The Gingerbread Man
An Old English Folktale by John A. Rowe From the moment he jumps out of mother mouse's oven, the Gingerbread Man is on the run. He is faster than father mouse, faster than the mouse's children, even faster than the hare. If it weren't for a certain deep river and a crafty old fox, the naughty Gingerbread Man would still be running.

The Gingerbread Man by Eric A. Kimmel
In this wonderful new take on the never-stale gingerbread man story, the cookie in question (with three peppermint buttons) gets eaten by the wily fox (which can be upsetting to younger preschoolers). Happily,the last page shows a new cookie sheet lined with gingerbread men (& women), & the clever rhyme suggests that the gingerbread man bounces back from his unfortunate plight. "For gingerbread men return, it's said, when someone bakes some gingerbread."

The Gingerbread Man
(This is a good transition game)
Tell your own version of "The Gingerbread Man." A two year old's attention span is very short, so the story should be, too.

*****

Gingerbread Theme- Submitted by Cheryl

Arts and Crafts

Fragrant Holiday Ornaments

1 c plus 2 T. flour, 3/4 c. cinnamon (I add a teaspoon of ground clove too), 1 c salt, 1 c water

Mix this well. At first you may wonder if you did it right... but work it all together. Roll about 1/2" thick and cut with gingerbread man/woman cookie cutter. Place on parchment paper if you have it. Bake at 350 for approx. 20-25 minutes, depending upon size of cookies. ~Place a hole in cookie before baking for hanging. These smell SO great. If they start to lose their fragrance just use an emery board on the back of them.

Have children rub cinnamon sticks on sandpaper cut into gingerbread man shapes--smells just like gingerbread! Expand this to the art area. Have glue and rick-rack, buttons or candy red hots & colored paper scraps for gluing fancy features on the gingerbread man.

Gingerbread Playdough

Place brownish-cinnamon scented playdough in the sensory table with gingerbread cookie cutters of various sizes...don't forget the cookie sheets & rolling pins.

place brownish-cinnamon scented playdough in the sensory table with gingerbread cookie cutters of various sizes...don't forget the cookie sheets & rolling pins

From Mailbox Magazine this sensory activity...have children rub cinnamon sticks on sandpaper cut into gingerbread man shapes....smells just like gingerbread! (To expand this to the art area, have available glue and lots of rick-rack, buttons or candy red hots and colored paper scraps for gluing fancy features on the gingerbread man.)

A fun sensory project (smell and touch) for preschoolers. Cut out a gingerbread boy or girl from sandpaper. Have children rub a cinnamon stick all over the shape (smells great) and then, if they wish, they can decorate their person using glitter crayons. A hole punched on the top can be used for stringing a necklace, or for hanging. My kids really enjoyed this activity today. Several made both boy and girl gingerbread people, and many made more than one.

Gingerbread People Sand Paper Ornaments

Cut gingerbread people out of sand paper. Use a cookie cutter. To make these into ornaments for the tree just cut two small VERTICAL slices in the body about 2-3 " apart and weave a candy cane through them. Add some white frosting (white paint) around the edges and you are done. Scrape the paper with a cinnamon stick to add scent.

Gingerbread and Cookie Sheets

The kids decorate a gingerbread man/woman and hang it on a board that is covered with aluminum foil to look like a cookie sheet.

Gingerbread Boy "Jumping Jack Puppet"

What is a "Jumping Jack" Puppet? It is a simple hand puppet that can be made to dance by pulling a central string. Pioneer children made Jumping Jacks from scraps of wood, and these puppets were one of the most popular toys in the 1800s.

You can make a simple Gingerbread Boy "Jumping Jack." But instead of using wood, you will use poster board. And you will use a stick to make your puppet jump instead of string. It is a lot easier to make (and operate) especially for younger children. Here's how:

Cut arms, legs and a body from poster board. Use 2 1/2" brass paper fasteners to attach the arms and legs to the body (before you do this - you must punch holes in the arms, legs, and the body using a single hole punch.) Glue a stick to the back of your puppet. Decorate your Gingerbread Boy using glitter, buttons, markers, fabric, yarn. Now your puppet is ready for action. Simply move the stick up and down, and watch your Gingerbread Boy dance around.

