GingerBread Activities
1. After reading the story of the Gingerbread Man, have the class make a giant
gingerbread man or decorate individual ones. While the children are out of the room, hide the gingerbread man in another part of the school/center. Once the children have arrived back in the room, and once the children realize that the gingerbread man is gone, the entire class as a group must search for him. Go room to room encouraging thechildren to ask for the gingerbread man. Encourage the children to use the phrase (as the gingerbread man did) run run run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man! Once you find him, eat him!
2. Read the gingerbread story & have a "note" mysteriously appeared at the end of the story. It says that the gingerbread was here and is hiding somewhere. (Give different clues & make them rhyme). At the end, there's a gallon of milk and a plate of gingerbread cookies.
3. Read the story of the Gingerbread Man. Emphasize the part of Run, run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man! After reading the story, as a group project make a large gingerbread man (I follow the cake mix directions on the package and add a little extra flour to make it thicker and then we scoop out batter and put it on a cookie sheet molding it as best as we can to make it look like a gingerbread man). When the gingerbread man is done cooking, alllow the children to frost it and decorate it with whatever candy items you want. Keep talking about the story during the process and telll the children you hope their Gingerbread Man doesn't run away. While the children are outside (or away from the room) take the gingerbread man and hide him somewhere. Leave footprints by the door! The kids must now go room to room looking for the gingerbread man and find him so they can eat him!
*Variation (works well for younger children) let the children decorate pre-made or store bought gingerbread men (Pepperidge Farms makes one). Then, have the entire tray disappear.
After reading the story: the kids help make a large cookie-sheet sized Gingerbread Man with dough I made at home the night before, and decorate it with frosting and red-hots. Sometimes I make the shape and the kids just do the decorating. Bake it in the kitchen. When we go to get him, we find that the Gingerbread Man is missing, and a note is in his place: "Dear Boys and Girls, I have run away! Look for me in the ____________." We continue looking and in each place we find a note from the Gingerbread Man telling where to look next After we find that Gingerbread man we eat him up quickly before he runs away again!
~Submitted by Becce in Missouri
Dramatic Play
Act out the story with the children...to help them "feel" the part, give each child a picture of the character which has a yarn necklace attached that they can wear around their necks.
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
Place brownish-cinnamon scented playdough in the sensory table with gingerbread cookie cutters of various sizes...don't forget the cookie sheets & rolling pins.
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
Center Games
Make a one-to-one correspondence matching game using gingerbread man shaped erasers. Trace the gingerbread men shapes on to a gray piece of construction paper with the edges trimmed to look like a cookie sheet. Children place the gingerbread man shaped erasers on each outlined shape. To make the game a bit more challenging, add a pair of dice for children to roll...the number
they roll is the number of gingerbread men they must place on that turn.
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
Cut gingerbread men shapes and decorate them into matching pairs. Mix them up and let the children discover the pairs.
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
Dramatic Play - play bakery at the dramatic play center....
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
