Ice Cream: A Origin Story- for Kids

July is National Ice Cream Month and the 3rd Sunday in July (the 19th this year- 2020) is National Ice Cream Day!  It's a sweet and wonderful treat that dates back to ancient China, and yet remains a crowd favorite to this day.  Do you know how much ice cream the average American eats?  23 pounds!  It's our most popular dessert!

According to the International Dairy Foods Association, the ten most enjoyed ice cream flavors are vanilla, chocolate, cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, chocolate chip cookie dough, buttered pecan, cookie dough, strawberry, moose tracks, and neapolitan.  I have almost all of those flavors in my ice cream shop!  Waffle cones and sugar cones tie for America's favorite container- so it's up to you to break the tie.  Comment below and tell me what's your favorite!

Meet Suzy Sundae!

It is my plan to make these adorable, kawaii-style characters into an ongoing series with different featured foods.  For my first steps into this new venture, I am introducing "Suzy Sundae!"  This ice cream cone features a vanilla scoop, big eyes, a small chocolate fudge smile, and sandwich cookie ears.  Her hair is made from hot fudge and is decorated with sprinkles, which are available in either rainbow (pictured), unicorn (pastel), or patriotic (red, white, blue).  You can bring her home with you today!

How Milk Becomes Ice Cream

My family and I are homeschoolers, so we know how important it is to turn every day experiences into exciting learning opportunities.  Most kids enjoy eating ice cream, but how many of them really know where ice cream is manufactured?  What is the journey that it makes before ending up in the grocery store freezer?

I have created some free printable story cards, which tell the origin of ice cream.  The first picture is a glass of milk and asks kids how we get the milk.  The second card features a black and white cow and introduces the vocabulary of "herbivore."  Next, kids learn the word "mammal" and see a calf drinking milk from his mother.  The last picture on the page shows a milking machine hooked up to a cow.

The second page focuses more on the ice cream itself, starting with the truck bringing the milk from the farm to the factory.  The next picture shows an ice cream factory and talks about some of the ingredients in ice cream.  The seventh card shows a carton of ice cream and the eighth cards asks kids what their favorite flavor is of all the thousands available in the world.  There are some very interesting flavors in different countries!

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For durability, I recommend printing on cardstock and laminating the cards.  Cut the cards apart and read the story to your kids (or have them read it to you).  Then, encourage them to put the cards in order according to the sequence.  The PDF comes with a strip, which tells you and the kids the order of the pictures for reference.  Can they retell the story to you?

Cut out the labels and match the labels to the pictures.  You can also print two versions of the labels pages and use them in the traditional Montessori 3-part cards method.  Leave one set of cards whole with the picture and label attached.  With the other set, cut the label off the picture, making three total parts.  Then, kids can practice reading and matching.  They can even use ice cream letter cards to spell out words.  The learning possibilities are only limited by your imagination and your child's comprehension.

Make Ice Cream at Home

When I was a child, we would visit my grandparents in Illinois and made old fashioned churn ice cream.  It seemed like hours of sitting on top of the wooden seat to hold the churn in place, while my granddad or a parent turned the crank.  But, oh boy!  When we were finally done, it was the best ice cream in the world!

Now days, there are so many ways to make ice cream at home!  You can make it with an electric churn, a mixer, or even make the fancy rolled ice cream with a special cold tray.  You can even make soft serve at home!  Of course, you can't forget the ice cream cone maker (this looks like so much fun!)  So many ways to enjoy your favorite treat.

One of the easiest and fun ways to make frozen treats is ice cream in a bag.  You use two separate ziptop bags and shake them to create an individual portion of ice cream.  Personalize each bag with various mix ins like cookie pieces, candy, flavorings, and more.  This is a great activity for a classroom, family reunion, birthday, or play date.

If allergies or diet prevent you from enjoying traditional milk-based ice cream, there are several other varieties you can try.  This Almond Milk Ice Cream recipe includes several flavor options to help you make all your favorite kinds.  You could also try this Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream, which could also be made without the peanut butter for a nut free option.  Pinterest yields many options, too, if you need to avoid other allergens (for example, I'm allergic to banana).  You can also get books like "Homemade Ice Cream Recipes" to get more ideas.

Great Books About Ice Cream

As you're chowing down on all the yummy ice cream, why not feed your kids mind with some great books!  These books cover different subjects from science to history to morality and even recipes.  Click on the colored text to read more about them or to buy them on Amazon.

Just One More- This morality tale talks about what happens when we're never satisfied with what we have and are always asking for "just one more."  Learning to be content is a powerful tool for their entire life.

Curious About Ice Cream- We usually love the Smithsonian books for their great details and awesome pictures, so this history book should be amazing too.

Ice Cream- the Full Scoop- Gail Gibbons is known for her great children's science books, and this one is high quality, also. 

Pops- Icy Treats for Everyone- This one isn't actually ice cream, but I thought that I could sneak a popsicle cookbook into the mix.  If ice cream isn't your favorite summer treat, then check out this delicious books.

Scoop the Ice Cream Truck- Scoops is an old truck with a single frozen specialty- the plain vanilla cone.  One day, he realizes he's old and needs to improve.  Will he succeed?

Gorilla Love Vanilla- This book would go well with a discussion and maybe a taste test of different ice cream flavors from around the world.  In the story, five different animals all get their favorites, whether it's wiggly worms or stinky cheese.  Yum!

I Love You More than Ice Cream- I love that this book is a finger puppet!  It's adorable, too!  Click on the link and see for yourself.

Little Ice Cream Truck- This series (little trucks) focuses on different trucks and what their day is like as the work around town.  The ice cream truck book travels to the zoo, the park, and serves many customers.

Splat the Cat- I Scream for Ice Cream- When a field trip to the ice cream factory goes badly, it's put to Splat the Cat and his friends to save the day.  This level 1 reader helps kids work on reading the "eam" rime.

Izzy the Ice Cream Fairy- Join Izzy on a magical journey to find more ice cream when her ice cream well runs dry.  Perfect for little girls named "Isabella."

Homemade Ice Cream Recipes- If you're new to making your own ice cream or want to start, you can get this book with over 60 recipes and lots of tips and tricks for stirring up yummy family fun.

Another great way to learn about ice cream manufacturing is through Youtube videos.  This episode of Food Factory USA goes into the Ben and Jerry factory and shows how ice cream is made in a huge setting.  If you like to just watch a soothing video of ice cream treats being manufactured and packaged, you'll want to watch this 10 minute clip that is literally just that process over and over.  Lastly, if your kids love Blippi, this video talks about math concepts at an ice cream truck.  There are thousands of more options if you do a simple search.

Another great way that you can enjoy ice cream is to play pretend!  These free printables match my ice cream felt food play sets and come in two varieties, pink stripe and sprinkles.  Printable play money is also included in $1 and $5 bills, so kids can practice counting money, using it to pay for things, and collecting it.  They would make a good reward system for chores or potty training, too!

You can buy the ice cream treats or anything else from my shop by clicking on the box below.  If you enjoyed this article, please pin the pictures to Pinterest so others can find them too!

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