Gingerbread Man Hunt

I did this once with a kindergarten class (it was a hit!), so I decided to try it with my girls.  We've done it several times....and they just love it!

Supplies:

Gingerbread cookie dough

Cookie cutters

Gingerbread house

1)  Make your favorite gingerbread cookies (this is our milk and egg-free version).  Put them in the oven.  Distract the kids, so they won't be around when the cookies finish baking.

2)  Put the gingerbread house near the door to "catch" the little gingerbread men or women that might run away.  Once the cookies finish cooking and have cooled a little bit, hide one (or a pan-full) in the house!  I usually hide the pan somewhere, too.

3)  Scream with surprise that the gingerbread man isn't in the oven.  He must have escaped!!  Go on a gingerbread man hunt!


We have done several variations of this.  Every year, the girls love it!  One time I left just half of the gingerbread man and pretended our dog must have eaten part of it.  Another year, we made one of the gingerbread cut-outs into a "running" gingerbread man.  Of course, he ran away and we never found him!  Have fun!

Gingerbread House (Simple Paper Bag Craft for Preschoolers or Toddlers)

We have been using our Gingerbread Puppets to act out Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett, and I thought it would be fun to make a simple gingerbread house to add to our story.  This is nothing fancy but definitely easy for a preschooler to make!  An older child could add a lot more detail!

Supplies:

Paper bag

Paper scraps

Stickers

Markers

Newspaper

Glue (we used a glue stick, but I would use school glue to stick a little better)

Tape or stapler

1)  Cut scraps of paper for the windows and doors.  Glue them to the paper bag.

2)  Add stickers or other embellishments.

3)  Stuff with scrap paper or newspaper.

4)  Staple, tape, or glue down the top.


We can't put the gingerbread puppets in the house, but they can go behind it or under it as we tell the story!

Gingerbread Boy (or Girl) Puppet

Our town recently held a Gingerbread Festival.  We decided not to attend since my oldest is allergic to milk and eggs (she can't touch the frosting to make one), so I decided to do some of our own gingerbread activities this week!


This simple puppet is fun and comes in very handy for our reading of Gingerbread Baby!


Supplies:

• Gingerbread pattern (I had one in my files, but you can print a girl or boy here.)
• Brown paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Embellishments (buttons, stickers, sequins, wiggly eyes, scrap paper, foam, etc.)

1)  Draw or print a gingerbread boy or girl pattern on brown paper (I cut down construction paper to fit our printer).

2)  Cut out and embellish as desired.

3)  Glue a craft stick handle to the back and use the cut-out as a puppet.