Ice cream is a delicious treat that started during the Tang Dynasty in China between 618 - 917 A.D. It is a favorite sweet treat for individuals of all ages and dozens of flavors are available. July is National Ice Cream Month and July 21 is National Ice Cream Day. Besides eating bowl after bowl of this delicious treat, you can celebrate these events with a variety of ice cream-themed activities. Here are five ways you and your family can celebrate this wonderful holiday.
1. Make your own
Instead of spending several dollars on a gallon of ice cream, make your own batch of ice cream. You can use an electric ice cream maker to quickly and easily create this delicious treat. Or, you can create ice cream in a bag, or with a crank ice cream maker. If you choose to create the ice cream manually, you can turn this into an educational experience for your children and teach them how ice cream forms and the science behind it.
2. Visit the ice cream truck
We have all seen little kids jump up and down when they hear the ice cream truck nearby. Splurge and let your children pick out their favorite frozen treat and enjoy it in the hot weather. Visiting the ice cream truck may not be a frequent event for your family, especially if you are living on a tight budget. But by enjoying a rare treat from the ice cream man on this holiday, it can make the day a little more meaningful and memorable for your children.
3. Make sculptures
Sometimes playing with your food can be a good thing. You can make ice cream sculptures out of half gallon boxes of ice cream or sherbet. Sherbet is ideal for this activity because it is much easier to sculpt than ice cream. Buy half gallon boxes of sherbet and place on a cookie sheet. Remove the entire box around the sherbet. Then, you and your children can get to work. Using spoons, forks, popsicle sticks or whatever type of tool you choose, sculpt a masterpiece. You will not have much time to sculpt before your masterpiece begins to melt, but your children will have fun playing with their food, and they can eat it as they go.
4. Complete activity pages
If you have younger children, you can turn National Ice Cream Month or Ice Cream Day into a learning experience. There are several websites online, such as Enchanted Learning, that provides ice cream-themed learning pages and activities children can complete. These pages range from a variety of activities and help children learn to count, draw, write and more.
5. Visit a dairy
Give your children the full ice cream experience and visit a dairy. If you live near a dairy farm, take your children. Show them how a dairy works and the process for getting milk from the dairy to the store. This is an excellent way to get your children out of the house and learning something new.
With a little bit of thought and effort, you can make National Ice Cream month and National Ice Cream Day a wonderful celebration. You don't have to do anything too extravagant but make sure you at least enjoy a bowl of this delicious frozen treat.
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