn is a sorting pro these days, and our fruit loops were just begging to be sorted. We used our colored cups to sort them by color. Aubrey tried to help a bit, but mostly put handfuls into each cup, driving her sister crazy!

Cereal Smashing:
If you give a kid a hammer…they will smash all the things. This was the perfect end to our cereal week. The girls loved smashing all the cereal in our sensory summer bin, and our dog loved cleaning up the flying pieces!

If you missed our  previous themes, you can catch up here:

Sensory Summer

This summer we are spending a whole week at a time using the same sensory bin full of materials and coming up with different ways to play every day. See you next week when we explore, play, and get learn with…sand!  Here are the themes and plans coming your way all summer long:

The post 10 Ways to Play with Cereal {Sensory Summer} first appeared on Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten.

Magnet Shapes:

We started out magnet week exploring with magnet shapes and water.  To make the shapes I cut pipe cleaners into pieces and bent them into basic shapes. The my girls used their new magnetic wands to stir the water and pick up shapes. I always like to sneak in some basic skills, so this was a great way to practice naming shapes and colors too! We found that bigger shapes were much harder to pick up, so keep that in mind when creating your pipe cleaner shapes.

Magnet Chips:
After rescuing all of the pipe cleaner shapes, I poured a bag of magnetic bingo chips into our bin full of water and the girls were happy to explore more.  The bingo chips are MUCH more magnetic than the pipe cleaners so it was fun to experiment with how many we could pick up at one time, and also trying to pick up just one chip or color.

 Magnet Letters:
Next up, it was time for a little alphabet soup! All I did was switch out the bingo chips for magnet letters, easy peasy. I’m telling you, I LOVE that these little magnetic wands have grabbed my girls interest. Not to mention they are loving the combination of magnets and water on our hot summer days this week.

 Magnetic Ice:
After the girls finished playing with the magnetic bingo chips, I threw them in some shape ice trays, covered them with water and froze them overnight.  Then I threw them in our bin full of water and let the girls try to pick up the magnetic ice cubes.  I forgot to refill the bin with cold water though and they melted super fast… So if you leave your bin outside and the water gets all warm in the sun, I’d definitely recommend refilling with cold water or your ice play will be super short like ours, oops!

 Magnet Fishing:
I ordered this magnetic fishing pole set on Amazon, but it didn’t come in time or this week’s sensory bin, so I improvised with a plastic fishing poles from our little fishing game, and magnet clips from our refrigerator.  Then I added a few paper clips to some foam shapes to make “fish.” Our magnet clips are the extra strong kind which made this activity easy and fun for both girls to enjoy.

 Magnet Letter Building:
We bought these Magnatiles for the girls for Christmas and they still get played with almost daily around here. I am always trying to find new ways to get the most out of our toys (especially when they are a little pricey like these Magnatiles) so we threw them in our bin along with pouch lids and pom poms for some color. Madelynn and I tried to build letters while Aubrey practiced sticking the tiles together and sabotaging our letter building attempts.

Magnet Puzzle Hunt:
I noticed that our Melissa & Doug puzzles had little metal knobs on them so I though we’d try those out in our bin for a little puzzle hunt. I kept the pouch lids and pom poms in the bin and hid the puzzle pieces underneath.  The girls stirred around with their magnetic wands to find the pieces. They were a little tricky to pick up because the metal piece is so small, but practicing patience is always a good thing!

Magnet Colors:
After finding all the puzzle pieces I threw our foam magnet counters into the bin.  The girls used their magnetic wands to find the counters and then sort them into circles I drew on the ground with sidewalk chalk.

Magnet Shapes:
Using our Magnatiles again, I traced the different shapes on the ground with chalk. Then I threw them all back in the bin and the girls tried to sort, match and stack each different shape.

Magnetic Sort

And finally, magnet week wouldn’t be complete without a magnetic/not magnetic sort, right? So for our outdoor version I drew 2 big circles on the ground with chalk and wrote yes/no above each circle. Then, I threw everything we’ve used all week into our bin. Aubrey was definitely too young for this one, but Madelynn enjoyed exploring and testing all of the items in the bin that we’ve used this week and sorting them into the circles.

If you missed our  previous themes, you can catch up here:

Sensory Summer

This summer we are spending a whole week at a time using the same sensory bin full of materials and coming up with different ways to play every day. See you next week when we explore, play, and get learn with…cereal!  Here are the themes and plans coming your way all summer long:

The post 10 Ways to Play with Magnets {Sensory Summer} first appeared on Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten.

