In this blog post: Find everything you need to set up an exciting end of the year ice cream theme day with these free printables!
The end of the school year in Kindergarten or first grade can be a little… chaotic. The air is getting warmer, the days are getting sunnier, and everyone is getting just a little too comfortable with each other.
It’s like a road trip when you just need a little time alone!
That said, one of the best ways to embrace the end of the year chaos and hook your students once more is through theme days like a camping day, bubble day, or a watermelon day!
Theme days help bring a little extra sparkle and fun while keeping your classroom routine going until the very end.
One of our favorite theme days is an ice cream day! We can learn about how ice cream is made, taste test ice cream, and play some ice cream themed games.
Keep reading to find out more about our end of the year ice cream theme day and grab a FREE resource with everything you need to set up your own ice cream theme day.
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Ice Cream Morning Tubs
Our school day always starts with morning tubs as students arrive and eat breakfast. Why not kick off the fun with some ice cream themed morning tub activities?
These ice cream cards include a few different options depending on your grade level. For Counting Sprinkles, students will add “sprinkles” to the cones to match the numbers.
The great thing about these morning tub activities is that you can really use any manipulatives you already have in your classroom. Your sprinkles could be mini pom-poms, pony beads, counters, or even scraps of paper!
If your students are ready, they can use the sprinkles to solve the addition problems on the cones. Addition to 10 or addition to 20 is included.
Learning About Ice Cream
For our literacy read aloud, it is the perfect time to read a nonfiction book like Ice Cream: The Full Scoop by Gail Gibbons.
After you read, students can write about the main idea of the story and facts that they learned about ice cream. I’ve included a few different response to reading pages in the free ice cream theme day download for you to pick and choose from.
Ice Cream Taste Test
Would it be an end of the year ice cream theme day without an ice cream taste test? Of course, be mindful of any allergies or restrictions in your classroom. Your ice cream theme day can still be a blast without the taste test!
To complete the taste test, you will need three different flavors of ice cream. If you get a large tub of Neapolitan ice cream, you can give each student a small spoonful of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry to try.
Then, students can create a class graph with their favorite flavor of ice cream. They can also graph the results on their own worksheet.
Ice Cream Opinion Writing Craft
The ice cream taste test would lead in perfectly to this writing activity. For this activity, students will write their opinion about the best flavor of ice cream. Then, depending on your grade level, they can write one or more supporting reasons.
Display students’ writing with this adorable ice cream craft then! You can print the scoops on colored paper or let students color them to match their favorite flavor of ice cream.
Ice Cream Phonics Centers
For your ice cream day phonics centers, these cover by code mats are a fun option. These mats include differentiation options so students can complete the same activity whether they are working on letter sounds, CVC words, or vowel teams.
For these ice cream literacy center mats, students will find the words that match the pictures on the scoops and cover them with the matching color.
Phonics Worksheets
Follow up that activity with these ice cream spin and color worksheets (or use these as another literacy center option).
Again, these phonics worksheets are differentiated to work on everything from letter ID to vowel teams.
To use these worksheets, students will spin a picture, find the matching word, and color or dab it.
Ice Cream Math Games
One of my favorite ways to follow up a whole group math lesson is with a partner game for extra practice. These ice cream math games are a fun way to practice addition to 10 or addition to 20.
How to use: Both partners will spin an addition problem and model it with sprinkles on their cone. They will compare sums. The partner with the greater sum gets a point. The first player to get 9 points wins.
They great thing about these partner math games is that you can use counters and manipulatives, or you can simply place in a dry erase sleeve and have students use dry erase markers.
Ice Cream Math Worksheets
To follow up those partner math games, students can complete these addition cut and match worksheets. Students will cut out the scoops and match them to the addition problems to make the ice cream cones.
A worksheet for addition to 10 or addition to 20 is included.
Another worksheet option is skip counting by tens, fives, or twos. For these worksheets, students will cut out the scoops and then glue them in order to skip count.
FREE Ice Cream Theme Day Resource
Ready to set up your own end of the year ice cream theme day in the classroom? This free resource gives you everything you need for a fun-filled day! Just enter your email below and it will be send straight to your inbox.
TIP: Use a personal email address and not a school email. School districts often block these emails because they contain outside downloads.
Do you love free stuff?
Ice Cream Theme Day Activities
This free resource includes EVERYTHING you need for a fun and easy end of the year ice cream theme day.
Looking for more end of the year resources? Check these out:
