Summer is in full swing, and one of the best ways to enjoy the beautiful weather is to go outdoors and enjoy a delicious ice cream treat! What do we do when the weather doesn’t cooperate or we’re looking for an indoor activity to do with the children? We do ice cream cone art projects! You and your children are going to really enjoy this Ice Cream Art Fine Motor Painting project because it’s easy, fun and has a unique twist on the typical way of painting.

Ice Cream Art Fine Motor Painting

Painting and Fine Motor Growth

As educators we like to find ways to stretch little minds and bodies so that learning and growth is taking place with every single activity. That’s what makes this Ice Cream Cone Fine Motor Painting art project perfect for your next classroom painting activity. We are taking a fun art project, and by changing one small thing, we turn it into a fine motor activity instantly!

Simply replace your typical paint brushes with a pom pom and wood clothespin as your painting tool. You then will be encouraging little fingers to grasp and pinch the cotton ball with a wood clothespin and then dip into paint. Tip: If you have toddlers or preschoolers it’s important to model this for them as they may not know how to properly open and close a clothespin. 

*Be sure you don’t miss my 2nd tip below for those toddler and preschool learners! It will truly be a time saver and also relieve stress for your little ones.*

Let’s get started with a few simple supplies and be sure to grab the FREE Ice Cream Cone Printable below!

Supplies Needed

• washable paints
• construction paper/card stock paper
• scissors
• pencil
• pom poms
• wood clothespins
• Ice Cream Cone FREE printable (at the end of the post) 

Steps and Tips for a successful Ice Cream Cone art project

Be sure to print out the Ice Cream Cone Printable at the end of the post. You can print it directly onto white or colored paper of your choosing.

If you print it on white paper, you can have children trace, cut and paint. If you print on colored paper you can skip the tracing process.

Have children decide if they want their ice cream cone to have one, two or three scoops of ice cream. Assemble the pom pom paint brushes and it’s time to paint!

Draw lines on the cone to make it look real and more detailed.

Related Activity – Build Word Family Sundaes!

Add glitter or sequins as sprinkles!

A Few Tips for Success

If the paper starts to roll up on the edges after painting, I like to glue the ice cream cone masterpiece to a second piece of paper just like this artist chose to do here:

For my toddlers and preschoolers, I like to glue their ice cream cone and scoops to a piece of paper before they start painting so that they can focus more on painting their masterpiece than trying to hold the pieces in place as they struggle to paint them.

I have to tell you, my toddler very much appreciated me taking this extra step!

We all have really enjoyed this Ice Cream Art Fine Motor Painting project, and I know you will too! It was especially fun to see each child’s preference for number of scoops and overall design of their ice cream treats.

Grab Your Printable

Ready to make an ice cream masterpiece of your own? Grab your copy of the template at the link below. Then scroll down for even more ice cream fun!

Ice Cream Art Template

More Ice Cream Fun

Looking for even more ice cream learning fun? Here are some of our favorite ice cream activities!

Ice Cream Shop Dramatic Play

Ice Cream Ten Frame Number Match