Glue Sticks
Dot Markers
Construction Vehicles
Hand Broom and Dust Pan

Paper Stuffing:

What kid doesn’t love pulling every single wipe out of the wipe container? I know my kids can’t be alone on this one.  So to start out our paper themed bin I stuffed small squares of colored tissue paper into wipe containers for my girls to pull out. And filled our our under bed clear storage bin with Astrobright paper that I ran through our paper shredder. The girls pulled the tissue paper out and stuffed it back in over and over again. Lots of great fine motor practice and good clean fun!

{MORE} Paper Stuffing:
For some really good fine motor practice we used the paper shreds and stuffed them into water bottles for really pretty decorations for our fourth of July party.  Later we added a few pony beads to make them into noise makers as well.

 Paper Cutting:

A sensory bin filled with paper is just begging to be used for scissor practice, so one day while little miss was sleeping, Madelynn took out her scissors and we practice cutting up pieces of tissue paper into tiny bits!

 Paper Tearing:

And when cutting gets frustrating, it usually leads to Madelynn tearing and ripping the paper apart.  This was a great opportunity to indulge her desire and crumple, tear, and scrunch to her heart’s content.

 Paper Puzzle Search:

After the paper was all cut up and mixed together it made a great base to hide puzzle pieces in. We used our Foam Alphabet Puzzle but you could really use any puzzles you have around.  Just hide the pieces in the bin then hunt and find them to complete the puzzle.

 Paper Sorting:

For this activity, I pulled out our colored plastic star trays and Madelynn crumpled and sorted the colors onto each of the stars. 

Paper Collages:
Once our paper was really well cut up and played with, we used it to make some collages using scissors, glue sticks, and dot markers. No real end product in mind here, Madelynn just created her own little design.

 Paper Construction Zone:
My girls never seem to pull out cars to play on their own, been whenever I bring them out as an invitation to play, they are super engaged! They used this set of construction vehicles to dig, fill and dump the paper pieces and shreds.

Paper Sweeping:
For our last activity I definitely needed a lot of help cleaning up the paper shreds that were every.where. The girls always want to help with sweeping, but regular brooms are too much to manage so I grabbed these hand brooms and dust pans so they could help without knocking each other out with the broom handles. Win-Win.

If you missed our  previous themes, you can catch up here:

Sensory Summer

This summer we are spending a whole week at a time using the same sensory bin full of materials and coming up with different ways to play every day. See you next week when we explore, play, and get learn with…magnets!  Here are the themes and plans coming your way all summer long:

The post 10 Ways to Play with Paper {Sensory Summer} first appeared on Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten.

For this simple activity the girls used measuring spoons and measuring cups to experiment with sizes. Madelynn and I talked about predicting how many spoonfuls it would take to fill the cups and Aubrey scooped, mixed and stirred away.

To make tracks in our play dough we first pressed and packed the dough down on the bottom of our bin to make a nice base. Then we added our construction vehicles and toy cars to experiment with different kinds of tracks. This also led to lots of digging and building a mountain to drive the cars down.

What kid doesn’t love a good tea party? All you need are some play dishes and a little imagination.  Luckily the dough is taste safe just in case your littlest ones decide to take a nibble like mine

If you missed our  previous themes, you can catch up here:

Sensory Summer

This summer we are spending a whole week at a time using the same sensory bin full of materials and coming up with different ways to play every day. See you next week when we explore, play, learn and get messy with…PAPER!  Here are the themes and plans coming your way all summer long:

The post 10 Ways to Play with Cloud Dough {Sensory Summer} first appeared on Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten.

Confession: I’m a pouch lid hoarder…Anyone else with me? I don’t know about you but we go through food pouches in this house like crazy, especially in the summer when we are always in the car needing quick and easy snacks on the go. This means we have tons of those little circle tops everywhere!! So this week our #sensorysummer bin is filled with pouch lids!

Lots of Food Pouch Lids
Colored Cups
Colored Bowls
Lacing String
Sidewalk Chalk
Empty Wipe Tubs
Under Bed Clear Storage Bin
Squirt Guns

 Pouch Lid Sorting:

We started out the week by throwing all the pouch lids I’ve been hoarding in our under bed clear storage bin with a little bit of water since it was a hot, sunny day.  Then we used this set of colored cups to sort them by color. I added in a few slotted spoons to make scooping and grabbing lids a bit more challenging too.

Pouch Lid Counting:

For this activity I wrote the numbers 1-10 on the ground with sidewalk chalk and placed a colored bowl above each of the numbers.  Madelynn counted out the corresponding number of lids for each one to make a little number line.

  Pouch Lid Stacking:

Next up we did some lid stacking. We had 2 different types of lids in our bin and we experimented with stacking the same type and different types mixed together to see what worked best. Even Miss Aubrey was able to stack a few independently before knocking them down.

