Gingerbread Man Activities

I have included some favorite things that we like to do for our Gingerbread unit. We try to tie all areas of the curriculum into the unit. There are lots of homework ideas using the Gingerbread theme in the December Homework Package. Click below to see these some of these ideas.

Gingerbread Man Glyph

This is a map of the glyph that we do for our Gingerbread unit. We give each child a blank gingerbread man in brown construction paper for them to cut out. We do the glyph in a small group according to the map. This is a picture of our bulletin board display of the glyphs last year.

Cinnamon and Applesauce Ornaments

My poor gingerbread man has a broken leg! Click on the photo to see a close up. I like the gingerbread man cookie cutter that has the face on it. I think that Lakeshore Learning Company has these. The poem that we attach is:

Something spicy and pretty too
For the holiday season
To say I love you.
Hang me in the kitchen
Or maybe on the tree.
And every time you get a "whiff"
I hope you'll think of me!

The recipe that we use is:

Cinnamon-Applesauce Ornaments

This recipe is too simple to make only for the winter holidays -use it anytime or anywhere you want your house to smell warm
and inviting. (Note that these ornaments are not edible.)

The ingredients:
1 cup cinnamon
3/4 cup applesauce
2-3 Tablespoons of white glue

How to do it
Mix all ingredients well until they form a dough. Flatten the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch.   Keep in mind that the dough will be quite dry, and can be tricky to work with.

Use cookie cutters to cut out festive holiday shapes. Use a drinking straw to punch a small hole in the top of each ornament if you plan to hang them. Keep them flat and move them to a warm, dry spot for 48 hours to allow them to dry. Turn each ornament over every few hours to dry on each side. Alternatively, put them in a warm (not hot!) oven for several hours.

Sandpaper Gingerbread Man

This project was done on a piece of medium grade sandpaper. Each child was given a piece of sandpaper with the outline of the gingerbread man. They use crayons to decorate their man. We use old crayons for this. Then an iron is used to make a print. Use old newspaper and an old iron to press onto white construction paper. Then we glue the other gingerbread man onto the paper. Or, you could just use the "printed" one. The children decorated the background with crayons.

Gingerbread Headbands

This pattern was given to me by Paige Brown of Fairfield, California. The children look really cute wearing their headbands home!

Hanging Gingerbread Men

This gingerbread man was made with brown wrapping paper and was stitched on the outside edges. However, crayons can be used or markers to decorate and hang.

Gingerbread Man Graph

This is a fun graph to make to find out which part of the gingerbread each person ate first. This graph is one of the many activities that is included in the December Ideas package For information about ordering the package, click on the gingerbread girl

Gingerbread Book

How to Keep a Gingerbread Man from Escaping!

This book is included in the December Ideas package with all of the patterns and directions in a PDF file.

Click to see the December Ideas.

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Another cute idea for a Gingerbread Counting Book

This book is made on half sheets of copy paper as follows:

Cover: My Gingerbread Counting Book

page 1 One button on my Gingerbread man.

page 2 Two buttons on my Gingerbread man.

pages continue as above for all ten pages. We give each child a gingerbread man to decorate and add the right number of buttons. If you have lots of buttons, real buttons can be used. Or, crayons can be used to draw the buttons.

For the last page we include the following:

I have read my Gingerbread Man book to:

(please sign each time your child reads the book to you, little brother or sister, the dog or the cat!)

_________________

We include about 10 lines. We ask the children to return these to check to see how many times they read their books.

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Gingerbread House

This letter is sent home to parents for assistance in making our houses at school. We have about five adults on the day that we make the houses. We make our houses using graham crackers on a small milk carton frame. The graham crackers are attached with hot glue to make them secure! We do this part ahead of time. We use the very thick, frosting that is made by a parent. We set up a table with all of the "goodies" and give each child a small paper plate to choose what they would like to use in making their house. Each table has a bowl of frosting and each child is given a craft stick to apply the frosting. They have such fun making these wonderful creations! Click on the photo to see a sample.

Candy Decorations

We use these giant candies as hanging decorations during our Gingerbread unit. They are made on two paper plates. Each child is given a two plates with the lines drawn on the bottom of the plate for coloring. We allow them to use markers for this project, but crayons will also work. We also discuss the AB patterns and how to color every other wedge shape. That is quite difficult for some children. The two plates are stapled together and wrapped with clear cellophane paper. Ribbon, pipe cleaners or yarn can be tied on each end.

Gingerbread Muffins

Supplies:

3 Tablespoons Gingerbread mix (make sure it only needs water added. We found that Dromedary brand of mix only requires water.)

1 Tablespoon water

Materials:

one - 5 ounce waxed paper cup per child

one craft stick per child

electric skillet

measuring spoons

bowls for ingredients

permanent markers to label cups

Directions:

1. Measure 3 T. gingerbread mix into the paper cup.

2. Add 1 T. water and stir.

3. Bake in electric skillet at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

4. Cool and eat!

Tips:

Be sure to use the waxed cups with a small ridge on the bottom. They can be purchased at most grocery stores as kitchen/bathroom cups. You do not need to add water in the electric skillet! Really...it works and the cups do not burn because of the wax. Place all cups in the skillet at the same time. One skillet usually holds at least 20 cups. Place the lid on the skillet and bake. We have the children tear the cup and remove the muffin.

Gingerbread Pancakes

1 C flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

dash cloves

2/3 C skim milk

3 T molasses

1 T vegetable oil

1 egg, lightly beaten

Stir until smooth. Serves 2 people. Serve with homemade whipped cream.

1/2 C whipping cream

2 tsp. sugar

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