Popsicles are a favorite summer treat and making a batch can be fun and learning (and support kindergarten readiness) at the same time. Thank you so much to the artsy momma, Dot Falcon, at Busted Button who posted these on her FB page today.
These popsicles use 3 ingredients: blueberries, strawberries and coconut milk. Kids can help make these by washing the blueberries while grownup hands slice the strawberries. Why are they called blueberries? Are they blue or purple? When pouring in the coconut milk you can ask your child if the liquid has a shape. It can be any shape and right now it pours. Do the blueberries and strawberries have a shape? How about the popsicle maker? What kinds of shapes are these?
Hint: Do not fill to the top because the fruit will take up some room and then the milk overflows. You can explain to the little one how the fruit will need some space.
How many blueberries should go in each one? Together you can count a few in each popsicle space. Add a few strawberry slices, a few more blueberries, strawberries and blueberries. That makes a pattern: blueberries, strawberries, blueberries, strawberries. Pop in the sticks, carefully make a space in the freezer, and wait; that’s the hardest part. When they are done, check out how the liquid does not pour anymore. Why not?
In the few minutes of making popsicles, kids have used some math for numbers, shapes, and volume. Science is part of the recipe too. The liquid will change to a solid and take the shape of the container. There’s been lots of language and some thinking skills, like using comparing for the color of blueberries and shapes. Patterning and sequencing are more thinking skills. Did you know waiting is a skill? The popsicles need time to freeze and this gives an opportunity to see–and taste–how some things are better after waiting. Would this be working together or playing? All of this and more in a popsicle. Is this a hot day for a cool treat?
P.S. These popsicles are red, white, and blue. Anything else red, white, and blue?