 Pouch Lid Patterns:

We haven’t worked with patterns much so I did a lot of modeling here to help Madelynn get the concept. I started with a few AB lid patterns and asked her to finish them.  Then I made an AAB pattern for her to finish.  She started to get the idea, but we definitely could use more pattern work!

 Pouch Lid Threading:
Our pouch lids had the perfect size little openings for threading with lacing string.  This was a bit too small for Aubrey’s little 1 year old fine motor skills, so I threaded a few for her and tied the ends together.  She had fun sliding the lids back and forth on her “necklace” while Madelynn worked hard to fill her entire string.

 Pouch Lid Number Writing:

For this activity I wrote numbers 1-5 on the ground with sidewalk chalk and Madelynn built each one with lids. Aubrey tried to help too, but mostly drove Madelynn crazy by picking them up and moving them around. Gotta love little sisters right? 

 Pouch Lid Stuffing:

Another thing I just can’t seem to toss are those empty wipe containers.  You just never know when you’ll need them for some fine motor fun  This activity was simple. Grab, stuff, repeat.  Madelynn made it into a little race to see if she could fill hers faster than Aubrey. I’ll let you guess who won…

 Pouch Lid Racing:

For this activity we took all the lids out of our under bed clear storage bin and filled it with water Next, we each picked a color and placed it on one end of the bin.  Then, we used water blaster squirt guns to suck up water and try to spray our lid to the other side. I had to help Aubrey get started but the water blasters we found at Target were super easy to push and spray so she was able to it mostly independently.

 Pouch Lid Art:
This activity was perfectly open ended. I invited the girls to create their own pictures with lids and modeled a few ideas to get them started.  Madelynn made shapes and Aubrey liked filling them in.  They worked together to make a house, sun, cloud, and flower.

 Pouch Lid Rainbow:

Definitely my favorite activity of the week because it just turned out so gorgeous! I drew the lines with chalk for the girls to sort and build this beautiful rainbow.  I really didn’t want to take it down when they finished!

Do you have a million pouch lids laying around too? I’d love to hear your creative pouch lid ideas, leave me a message with your favorite way to play!

If you missed our  previous themes, you can catch up here:
Sensory Summer

This summer we are spending a whole week at a time using the same sensory bin full of materials and coming up with different ways to play every day. Next week we will be playing with one of my favorites…CLOUD DOUGH!  Here are the themes and plans coming your way all summer long:

The post 10 Ways to Play with Pouch Lids {Sensory Summer} first appeared on Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten.

**This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. View our full disclosure policy here.**

So where do we go from here? I don’t know about you but my summer calendar is already PACKED with classes, story times, pool dates, and dance recitals so we are going to take a break from our regularly scheduled tot school activities. But don’t you worry I’m not going anywhere

For the next 10 weeks, We will be using one sensory bin for the entire week and finding new ways to play each day. Miss Madelynn is now 3 1/2 and Aubrey just turned 1 (and she is SOOO ready to get in on the fun,) so my challenge is going to be finding materials that M is super excited about that A can safely play with too (i.e. no choking hazards and all taste safe.) I can’t wait to share lots of ways to explore our Sensory Summer Bins.

For now let’s get into all the ice cream themed fun we had over the last week!

  Here were our plans for Ice Cream week:

And here are the details of each activity:

Our favorite Ice Cream books for the week were:
Five Little Monkeys Jump in the Bath By Eileen Christelow
Izzy the Ice Cream Fairy By Tim Bugbird
Splat the Cat: I Scream for Ice Cream By Rob Scotton
Ice Cream: The Full Scoop By Gail Gibbons
The Ice Cream King By Steve Metzger

Ice Cream Writing Tray:

  Last week’s sand writing tray was a big hit, so this week I changed it up to match our ice cream theme by filling the tray with sprinkles and adding some ice cream scoop letter cards. We used our finger but I thought it would also be fun to use a sugar cone for writing if you have one with a point at the bottom!

Ice Cream Counting:

  I whipped up some simple counting cards for this activity with the numbers 1-10 on each cone. Then I gave Madelynn a tub of cut up straw “sprinkles” and a pair of fine motor tweezers. Then she practiced counting out the correct number of sprinkles for each cone.

Puffy Paint Ice Cream:

  To prep this activity I cut out a triangle for the cone from construction paper. Then I mixed up 2 batches of shaving cream puffy paint by mixing equal parts shaving cream and white glue. I left one batch white, and dyed the other batch pink with a few drops of liquid watercolors.  Then Madelynn painted her two ice cream scoops and added some real sprinkles while the paint was still wet.

