Gingerbread Baby Goes Around the World!

I love this idea!  Susan, from River Bliss, has the Gingerbread Baby go around the world.  Susan explains, "Throughout the month of December, we receive a letter, postcard, or email nearly every day from the gingerbread baby telling us about various multicultural celebrations taking place at this time of year. He is directionally impaired to say the least and even ends up in Antarctica at one point! He is a curious cookie who just loves a party!"

For more on this unit, hop on over to Susan's blog:  http://riverblissed.blogspot.com/2012/11/holidays-around-world_30.html


Click this link for Susan's super Pinterest board: http://pinterest.com/susantara/holidays-around-the-world/

Click this link for Sally's Gingerbread Man Pinterest Board: http://pinterest.com/sallyhaughey/gingerbread-man-unit-ideas/

Thank you Susan!  

Bread Dough Gingerbread

Sometimes I will adapt the traditional bread dough ornament recipe by adding brown food dye (Wilton brand makes it nice and dark.)  This gives the dough a "gingerbread look" for making gingerbread men and more.

I feel it is important to bring a direct experience from the fairy tales and stories we read.  Making cookies is an obvious choice for the story, "The Gingerbread Man."  These story based experiences provide a meaningful context for the story, an understanding of the story elements, and a way to extend to elements of the story in new ways.  I have noticed a deepen and more engaged relationship to our stories the more I bring story based experiences. 

A painted gingerbread man!  So cute!

  I made two batches for 23 children.  

Bread Dough Recipe

1 cup of flour
1/4 cup of salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup of hot tap water with brown food dye added

Mix all the ingredients together in bowl.  Knead until smooth.  Add more flour if dough sticks to your fingers.  It should be smooth not too sticky.  This recipe will be enough for 3 to 5 children depending on how many things you would like them to make!

Bake for one hour in a 300 degree oven.  Let cool.

TIP:  Sometimes the salt in the dough can cause a bit of a smoky white look to the dough after it bakes.  I have not figured out why it happens sometimes and sometimes not -- but if it does - I just brush a quick coat of brown tempera paint over the tops.  

Special Paint Frosting Recipe
Acrylic paint (cheap variety in squeeze bottles)
Glue

Mix one part paint to one part glue.  Stir.  Use cheap paintbrushes like those found in watercolor boxes.

Special Sprinkles
Small seed beads
Different kinds of glitter
 

I give each child a handful of dough to form as they wish.  After the dough is baked, then it is time to paint and decorate the "cookies."

After the bread dough cookies are painted and decorated, spray coat them in a sealant.  They are now ready for the housekeeping center and lots of fun play!  

Open a cookie store!  A bakery!  A Keebler Elf Shop!

Gingerbread Man Word Family Slider

Kindergartners love word family sliders! It is such fun! This one is very easy to make.

What you need:

• Print out the gingerbread man below.  I print it on brown construction paper.  I cut the construction paper down to 8 1/2 x 11 and feed it into the copier through the side feeder.  You will have to check to see if your copier does this.  
• Print copies of the letters below on basic white copy paper.  Cut into strips.  I cut mine just a tad wider than the letters.
    (See example in photo above.)

What to do:

• Have the children decorate the gingerbread man with crayons and markers.
• Cut out the gingerbread man.
• TEACHERS - cut slits for sliders.  You can pre-cut the sliders or let the children cut them.  I prefer to cut them for them.  Cut the lines so that the strip will display the letters next to "an."   (Tip - I use an x-acto knife to quickly cut the slits.)

Feeding the slider into the paper. You can see the slits were pre-cut for this kindergartner and he could not wait to see the slider in action!! 

This child cut the slits with scissors.  Older students can manage this just fine.  I prefer to do this for the kindergartners for proper place of the slider.

Gingerbread Man Form

Gingerbread Man Slider for an word family

The Bakery is Open!

During the Gingerbread Man unit, we open a bakery where the children buy and sell bake goods they have made.  I use an old recipe from my childhood that my mother used to make bread dough ornaments.  It is really like a clay.  It is great fun and the children feel such ownership of the center!

Here's how.

Bread Dough Recipe

1 cup of flour
1/4 cup of salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup of hot tap water

Mix all the ingredients together in bowl.  Knead until smooth.  Add more flour if dough sticks to your fingers.  It should be smooth not too sticky.  This recipe will be enough for 3 to 5 children depending on how many things you would like them to make!

Bake for one hour in a 300 degree oven.  Let cool.


Special Paint Frosting Recipe
Acrylic paint (cheap variety in squeeze bottles)
Glue

Mix one part paint to one part glue.  Stir.  Use cheap paintbrushes like those found in watercolor boxes.

Special Sprinkles
Small seed beads
Different kinds of glitter

 

Some stores carry special edition glitters and sprinkles for art during the holidays.  Shhh - don't tell - they sell for 75% off after the holidays - and I stock up!

Paint frosting on baked bread dough.

Sprinkle goodies with glitters and such.  To preserve your baked goods for years of play - spray with clear acrylic sealer.   My family has bread dough ornaments that have lasted decades!  This recipe is great for making your own vegetables, fruit, pie . . . . for housekeeping play.  It has so much more warmth than plastic or wooden pretend food items - especially if the children help make them.

Gingerbread Playdough

Gingerbread Play-Dough

This is my favorite recipe for gingerbread play-dough.  It smells wonderful and provides the perfect play during our Gingerbread Boy unit.

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 Tb. cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 tsp. vegetable oil
Spices--Cinnamon, Allspice, Ginger, Nutmeg, Cloves
Use Green and Red food coloring to make the dough brown (I like Wilton's Brown Food Dye)

Directions:
1.  Mix the dry ingredients adding the spices until you get a good level of scent.
2.  Mix water and oil together and add them to the dry ingredients. Stir.
3.  In a pan, cook the mixture for three to five minutes on lowheat, stirring constantly.
4.  The dough will start to pull away from the sides of the pot and stick together in a large ball.  I like to push the dough out and flat and let it cook.  It will look like it is too sticky.  Let it cook a bit.  
5.  Take the dough out of the pan and knead the dough until it becomes smooth. (I like to mix it in my     Kitchen Aid with the bread hook.  I drop it in while it is still warm.  It makes it perfect!!!)
6.  Allow the dough to cool before using.  Store in an airtight container.

Easy Gingerbread Dollhouse People

One of the classic tales for the holidays is the Gingerbread Boy.  I discovered that many Christmas Gingerbread people ornaments made perfect dollhouse figures.   There are always many different styles in the cloth ornaments.  They are soft and provide hours of enjoyment in dollhouse play.  I have also found doll-sized gingerbread men (we call them "babies") that are great fun to put in housekeeping.