Popsicle Riddles

What You Need:

• Popsicle sticks
• Food coloring markers (available in cake decor supermarket aisles)
• Light-colored juice like apple or white grape; orange juice also works
• Popsicle mold, or paper cups
• Freezer

What You Do:

1. Remind your child of previous ice pops they may have eaten that had jokes or riddles written on the stick. They can now create such a popsicle!
2. Tell them to think of jokes, riddles, or fortunes that they might write on a popsicle stick. Here are examples if they need some help: “You will have a fun week ahead.” “You will meet a new friend.” “What do cows do for fun? Watch moooovies.” “What’s a dog’s favorite pizza? Pup-peroni.”
3. Have your child use a food coloring marker to write their fortune on the stick. If they're writing a joke, they should write the question of the joke on one end of the stick and the answer on the end that will be covered by the popsicle.
4. Give the ink time to dry. Make sure the ink is completely dry before the next step.
5. Help your child pour light-colored juice or orange juice into the empty popsicle tray almost but not all the way to the top. If you don't have a popsicle mold, you can also pour the juice into paper cups, then tear the paper off once the juice has frozen.
6. Let your child place each stick inside each juice-filled container. The stick can lean to one side of the container.
7. When using food coloring markers, the marker ink will run a little bit, adding color to the juice, but that is okay; the written material will still be readable.

After the juice has frozen into ice pops, your child can eat them and then read their writing. They can share popsicles with friends, who will be impressed to see that your child made the pops and the written surprises!