Taste-Safe Ice Cream Sensory Bin
Learn how to make this taste safe Ice Cream Sensory Bin for some hands-on play with your kids. Toddlers and preschoolers will love spending their summer making their own ice cream cones using this edible moon sand recipe.
Disclosure: Adult supervision is required for all activities at all times.
The Summer break can be tough on parents who aren’t used to having their kids home every day. If you’re trying to get ready for this Summer, then start with these Summer activities for kids. Or invest in the Summer Activity Pack, which is filled with educational ideas for young kids.
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More Ice Cream Themed Activities to try
You can still enjoy ice cream this summer without all the sugar. Here are some of my favorite ice cream themed play ideas for toddlers and preschoolers.
- Ice-cream shop – 5 minute dramatic play center
- Ice Cream Math – free printable
- Egg Carton Ice Cream Craft
- How to make Ice Cream in a Bag
- Playdough Ice Cream
For more ideas, visit 50 Ice Cream Activities for Kids.
Materials Needed
- 8 cups flour
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- Sprinkles
- A large plastic tub
- Ice cream scoop
- Spoons, bowls, or ice cream cones
Watch the Video
How to make an Ice Cream Sensory Bin
1. Make your taste safe ice cream sensory sand.
Mix the flour and vegetable oil together in a large tub or bowl. Keep stirring until the mixture has reached a uniform consistency.
Towards the end, you may need to break apart the larger clump of moon sand with your hands.
I used vegetable oil for this activity and found that it gave the ice cream base a slightly yellow.
If you want your base to be white, then use baby oil instead of vegetable oil, just keep in mind that baby oil is not taste safe and should not be consumed.
However, if you want the yellow color to be more intense, or you want to make your ice cream pink or brown, you can always add a little bit of oil based food coloring to your mixture.
2. Sprinkle some sprinkles on top of the moon sand.
You can also use rainbow beads instead of actual sprinkles, or brown ones as pretend chocolate chips. But these small toys do pose a choking hazard, so please supervise your younger kids at all times. After all, because they look like a tasty treat, it might be easy for little ones to forget that it’s for play, not for eating.
3. Place some cups, spoons and an ice cream scoop inside the tub.
Now your young children will be able to scoop up the ice cream and place it into the paper cups. This is perfect for kids who want to set up a pretend ice cream shop.
While I used paper cups for our sensory box, you can also make paper cones using brown paper and glue. This ice cream shop sensory bin is a wonderful way to foster imaginative play with your toddlers and preschoolers.
4. Enjoy playing.
This ice cream shop sensory bin is a wonderful way to foster imaginative play with your toddlers and preschoolers.
They’ll love making their own cones and selling them to you. This is particularly wonderful if you’re teaching your kids about money and the math associated with it.
Summer Activity Pack
Educational printables for preschoolers and kindergarteners for this Summer.
Are you going to make this Ice Cream Sensory Bin for your kids?
Don’t forget to pin the idea for later.
