【Nest/Pocket】「フルーツアイスのワークショップ」前編！〈実施報告〉

「夏は暑いからみんなでアイスを作って食べてみたい！」と始まった今回の企画。「アイスはお母さんが良く作ってくれたフルーツアイスをみんなで作る！」と小学校4年生の女の子が初めての企画に挑戦してくれました。

お母さんが作ってくれていた工程を思い出しながらまずは試作です。「あれ中々固まらないな・・・でも寒天を入れたら味がおかしくなっちゃう・・」と何度も試作を重ねながら作り方を模索しました。そして「アイスを固めるには2日間かけて実施するのがいい！」という答えにたどり着き、「作る日」と「食べる日」に分けて行うことに決めました。

内容が決まれば次はチラシ作りです。楽しさが伝わるようにとポップなチラシを仕上げ、学校の校長先生や学童に通う子どもたちに告知を行いました。

「あんまり話たことが無い人もいるけど大丈夫かな・・」と心配している様子もありましたが「楽しそうなイベントですね。」「絶対に参加したい！」との声を受けて「来たいって言ってくれてた！」と想像以上の言葉を受けて大喜びの女の子。当日までの準備にも熱が入ります。

そしていよいよ当日を迎えます。後半に続く！

[“Making Fruit Ice Cream Together!” — A 4th Grader’s First Challenge (Part 1)]

“Summer is so hot, I want everyone to make and eat ice cream together!”

This simple, refreshing idea was the spark for our latest project. “I want us to make the same fruit ice cream my mom used to make for me,” decided a fourth-grade girl, as she courageously stepped up to organize her very first workshop.

Her journey began with a trial run, as she tried to recreate the steps she remembered her mother taking. However, she ran into some unexpected challenges. “Oh no, it’s not freezing very well… but if I add agar to help it set, the flavor changes…” She made batch after batch, experimenting tirelessly to find the perfect recipe. Finally, she unlocked the secret: “To get the ice cream to freeze properly, it’s best to do it over two days!” With this breakthrough, she decided to split the workshop into a “Making Day” and an “Eating Day.”

Once the plan was set, it was time to design the flyer. Pouring her heart into conveying just how much fun the event would be, she crafted a vibrant, eye-catching flyer and handed it out to her school principal and the children at the after-school care program.

At first, she felt a flutter of anxiety, worrying, “I haven’t really talked to some of these kids before, what if they don’t want to come?” But her worries quickly melted away when she was met with enthusiastic responses like, “This sounds like so much fun!” and “I’m definitely going!” Hearing them say “I can’t wait to come!” brought an enormous smile to her face, fueling her excitement as she poured her energy into the final preparations.

And finally, the big day arrived!

…To be continued in Part 2!