Snacks to Share
Episode # 147. Ice Cream Cone
In a tall, rectangle-shaped box, the children give the Storypeople an ice cream cone. Grandpappa wants to eat the ice cream, but it falls off the cone. The children provide him with an ice cream maker so he can make more, but the handle gets stuck and he can’t make it stop. Luckily Brother and Sister come along so he can share the ice cream with them. But the machine won’t stop until Granpappa has a very, very large ice cream cone. But there is no need to worry. Little Dog Fido will enjoy licking up whatever drops.

Directions
In this episode, Grandpappa has a double scoop ice cream cone. With two scoops, he could eat one and share one, but it would be hard to separate the cone into two pieces. Let your child choose a snack that is easier to split in half and share.

First, using a piece of paper, demonstrate how you can take one piece and split it into two pieces. Explain that each piece is called “one half” and that two halves make one whole.

Next, tell your child that he may select a snack to share with one other person, so each person will need ½. Present a variety of healthy snack options, some that will be easy to split and some not so easy. Ask your child to determine which will be easiest to split into two equal pieces. Possibilities might include an apple, a banana, a peeled orange (so you can count sections), a graham cracker, a popsicle, a cookie, a pretzel, a bowl of popcorn, etc.

Let your child divide (or help divide if difficult cutting is involved) the snack into two equal pieces so the two of you can share. Experiment if needed to see which things are easy to split and which are more difficult.

Once your child knows that dividing a whole into two equal parts makes two halves, you might ask him to divide a snack for three or four people and help him learn that we call three equal parts “thirds” and four equal parts “quarters”.

Talk About It
While viewing the Ice Cream Cone episode, you might start a conversation by asking your child: “What should Granpappa do to start the machine?” or “If you were Grandpappa, how would you stop the machine?” As you talk about the things on screen, you can help expand your child’s vocabulary by alternating the words you use with their synonyms.

In the Ice Cream Cone episode you might wonder whether Grandpappa is eating ice cream, sherbet, sorbet, gelato, or frozen yogurt.