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When it comes to play therapy, we want to use toys that are relatable and motivating for our students. What kid doesn’t LOVE ice cream? Ice cream is a dessert that so many kids experience and enjoy, why not use it to target speech and language goals? An ice cream toy set is a versatile speech therapy toy that your preschool and elementary students will enjoy using. This makes planning an ice cream theme preschool lesson planning easier when you have one toy set that can be adapted to target many different goals. Today, I am sharing 10 ways to use an ice cream toy set in your preschool play-based speech therapy sessions.
If you are on a budget, I would recommend checking out Goodwills, Thriftstores, Offer Up, Facebook Marketplace or asking for donations in local Facebook groups. Sometimes even sharing a post on social media asking friend and family if they have toys to donate can be an affordable way to collect some of these items. You can also try to get your toy sets through Donor’s Choose!
Melissa and Doug Scoop and Serve Ice Cream Counter – I own this one and LOVE it! It’s a little more expensive but is great for an ice cream shop pretend play activity.
Melissa and Doug Ice Cream Cone Set – this set is more affordable and would be great for pretend play with eating ice cream at home for dessert.
Sweet Treats Ice Cream Parlor by Battat – this set is probably the most affordable and has all the accessories to make your own ice cream sundaes. It could be great for an ice cream party pretend play activity.
Playdoh Kitchen Ice Cream Party Set – you know your kids will go bananas when they see they can make playdough ice cream sundaes in speech!
Kidzlane Ice Cream Toy Set – is a versatile set that comes with cones, cups, bowls and waffle cones. Plus, if you add water to the ice cream scoops, they change colors for new flavors. Plus, they are dishwasher safe, so you can easily sanitize these toys.
Battat Play Circle Ice Cream Toy Set – is under $15 and has fun accessories for syrup, sprinkles, cups or cones.
If you are looking for ice cream toy sets that can be used as a game or as props with your frozen treats unit, here are some ice cream activity sets that would be great for preschoolers and early elementary:
Need a cheat sheet guide to help you with targeting wh- questions, Tier II vocabulary, articulation, basic concepts, adjectives, and helpful therapy ideas for toys you use during play-based therapy? Grab this Toy Companion Cheat Sheet Guide for Prek-2nd grade and have stimulus targets mapped out for 45 different toys.
There is a two-page toy companion for an ice cream toy set that will help you remember targets to use in your play-based therapy. When you don’t have enough time to plan therapy, you can count on your cheat sheets to help you have effective therapy.
.Role play different social situations using the ice cream toy. Have the students make a sundae or ice cream for another person working on conversation skills and perspective taking.
2.Create different flavors of ice cream with the student’s speech sound or target adjectives.
3.Work on following directions with basic concepts using the ice cream cones.
4.Answer “who” questions by giving students different types of ice cream.
5.Phonology milkshake: Students can only put items in the blender that have their sound.
6.Work on sequencing steps for making an ice cream sundae or a milkshake.
7.Sort ice cream toppings into sub-categories, such as fruit, crunchy toppings, sweet, and sauces.
8.Discuss problems and solutions related to ice cream, such as if you drop your ice cream or the shop doesn’t have the flavor you like.
9.Work on speech and language while doing an ice cream shop pretend play activity.
When all the assessments and meetings are due at various times during the school year, your creativity always seems to deplete in planning therapy. So, if you need some new inspirational therapy ideas for some of your student’s favorite toys, here are some blog posts to check out:
Do you have a fun way to engage your students with an ice cream toy set in speech therapy? Share in the comments, tag me on Instagram @thedabblingspeechie, or email me at fe*********@*****************ie.com.
