Summer’s here and it is a great time for a fun ice cream unit study!
Sure, ice cream is a classic treat, but it can also be a way to learn about making food, sharing, and even science! Read on to find a video, some adorable crafts and activities, and even books about ice cream! Take the learning outside to make the unit even more of a summertime treat!
How Ice Cream is Made
Learning how ice cream is made can be a truly educational experience. Watch the video below and then have your kids try to answer the following questions:
1. What are the basic ingredients of ice cream? (Answer: Cream, milk, egg custard, and sugar)
2. What temperature are the mixers constantly set at? (Answer: 32 degrees)
3. What is one of the signature trademarks of Graeter’s ice cream? (Answer: The chocolate chips are heated and then cooled before mixing.)
4. After mixing, what happens to the ice cream? (Answer: It is hand packed by an employee into a pint or gallon container.)
5. How cold is the freezer where the ice cream is stored? (Answer -20 degrees Fahrenheit)
Ice Cream Crafts and Activities
Use these ice cream crafts and activities to extend your unit.
1. Free Printable Ice Cream Pack – Look! We’re Learning! Grab the free Ice Cream Printable Pack and let kids in grades PK-2 practice recognizing bigger, smaller, and different. They’ll also get fun ice cream coloring pages to use!
2. Ice Cream Cone Number Matching Activity – From ABCs to ACTs This is a super cute printable for preschoolers. Kids can match the number word on the cone with the correct number of dots on each scoop of ice cream!
3. Ice Pop Patterns Math Pack – Look! We’re Learning! Help young learners recognize and create patterns with this ice pop-themed pack. Kids can use flashcards to copy the enclosed pattern cards or make up their own!
4. Scrumptious Science: Making Ice Cream in a Bag – Scientific American We can’t have an ice cream unit study without making ice cream in a bag! Scientific American explains how to do it and how you can use it to teach science to your kids! (For a dairy-free ice cream in a bag recipe, try this one from Vegetarian Family.)
5. Preschool Ice Cream Fun Pack – Inside you’ll find handwriting practice, number cards and coloring pages.
6. K-2 Ice Cream Fun Pack – Inside you’ll find handwriting practice, copywork activities, notebooking pages and more.
7. 3rd-5th Ice Cream Fun Pack – Inside you’ll find notebooking pages, copywork practice, poetry activities and more.
Children’s Books about Ice Cream
Read these books about ice cream with your kids to close out your unit!
1. From Cow to Ice Cream (Changes) by Bertram T. Knight
2. Should I Share My Ice Cream? (An Elephant and Piggie Book) by Mo Willems
3. Ice Cream: The Full Scoop by Gail Gibbons
4. Milk to Ice Cream (Rookie Read-About Science) by Lisa M. Herrington
