Freckle Juice

It is always exciting to find a book you can do interactive activities with. The most popular example is Dr.Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham. It has become somewhat of a tradition among teachers to accompany this book with the cooking of green eggs and ham to share with their students. While Green Eggs and Ham is perfect for younger readers, the reading level of the story is typically not high enough for the more advanced readers. Thankfully, we now have another book for grades second and third that has its own fun, food related activity.

Freckle Juice is written by the well known children’s author Judy Blume. The book is about a boy named Andrew who is on the search for his own freckles. While Andrew is searching, a classmate offers him a secret freckle recipe that leads him to create freckle juice. This book would be an excellent choice for the beginning of the year! It reminds students that they are perfect just the way they are and that everyone is special in their own way. Freckle Juice would also be great in daycares during the summertime as a way to calm students back down after playing outside. The interactive activity for this book allows students to create their very own Freckle Juice Popsicles! Continue reading to find out how!

Materials needed: *Please note this activity does take time and would work best if started early in the day.

• 3.5 oz Plastic Cups or 5 oz Plastic Cups: The size of the cup will depend on how big you want their popsicles to be.
• People Shaped Wood Craft Sticks: Using the People Sticks will give children a special version of their person. It can also be used as a tool to support the idea that everyone is special no matter how they look.
• 100% Juice: We offer many flavors of juice by the bottle such as Apple, Grape, Fruit Punch, Very Berry, Orange Citrus, Blue Raspberry and more!

     

• Magic Marker: The Marker will be used to write each child’s name on their cup.
• Aluminum Foil: The Foil will help prevent spills and speed up the freezing process.

  

Have each child put their name on their cup and choose which flavors they want to mix to create their own freckle juice. In the story, Andrew uses some interesting ingredients but the 100% juice will make a sweet substitute. Cover each cup with aluminum foil in order to prevent spills, speed up the freezing process and hold their stick in place. After placing a person stick in each cup, place the covered cups in the freezer for 2-5 hrs. Once the juice has completely frozen, take off the foil and carefully remove it from the cup. Now let your students enjoy this yummy treat on a nice summer’s day. We suggest eating these during outside time in order to avoid a drippy mess in the classroom. Once everyone has finished, come back together to discuss how everyone’s Popsicle Person looks different but, in the end, are all still sweet.