End of the Year Ice Cream Party

Hi! Today I wanted to share all about my daughter’s End of the Year party. We had such a great time, and it was easy to set up. I was able to use a lot of things we already had, and they had a wonderful morning celebrating their year together. We decided to do an “Ice Cream” theme, and it worked out perfectly! This party was planned for her 3s/4s preschool class, but you could absolutely use these ideas for older kids.

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Be sure to scroll all the way down to the end of this post. I’ve made a free download with all of the printable templates we used.

Sensory Bins

My daughter loves sensory bins, and so do her classmates! I already had most of these materials, but I’ll share what I used. We had her party outside on their lawn area, so I just laid down some blankets on the grass for the activities.

Rainbow Rice and Ice Cream

I use our Ikea Trofast bins for everything. You can get them on Amazon, but they are WAY overpriced. To make colored rice, I add food coloring to a baggie with a little bit of vinegar. They loved scooping the rice to make ice cream, and this set worked great. Since the party, we’ve used this same set with play doh and kinetic sand, and to make a pretend ice cream shop.

Kinetic Sand

Kinetic Sand is our favorite sensory base. This adorable ice cream set was perfect for the party…they really loved the little waffle iron. I also purchased these kinetic sand ice cream cones to use as favors, but we ended up opening them all and using them for play.

Pom Poms

The third sensory bin we had out was colored pom poms for ordering ice cream. They loved sorting them, and labeling each color with flavors. We use these tongs in so many different bins and bases, and this set is another favorite! I used these adorable ice cream sundae cups for all of the crafts. I usually buy pom poms by color as needed, but this is a great multi pack of pom poms.

Crafts

Eye Dropper Craft

This activity was so fun! They glued cotton balls to a sheet of paper to look like ice cream on a cone. I gave them water with a few drops of food coloring for them to “paint” the cotton balls. We used basic pipettes, but I also love these droppers. We use them daily in the bathtub, in sensory bins, and for making potions. They did need a little bit of practice filling them with water, but they quickly learned. The cute cups we used can be found here. I used white pom poms we already had, and cotton balls. Cotton balls are usually cheaper, and they absorb the liquid better. Like always, I used Astrobrights cardstock. It is the best!

Puffy Paint Craft

Puffy Paint is super easy to make! The recipe is 1 part shaving cream, 1 part school glue, but I didn’t do it exactly. I just went through a bottle of shaving cream and 2 bottles of glue and made 6 colors. I used food coloring to color the paint, but you could also add liquid watercolors or liquid tempera paint. I LOVE this food coloring…it makes all of our crafts so vibrant. It is super concentrated, so be careful of adding too much. I used the cute sundae cups for all of the crafts.

Name Craft

The final craft I had for them were these adorable “sundaes” made of their names. I pre-cut all of the letters, but you could also have your students cut them out if they are able! We had lots of parent volunteers to help find their letters and build their names. I didn’t get a good picture while we were outside, but I just set the materials on a picnic blanket with some stickers.

Ice Cream and Snacks

We decided to order pizza, and I asked other families to bring vegetables, fruit, and veggie straws. It was super easy, and we just all sat on picnic blankets. I don’t think I got any photos, but these plates were so adorable and perfect for the party.

I found these adorable ice cream bowls, and they were a great keepsake to send home. They loved picking their color.

We used individual blue bells, and just quickly scooped them into the cups, but I think gallons are usually cheaper! I asked other families to bring in toppings, and they loved creating their own ice cream sundaes! We had marshmallows, sprinkles, M&Ms, and some syrups. Super easy, and they had so much fun!

Photo Frame

The last thing I created was a photo “frame” to use for pictures. It made for the cutest pictures of my daughter and her buddies. I got this pack of foam board, and I’ve used it for several projects! I used a kitchen knife to cut the “hole,” but I think a box cutter would have been a lot easier!

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