Ice Cream Scooper

Purpose:

Scooping ice cream is a fun activity that promotes ADL skills. In this activity, we combine finger strength with the development of cutting skills, as the child makes his own ice cream in a cone.

Skills: Activities of daily living (ADL)(?) Activities of daily living (ADL) are routine activities that people tend do everyday without needing assistance. There are six basic ADLs: eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring (walking) and continence., Bilateral Hand Use(?) The use of both hands simultaneously, in a controlled manner, to perform an activity (i.e. clapping hands, using your one hand to hold a pencil while the other is used to stabilize the paper)., Cutting, Eye-Hand Coordination, Fine Motor Control, Finger Strength, Forearm Pronation, Grasp, Pincer Grasp(?) The pincer grasp is the coordination of the index finger and thumb to hold an item. Each time you hold a pen or button your shirt, you’re using the pincer grasp. Pincer grasp is a hand grasp that develops around the time a baby is 8-10 months old. This grasp corresponds to the time a baby is beginning to feed themselves finger foods. The pincer grasp is needed in order to grasp a small item, pinch it between the index and thumb and bring it to the mouth., Visual Motor
Materials: Construction Paper, Container, Ice Cream Scoop, Masking Tape, Playdough, Pom-poms, Scissors, Tissue Paper

Use brown, yellow, or white construction paper. Draw a 1/4 of a circle with a six-inch radius, and ask the child to cut the shape out. If needed, make the line bolder to increase accuracy. If using white paper, you can let the child color/paint it in any color he wishes to.

Assist the child as needed to fold the 1/4 circle into a cone shape. Secure with tape.

Provide the child with tissue paper sheets that are at least 5″ x 7″ in size. Instruct the child to crumble each sheet into a ball (scoop), and place it in the container.

Have the child hold the ice cream scoop in his dominant hand and the cone in his other hand. Instruct the child to scoop the paper balls one at a time, using the ice cream scoop, and put it into the cone.

Using strips of construction paper in different colors, ask the child to tear small pieces to use as sprinkles. Promote pincer grasp by having the child pick up one piece at a time to sprinkle on his ice cream.

To grade the activity, use different ice cream scoops (i.e. with the thumb lever, spring-loaded handle, etc.) or other materials for ice cream, such as pom-poms or play-dough.

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