Cardboard Gingerbread Men Ornaments

Squirtable tubes of puffy fabric paint and a blow-dryer were the cardboard gingerbread star attractions of this quick-and-easy craft. We used the paint like icing to decorate our cardboard cookies and found that the containers kept the process surprisingly mess-free, even in the hands of a four or five year old.

Corrugated cardboard, Cookie cutters, X-Acto knife, Puffy fabric paint, Blow-dryer

Trace around cookie cutters on cardboard, and cut out the "cookies" with an X-Acto knife (a parent's job). Decorate with puffy fabric paint. Let paint dry a few hours, if possible, then blow-dry and watch it puff. (Have guests paint at the start of the party, so they can blow-dry before they leave.)

TIP: When you cut out the "cookie," you don't have to cut all the way through the cardboard at once—go over the cutting line a couple of times.

Gingerbread Man

For a gingerbread ornament, cut two 5-inch squares from a brown paper bag and place one on top of the other. Use scissors to cut out a gingerbread man (cut through both layers to create the figure's front and back). Glue cotton batting to one piece. Then, glue the front to the back and trim along the edge with pinking shears. Glue on button eyes and tie on a ribbon bow tie. Poke a hole in the top of the head and tie on a ribbon hanger.

Gingerbread Buddies

Cut out large gingerbread men out of paper bags and punched holes in them and let the children sew around them and stuff with fiberfill. Decorate with puffy paint & real buttons.

Make a list of foods from A to Z . Have each child color a pattern of the Gingerbread man. On his tummy it said The Gingerbread Man ran with ________. Then glue on starlight mint eyes drew a smile and outlined him in glitter. In one of his hands we glued the food we wrote about, so for Z the child drew and cut out a zucchini for his hand. Rhyme: Running through the alphabet, eating all he can. You can't catch him, he's the gingerbread man.

Mailbox has a cute sheet with a drawn gingerbread man and you figure out the perimeter and area using things like mini marshmallows and raisins. It would be very easy to make your own!

Make story maps. Choose a new place for the story to be set (talk about setting) then they draw it out on large paper, the gingerbread man has to pass at least 3 things. For example He went to the zoo, he passed the lions, tiger, bears, etc. Then attach a gingerbread man shape to a long string and tie it to the sheet. Then they can move the gingerbread man and share their map.

*****

Circle Time

Gingerbread Man Story Stretchers

Read a couple versions of the story and compare.

Here are a couple: "Gingerbread Boy" by Paul Galdone
"What's in the Fox's Sack?" by Paul Galdone

The Gingerbread Man: An Old English Folktale by John A. Rowe

From the moment he jumps out of mother mouse's oven, the Gingerbread Man is on the run. He is faster than father mouse, faster than the mouse's children, even faster than the hare. If it weren't for a certain deep river and a crafty old fox, the naughty Gingerbread Man would still be running.

The Gingerbread Man by Eric A. Kimmel

In this wonderful new take on the never-stale gingerbread man story, the cookie in question (with three peppermint buttons) gets eaten by the wily fox (which can be upsetting to younger preschoolers). Happily,the last page shows a new cookie sheet lined with gingerbread men (& women), & the clever rhyme suggests that the gingerbread man bounces back from his unfortunate plight. "For gingerbread men return, it's said, when someone bakes some gingerbread."

The Gingerbread Man

(This is a good transition game) Tell your own version of "The Gingerbread Man." A two year old's attention span is very short, so the story should be, too.

Here is an idea:

Once upon a time there was a little ginger-bread man who loved to run. After breakfast he would say, "Run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man."

Each time you say the words "run, run," take your child's hand and run in a circle.

Continue the story, adding about two sentences at a time.
For example:
The gingerbread man went to see his grandma, and when he got there he said, "Run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man."

Soon your two year old will understand that whenever he hears "run, run," it's time for him to run.

As a special treat, finish this game with a real gingerbread man.

