This month at RisingOaks Early Learning | Saint John Paul II, the preschoolers have been thoroughly enjoying engaging in a pretend ice cream shop, both indoors and outdoors. They have been imagining making and selling various flavours such as rainbow, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and mint ice cream during their imaginative play sessions. Whenever they asked me which flavour I wanted to try, I responded by asking how much I needed to pay, which helped to deepen their engagement. We also discussed whether the price of ice cream was expensive or reasonable to buy, adding a real-world context to their play. Inspired by this interaction, I created a guessing game activity that fostered their critical thinking and teamwork skills. I divided the children into two teams: Pink and Blue. I explained that our goal was to "make" our team’s ice cream by adding scoops of different colours on top of a cone each time we earned a point. Once the team completed their ice cream, they could pretend to eat it together. To facilitate the activity, I covered various Lego blocks representing different colours with a pink cloth on a table. I then asked the children to guess which colours were hidden when I uncovered the cloth. I explained that if they correctly identified the missing colours, their team would earn a point to add an ice cream scoop. The preschoolers demonstrated great concentration and enthusiasm, eagerly trying to identify the missing colours. Their excitement was evident as they clapped and cheered "Hurray!" each time their team scored. Initially, the challenge involved identifying a single missing colour, but as the children gained confidence, I increased the difficulty by asking them to find two or three missing colours. This encouraged their problem-solving and memory skills. All the preschoolers showcased impressive memory and critical thinking as they checked which colour blocks were missing. As the teams completed their ice cream creations, they were filled with excitement, exclaiming “Hurray! We did it!” Even after the activity concluded, the children continued to enjoy making their own ice cream in their own creative ways. This activity provided valuable opportunities for the children to develop their observation, memory, and teamwork abilities. It also enhanced their understanding of colours and improved their focus and ability to follow instructions.
