Summer isn’t far off guys! As the weather warms up and the sun sticks around, my family’s thoughts turn to our favorite cool treat- ice cream! Nothing says sweet summer time like a refreshing ice cream cone. Today I’m sharing how we pair this delicious dessert with fun story time reads, and some Ice Cream Math Game. Read on to learn more.

Yummy Ice Cream Math Game

The photographs in it are by John Williams. It’s a non-fiction look behind the scenes at an ice cream factory. My oldest loves exploring how things work, so this is a great choice for kids with curious minds. The photos are clear, and give kids are great peek at each step along the way. If you’re interested in pairing science with this story time as well, making homemade ice cream in a bag or can would be a perfect extension to Let’s Find Out About Ice Cream.

Yummy Ice Cream, a sweet board book about sharing. Anna Walker provided the adorable illustrations. This is one of my toddler’s favorites because it features lovable animal friends sharing a sweet treat. Anna Walker’s artwork is lovable and cute, featuring a panda, owl, and a sheep. The text is straight forward, and provides an effective social story to teach sharing.

What You’ll Need

1. Printable ice cream cone sheet and die. (Grab yours below!)
2. Laminating pouches. (Plastic sheet protectors work well also.)
3. Scissors.
4. Invisible tape or glue sticks.
5. Ice cream scoop manipulatives – Pom Poms, buttons, play dough or dry erase markers are great choices.

How To Play

1. Print out and laminate an ice cream cone sheet for each child.
2. Print out pairs of die.
   1. Kids can play alone with their own set, or in a group sharing a set of die and taking turns. It’s a great activity for kids to do independent math practice in a fun way.
3. Cut out, fold, and assemble the die using tape or glue.
4. Each child rolls the pair of die twice, noting the colors and numbers each time.
   1. The colored die represents what ‘flavors’ of ice cream to add to their first cone.
   2. The number die represents how many ‘scoops’ of the flavor to add.
5. Using manipulatives, children can ‘scoop’ the appropriate ice cream onto the cones. This is a great hands on way to reinforce 1-1 counting and basic math.
6. Kids should add the 2 kinds of ice cream together, and use a dry erase marker to write the total number of scoops on the line under each cone.
7. When each cone has been added, remove manipulatives and erase are dry erase marker. Kids can easily start again for more fun.
8. When kids have mastered adding two numbers, you can introduce a third roll to add an extra challenge. Younger siblings or students who aren’t quite ready for addition can simply work on counting by rolling the set of die once. This game is easy to customize for a variety of skills and ages.