One night we missed the ice cream truck. My toddler was pretty upset until my mom suggested we make our own ice cream truck. With a few sheets of paper, a little trial/error, and some luck, we put together a pretty neat setup for her. As we played, I realized how many opportunities for learning the activity presented. That night, I went home and made a print-and-play packet for the activity complete with a sign, blank product shells, an item/price list, and play money (it was difficult drawing it all on the fly).
Learning ideas for little ones
Attention/Memory
- Flip the items over in the “truck” and see if your little one can remember where each one is.
- Decorate two items similarly and see if your little one can pick out the differences.
Language
- Ask your little one to sequence the steps to buying ice cream from the ice cream truck. (music, run outside, truck stops, wait in line, etc.) Draw simple pictures to help if they get stuck.
- Practice greetings, offering help, and farewells. It may help to be the ice cream person first so your little one can copy your “script.”
- Ask “wh” questions (“Why is that the best? Where should I eat this? Who else would like this?)
- After the activity, ask your little one to retell what happened to someone who wasn’t present.
Math/Science
- Introduce “frozen” with solid vs. liquid. What would happen if the truck didn’t have a freezer?
- Practice number recognition and counting with the dollar bills.
- Introduce names/values for the coins.
Learning ideas for older kids
Attention/Memory
- Ask your kid to keep a running total of the bill while you’re placing the order.
- Ask your kid to remember 2-3 items in order with details (toppings, flavors, etc).
Language
- Practice routine social language (greetings, offering help, thanks, etc.) and problem-solving (What would you say if the customer doesn’t give you enough money? What would you say if the item they ordered was out of stock?).
- Ask your kid to describe an item.
- Model a “sales pitch” and ask them to “sell” it to you.
- Ask your kid to provide a factual account of the activity. When they’re done, ask them to make it fictional by embellishing as many details as they can.
Math/Science
- Practice coin/dollar values and compare them.
- Practice addition (the customer’s total bill) and subtraction (making change).
- Offer coupons (such as 20% off) to practice multiplication/division.
- Discuss the properties of different treats. Which freezes the quickest? Which melts first?