This ice cream sensory table was inspired by one of my son’s favorite books, Ice Cream Face by Heidi Woodward Sheffield. Fridays are our unofficial “ice cream day” and we always grab our favorite flavor to start the weekend. I figured he would be obsessed with this theme so I wanted to bring that joy into a sensory play setup. With most of the materials purchased from Amazon, this theme came together quickly and he loved scooping and pouring all of the ice cream.
Our last theme got wild really fast with the beans so I wanted to keep this one as simple as possible.
What I Used:
This bin came together in under 5 minutes and only needed a few things I ordered from Amazon:
- Sensory Table – loved the easy clean up, multiple compartments on this one as well as the lids for storing
Ice Cream Sensory Bin Filler– this was our “ice cream” and came with cones and scoopers
Scooper/spoons – perfect for little hands
💡Tip: I tossed in some Kinetic Sand we already had at home to stretch the fun 😅. Tbh, I preferred it over the original filler. The texture was perfect for scooping and made the pretend ice cream play even more fun.
The Setup:
Everything came pre-packed in the ice cream sensory bin filler, so all I had to do was dump it into the bin. That’s it.
How It Went:
Here’s the honest breakdown:
⏱️ Playtime: 4.5 hours. He made sundaes. He made a mess. He “served” me about 12 cones in a row. 😂 Watching him pretend to run his own little shop, take orders, and build ice cream creations made it all worth it.
🧼 Clean-Up: 5/10 The prepackaged kinetic sand that came with the ice cream bin filler had a snow cone-like texture which is perfect for the theme but terrible for clean-up. I definitely prefer Kinetic Sand because the texture is thicker and easier to manage. Please, please put a mat down before you start. This is one I used. It will save your sanity. And for the love of God, do not do this near carpet. 😂
🧠 Engagement Level: High! He stayed focused on scooping and pouring over and over
This theme was a hit and I’ll definitely be reusing some of these supplies but not sure if it will be a repeat theme because of the clean up 😅.
Leave a Reply