 Ice Cream Stamping:

  Did you know dot stampers make the perfect ice cream scoops? For this little project I cut out tiny triangle cones from construction paper, then Madelynn stamped scoops, scoops, and more scoops on top of each cone.

Ice Cream Felt Board:

  It’s been a while since I made a new felt set so our ice cream theme gave me the perfect inspiration to get some more use out of out felt board.  I first cut out a bunch of brown triangles for cones. Next I cut scoop shapes from cream, pink, brown, and light blue felt.  Then I cut small cherry pieces from red felt. Finally, I used the scraps of felt I had left to cut small rectangles for sprinkles.  Madelynn loved setting up and playing with her own little ice cream shop!

Ice Cream in a Bag:

  Have you ever made ice cream in a bag? We tried it for the first time and I was SHOCKED at how easy and delicious it was! I have a feeling we’ll be doing this lots this summer. This was also a great way to combine our gross motor and snack activities into one!

Here is the recipe:   1. Mix 3 cups crushed ice and 1/3 cup salt in a gallon freezer bag. 2. Mix 1/2 cup whole milk, 1/4 tsp vanilla, and 1 Tbsp sugar in sandwich bag. 3. Drop the small bag inside the large bag and SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE! **Wear gloves the bag will get really cold ** 4. After about 5 minutes take the small bag out and enjoy, yum!

 Catch the Scoops:

  For this gross motor game, I created a cone from a large sheet of brown construction paper. Then I tossed ball pit balls into the air for Madelynn to catch.

Ice Cream Relay:

  For this game I set up 2 bins on either side of the yard. On one end I filled the bin with ball pit ball “ice cream scoops” and toy ice cream cones.  Then Madelynn tried to balance each ball on a cone and carry it to the other bin.

Ice Cream Cone Toss:

To prep this carnival style game, I hot glued 6 cake cones into an empty cardboard box. Madelynn tossed ping pong balls into the box trying to make one in each cone.

Ice Cream Hunt:

  Madelynn loves these themed scavenger hunts, so for our last week I printed ice cream scoops with the numbers 1-15 and hid them around the house. She searched high and low for all of her ice cream scoops. Then she used the recording sheet and a clipboard to match and color each number as she found them.

 Ice Cream Theme Snacks:

Waffle Ice Cream – Cut a waffle into a cone shape. Use a can of whipped cream to make a large dollop on top for ice cream. Dip the waffle into the whipped cream and enjoy!
  Ice Cream Cake Cones – Stand cake cones up in a cupcake tin. Make your favorite cake batter (I used a box of Funfetti). Pour the batter into each of the cake cones. Bake as directed. Cool and ice each cone.
  Frozen Strawberry Banana Ice Cream – Peel and freeze 4 bananas and 1 lb of strawberries.  Place frozen fruit into a food processor and blend. Serve immediately or place in the freezer to set for a few minutes.
  Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich – Scoop vanilla ice cream onto one graham cracker.  Place another graham cracker on top and squish together. Roll the sides in sprinkles.

 Ice Cream Scoop Sensory Bin:

  In this sensory bin: Cotton balls, toy ice cream cones, scoops, spoons, and bowls  

Ice Cream Sundae Sensory Bin:

  In this sensory bin: Cotton balls, red pom poms, rainbow rice sprinkles, toy ice cream scoops, spoons, and bowls  

Ice Cream Play Dough Sensory Bin:

In this sensory bin: Funfetti playdough, buckets, sand toy ice cream set   This ice cream play dough is seriously amazing. It smells delicious and actually scoops like real ice cream! Best of all it is taste safe so even your littlest kiddos can play without any worry.
Here’s the super simple recipe:
-1 cup funfetti frosting (white or colored) -About 3 cups powdered sugar   1. Mix in a stand mixer, adding powdered sugar gradually. 2. Add a bit more or less sugar until your dough isn’t sticky.
  That’s it! I  used the pre-colored pink frosting for our “strawberry” so I didn’t have to mess with food coloring. So easy!

Ice Cream Scooping Sensory Bin:

In this sensory bin: Ping pong balls, sand toy ice cream set

Ice Cream Cloud Dough: 

In this bin: Cloud dough (8 cups flour & 1 cup vegetable oil mixed together), sand toy ice cream set
And that’s a wrap for Tot School 2016-2017! Stay tuned for our Sensory Summer Play Ideas.  

Want all of this week’s Ice Cream activities for preschool?  You can grab them here:
On my site : Ice Cream Plans & Printables On TpT: Ice Cream Plans & Printables

Or you can grab our entire year of themes and plans:
On my site here: Tot School Bundle On TpT here: Tot School Bundle

Then check out the rest of our 35+ themes on the Tot School Curriculum Main Page.

The post Tot School: Ice Cream first appeared on Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten.