Mmmmm ... Gingerbread @ The Virtual Vine

Mmm . . . Gingerbread

Information provided for classroom use only; not for publication.

thevirtualvine.com 2003

Coordinating Units
The Gingerbread Man	Hansel and Gretal

Gingerbread Books:

* The Gingerbread Doll ~ Susan Tews

* Maisy Makes Gingerbread ~ Lucy Cousins

* The Cookie-Store Cat ~ Cynthia Rylant

Gingerbread Playdough:

3/4 C all purpose flour

1/2 C salt

1 1/2 t powdered alum or cream of tartar

1 1/2 t vegetable oil

1/2 C boiling water

brown paste food coloring

1 1/2 t pumpkin pie spice

In a medium bowl add first 3 ingredients and mix. Then add water and oil; mix. Add spice and food coloring; mix. Then knead dough until smooth. Store in airtight container.

Resources:

December Kindergarten Reproducible Activities from The Mailbox (TEC967)

*Mouse Makes a Gingerbread House booklet

Position Words Activities & Reproducibles from The Mailbox Kindergarten Dec/Jan 2003

Gingerbread Thematic Unit TCM 3101

A few years back we did a Gingerbread Unit that included all the books above and then some. So we decorated the doorway to our classroom (this was in the old building, not where we're at now) to look like you were entering a gingerbread house. We incorporated the gingerbread house from Hansel and Gretal with the story of the Gingerbread Man and had the little old woman and the little old man looking through the window to see if they could see the Gingerbread Man. Little did they know the Gingerbread Man was peeking out the other window to see if he could them! :)

The Gingerbread Men that you see on the door were Take-Home Projects. Each student took a gingerbread man shape copied onto brown construction paper home with them to decorate. Their families were encouraged to help them and to be as creative as possible. We had some very creative parents! One gingerbread man had tiny sliced red pepper eyes with a candy stuck in the middle!

A Gingerbread Cookie
Mom made a surprise the other day.
She gave it to me on a lovely tray.
A gingerbread cookie
with buttons so neat-
But best of all he was good to eat!

~ Author Unknown

Gingerbread Children

Gingerbread children
Stand in a row.
Very good children
Always you know.

They never will jump
Or kick or leap,
Or start to cry when
It's time to sleep.

They never run off
Or look around.
And no one has heard
Them make a sound.

Gingerbread children
Are fine to meet,
But, much better still,
They're good to eat!

~ Author Unknown

Gingerbread, gingerbread
A double treat.
Delightful to look at,
Delicious to eat!
~ Author Unknown

Here is a quick and easy gingerbread recipe. The mixing and the baking are done in a 5-ounce paper cup. The finished product will be a cup of gingerbread, not a gingerbread cookie.

http://guidezone.e-guiding.com/jbdixie.htm

*Betty Crocker Gingerbread Mix has about 54 Tablespoons of gingerbread mix in the package.

Bakery: Turn your kitchen or dramatic play area into a bakery! Provide students with gingerbread playdough, cookie cutters, plastic beads, plastic string, chef's hats, aprons, mixing bowls, wooden spoons, cookie sheets, rolling pins, and spatulas. After they've "mixed up the dough", rolled and cut out the cookies, have them use the beads and plastic string to decorate their cookies before popping them into the oven! Mmmm ... they'll love it!

* plastic string - that's probably not the real name for this item. I've seen it in different colors in Wal-Mart. It's made for kids to string plastic beads onto for necklaces or bracelets, so it will be in the craft section of the store.

Sequencing: Read Maisy Makes Gingerbread. After several readings, have students tell how to make gingerbread. Then have each step from the book written on a sentence strip and the students sequence them in the pocketchart. Accompanying pictures from the book can be used as well. Just copy the pictures from the book and reduce them to 4 inches or less.

* the pictures can be used to match to the sentence strips or to sequence the pictures alone.

Links:

Gingerbread Unit

http://www.prekinders.com/gingerbreadunit.htm

Gingerbread People

http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/preschool_themes/gingerbread/gingerbread_people.htm

G is for Gingerbread

http://www.kinderkorner.com/gingerbread.html

Gingerbread

http://www.kinderthemes.com/Gingerbread.html

Easy Gingerbread Cookie Mix in a Jar

http://cookierecipe.com/az/GingerbreadCookieMixJar.asp