There's something about gingerbread that makes it a very special part of Christmas. Of course, we can make it and eat it all year round, but it's the spices and smell of gingerbread that makes us think of Christmas and so it's the perfect time to try some of these fun activities.
Make gingerbread cookies
If you haven't made gingerbread cookies before, this is one that your kids will absolutely love. They can be involved with the mixing of ingredients, rolling out the dough, cutting cookies, and of course icing the gingerbread cookies when they come out of the oven.
There are so many recipes out there to try, some with molasses which was used more traditionally, to more modern ones with brown sugar.
I find royal icing is the best to use for frosting because it's easy to work with and sets quickly.
Make gingerbread house crafts with math and language arts
If you're needing a fun way to practice fact families or language arts in the lead-up to Christmas, then you'll love these sweet gingerbread houses.
The crafts are easy-prep, just print, and the kids can write, color, cut out, and glue.
The windows and doors open and each house comes with a gingerbread man that can go inside.
You can grab these resources here.
Make gingerbread playdough
Another play on gingerbread, is to make gingerbread playdough. This time, kids really can play with the dough! It looks and feels like playdough, but it smells just like gingerbread.
Add some cookie cutters, beads and buttons and kids will be able to create playdough gingerbread men and women.
You can find the recipe here. It's super easy and you probably have all the ingredients at home already.
Make a gingerbread house
This activity is definitely for the more adventurous parents out there, but for kids, it's the ultimate experience!
The gingerbread shapes for the house are made with a firmer dough than one used for cookies. And the royal icing needs to be firmer as well.
Set out a variety of candy and let the kids go to town. This is a great family activity too, if you set it up as an Advent activity in the evening. It's always interesting to see the different designs everyone comes up with, and if your kids are like mine, I can guarantee one of the kids will be trying to get as many sweets on their house as possible!
Find out the history of gingerbread
The history of gingerbread is surprising, in that gingerbread has actually been around since ancient Egyptian times. Although, it wasn't quite like the gingerbread we know of today and was more like a bread than a cookie.
If you're looking for a reading passage with comprehension questions and a then-and-now activity, I have this popular resource here which comes with differentiated reading passages and a crossword.
Learn to tell the time when baking gingerbread
Baking gingerbread is a great real-life activity that uses time. We mix the ingredients for a set amount of time and we bake the cookies in the oven for a set amount of time.
This fun resource comes with worksheets to practice telling the time to the hour, half hour, quarter hour and 5-minute intervals. When children have finished their worksheets, they can make a cute craft with an oven and a gingerbread cookie to put in the oven. Kids then write the time in three different ways on the oven.
Read books about the "Gingerbread Man"
The story of the "Gingerbread Man" almost has fairytale status, it's so well-known. There are so many versions of this story, but my favorite one is Jan Brett's "Gingerbread Baby".
The story is sweet and the illustrations are so stunning and detailed. It really is a delight to read.
Make a 3D paper gingerbread house
Making a gingerbread house to eat isn't always possible, especially in the classroom. So, this paper gingerbread house is ideal to go with a unit on gingerbread.
Kids will love adding their own details to the house and a collection of these would look fantastic in the classroom.
You can get the gingerbread house template here.
I hope that gives you some fun ideas for gingerbread that can go with a unit or be used at home to create memories of Christmas.
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