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Christmastime brings a plethora of individual themes for the preschool classroom. One theme sure to excite the kids' senses is gingerbread.
Teachers can plan an entire day around the storybook of The Gingerbread Man. Here is some activities to make a day of gingerbread fun.
Storytime Pick up the classic book, but add Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campbell Ernst to the list of must read stories. The book picks up where the traditional book left off and makes sure the fox gets what he deserves. Another easy finger play that the children will enjoy saying is: 5 Little Ginger Bread sitting on a tray. The first one jumped up and ran away. Run, run as fast as you can-you can't catch me I am the Gingerbread Man! 4 Little Ginger Bread sitting on a tray. The first one jumped up and ran away. Run, run as fast as you can-you can't catch me I am the Gingerbread Man! It goes on counting down. Add some props with different decorated gingerbread men.
Sensory Table Have the kids pretend to cook gingerbread. Place flour, some gingerbread seasoning and a dash of cinnamon and let the kids go to town. Place some wooden spoons and whisks in the table and let the kids' imaginations soar.
Scavenger Hunt Write out clues for different areas of your school. At each spot you pick place a laminate sign that reads: "Run, run as fast as you can! Can't catch me I am the gingerbread Man! Then place the next clue. Get creative. You can have the principal even involved with a gingerbread man in her pocket. At the end of the hunt, have gingerbread cookies ready for the class.
Homeliving Bake Gingerbread cookies as a class. Roll out the dough and allow each kid to cut their own cookie to decorate. Then bake. Allow the kids to decorate for a fun snack. Another activity is to place a chef costume in the center. Place spatulas and mixing bowls as well. Target has a cute pretend gingerbread kit for $19.99 that includes a cookie try, spatula and plastic gingerbread cookies. Also place aprons for dress up.
Blocks Place Lincoln Logs in the block center. Print out a picture of a Ginger bread house to place near the center. Encourage the kids to build their own gingerbread house or cottage.
Music Allow the kids to march around with instruments chanting the Run, Run as Fast As You Can, Can't Catch Me, I am the Gingerbread Man. Another song you can sing is to the tune of Frere Jacques is:
Gingerbread, gingerbread, Yum, yum, yum, Yum, yum, yum. I like gingerbread, I like gingerbread, In my tum, In my tum.
Art Art can be simple or complex for this unit. One fun activity is to send a cardstock brown gingerbread home for the kids to decorate as a family. Encourage the kids to make their gingerbread their own. An example would be to make it look like a soccer player, use jewels or their favorite colors. Another project is to paint with the gingerbread people cookie cutters. Take aluminum foil and cover a piece of carboard. Then let the kids dip the cutters in brown paint and stamp the foil. It will look like cookies on a baking sheet.
These are just a few ideas. I encourage you to leave your own activities in the comment section as well.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
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