I have to admit. I did not know how many different version of The Gingerbread Man there were until I became a teacher! The gingerbread man is a great one to incorporate into your teaching during the month of December! I thought it would fun to put together a post with all things gingerbread man!
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First of all, here are a few of my favorite versions of the story.
Writing activities that encourage creativity are my favorite. I love when kids can be silly and creative when they practice writing instead of focusing on being "right." The story line in most of the the stories is the same: the gingerbread character is trying to get away and not be eaten! Students will love helping the gingerbread man get away by suggesting something else for the characters to eat instead. A few different writing versions are included making this activity appropriate for K-2. The craft is super simple and easy to prep!
The gingerbread man is also great for prepositions and positional word vocabulary! Here is a favorite activity that incorporates technology:
1. Print these FREE gingerbread preposition cards.
2. Students will color their gingerbread person and take a picture of it somewhere in the classroom on their device.
3. Students will add a sentence using a prepositional phrase to tell where the gingerbread boy or girl is.
4. Print the pictures and create a class book!
A coworker shared this easy gingerbread ornament recipe with me a few years ago and it's a keeper! They smell amazing and the smell lasts for years! I have one from at least 7 years ago and it still smells so yummy!
1. Mix equal part of cinnamon and applesauce. Maybe start with a cup or so of each.
2. Squeeze in some Elmer's glue until you get a dough consistency.
3. Roll out the dough and use cookie cutters to make ornament shapes. You'll need this one of course! Don't forget to shape a hole for the ornament holder.
4. These take A LONG time to dry! I usually let them air dry over a weekend and flip them over to help dry both sides. I bet they could go in the oven on low too!
5. They can be decorated with puffy paints, but I think they look nice just simple! Add some holiday string and hang on a tree!
Good luck catching that gingerbread man this season! Prefer reindeer?