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SORT & STACK Have kids sort the ice cream scoops according to details you give, such as those with chips and without, vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, and "other," or flavours they like and those they don't. Have kids count the number of scoops in each group as they stack them on top of each other. Which group has the most scoops and which has the least?
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COLD CASH There are six dollar bills included with the play set. Place an order ("A two-scoop cone with sprinkles, please!") and have kids count out the number of bills needed to buy it. As counting and math skills develop, ask kids to figure out if they have enough money to pay for different orders. For instance, can they get a single scoop cone, a double-scoop cup, and a triple-scoop cone? What about two scoops with a topping and three scoops with a topping?
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NAME THAT CONE Have kids create delicious combinations and then come up with creative names for the creamy concoctions -- Chip Chip Hooray, Choco-licious-ness, Sweet Sarah's Delight. After kids make and name their creations, have them draw pictures of them with the names and a price underneath so they can run them as "specials" in their ice cream shop!
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DON'T LET IT MELT It's a hot summer day and the ice cream is starting to melt! Luckily, folks are starting to line up at the ice cream counter. Set a timer for 60 seconds and start calling out orders. Have young ice cream servers use and reuse cones and cups to fill as many orders as they can before the timer goes off!
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ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, STACK! Place four ice cream scoops in a line on the floor, and the other four in a line about 10 feet away. Have kids (one or two) choose a cone. When you say, "On your mark, get set, stack!" have kids choose a scoop and yell out the flavour as they stack it on their cone. Then, they have to race to the other line, choose a scoop, and yell out the flavour as they stack it on top of the first scoop. Repeat until all the scoops are on top of a cone! If a scoop falls off while running, the kids have to pick it up, run to the farthest line, and replace the scoop before continuing the race. With one player, use a timer to make the "race" more challenging; with two players, have them start on the same line and race each other.
