News and Notes from The Johnson Center
GrapeUp! Come Together! - We All Scream for Ice Cream!
JCCHD | Thu, July 23, 2015 |On Saturday, July 11, Pease Elementary playground was the place to be. The Johnson Center staff and volunteers got there early and worked hard to get set up for the fifth “Grape Up! Come Together!” event. This was the day we learned about and celebrated all things ice cream!
We started off the morning by learning how to make ice cream at home with a special ice cream ball. We added non-dairy coconut creamer, rock salt, sugar, and ice to the ball, and we were all set to make delicious ice cream! We had to shake, shake, shake the ice cream ball. We passed it through the audience and everyone took a turn shaking it. We had plenty of volunteers, so parents got the chance to sit back and relax with a cup of complimentary coffee (but we also got them in on the fun and they helped to shake too).
Sarah the Human Ice Cream Cone then read us the story of two best friends and a cone of ice cream called “Should I Share My Ice Cream?” Our great team of American Sign Language interpreters and our Spanish interpreter were all on hand to translate as the story was read. We all learned the sign for ice cream, and that the best way to eat ice cream is to share it!
Finally it was time for the magic to happen: together we built a 20-foot ice cream sundae. Amy’s Ice Cream generously donated 150 scoops of non-dairy strawberry, aloha, and peach ices for this event.
The children built the sundae with lots of bananas, cookie crumbs, granola, cherries, and whipped coconut cream - yum! So that ALL our friends could join in the fun, all the ingredients were gluten-free, casein-free, and nut-free.
We had some helpers who got to run up and down the sundae adding rice whip and chocolate sauce. Then the countdown began… 10.9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1……
Everyone ran with a spoon to dig in. The sundae was so delicious!
We ended the day by making our own paper ice cream cone craft to take home with us. We definitely love glitter and ice cream.
We wrapped up with snack time. This week we had an allergen-friendly KIND bar and OH-SO Organic juice box. The kids took lots of pictures with Sarah the Ice Cream Cone.
We were so lucky to meet so many new friends and families, and we hope more will come join us as the summer continues. Join us each Saturday morning for more fun. We would love to see all of you there!
Photos Courtesy of Amy Zhang