Books

What's In The Fox's Sack? by Paul Galdone
Whiff, Sniff, Nibble, Chew by Charlotte
The Gingerbread Man by John A.Rowe
The Gingerbread Doll by Susan Clarion
The Gingerbread Boy by Paul Galdone
The Gingerbread Man by Pam Adams
The Gingerbread Man by Sally Belly
The Gingerbread Man by Scott Cook
The Gingerbread Man by Davis Cutts

Give each child a gingerbread boy cookie before I reading the story to them. Tell them to save it because they will need to help me when reading the story. When the couple in the story bakes the boy, the children's hands become cookie sheets and they place the cookie on their hands. They pretend to put it into the oven. When the boy jumps out, they use their cookie as a puppet. They move it across the air to make hi "run, run, run, etc." They then become the fox. The boy climbs onto the fox's shoulder(children place the cookie on their shoulder,) and the story and movements continue until the cookie is on the tips of the children's noses. Then at the end, they eat the cookie of course! It's interesting to see how some children can resist eating the cookie until the end while others use a "licking strategy" throughout. Read different versions of the story and have the children compare and contrast them.

Here is something to go with your Gingerbread Boy story. Every time you say "little old lady", the children say "Oh, Dear" (in a very soft high voice) and when you say "little old man", they say (in a very DEEP loud voice) "I'm hungry". When you get to each animal, they make the sound of that animal...for the fox, the group says "swish, swish" (it's the sound the tail makes). If the children are not holding cookies, every time the word "run" is said, the group hits their hands on their legs to sound like foot steps!

Read the gingerbread story & have a "note" mysteriously appeared at the end of the story. It saya that the gingerbread was here and is hiding somewhere. (Give different clues & make them rhyme). At the end, there's a gallon of milk and a plate of gingerbread cookies. Read the story of the Gingerbread Man. Emphasize the part of Run, run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!

After reading the story, as a group project make a large gingerbread man (I follow the cake mix directions on the package and add a little extra flour to make it thicker and then we scoop out batter and put it on a cookie sheet molding it as best as we can to make it look like a gingerbread man).

When the gingerbread man is done cooking, alllow the children to frost it and decorate it with whatever candy items you want. Keep talking about the story during the process and telll the children you hope their Gingerbread Man doesn't run away.

While the children are outside (or away from the room) take the gingerbread man and hide him somewhere. Leave footprints by the door! The kids must now go room to room looking for the gingerbread man and find him so they can eat him!

*Variation (works well for younger children) let the children decorate pre- made or store bought gingerbread men (Pepperidge Farms makes one). Then, have the entire tray disappear.

After reading the story: the kids help make a large cookie-sheet sized Gingerbread Man with dough I made at home the night before, and decorate it with frosting and red- hots. Sometimes I make the shape and the kids just do the decorating. Bake it in the kitchen. When we go to get him, we find that the Gingerbread Man is missing, and a note is in his place: "Dear Boys and Girls, I have run away! Look for me in the ____________." We continue looking and in each place we find a note from the Gingerbread Man telling where to look next. After we find that Gingerbread man we eat him up quickly before he runs away again!

This is a story for the flannelboard. Before reading the story make a gingerbread man out of brown, blue, green, orange, black, white, purple, pink, yellow, and red felt. Use construction paper and glue to sticks for stick puppets.(On the felt put wiggle eyes and use fabric paint to decorate).

George, The Gingerbread Man

Once upon a time, there was a little gingerbread man named George. He loved to run and play outside. He loved to cry this chant to his friends: Run! Run, as fast as you can! What color am I? (put up brown man) I'm the Gingerbread Man! Of course, all of George's friends were very smart. They all knew that a gingerbread man was...(Pause for children to say,"Brown!")

One day George decided to see if he could fool his smart friends. He decided to change himself to a different color. So he covered himself with blueberry icing. He ran outside and cried his chant to his friends: Run! Run, as fast as you can! What color am I? (put up blue man) I'm the Gingerbread Man! Of course, all of George's friends were very smart. They all knew that blueberry icing was... (Pause for children to say,"Blue!")

But George did not give up. He was sure he could fool his smart friends. So he changed himself to a different color. He covered himself with lime icing. He ran outside to play and cried his chant to his friends: Run! Run, as fast as you can! What color am I? (Put up green man) I'm the Gingerbread man! Of course, all of George's friends were very smart. They all knew that lime icing was...(Pause for children to say, "Green!")

Repeat the story from above seven more times, each time substituting one of the following icing flavors and the corresponding Gingerbread Man color in place of the original words: icing flavor: Gingerbread Man color: pumpkin orange licorice black vanilla white grape purple strawberry pink lemon yellow cherry red George just could not fool his smart friends! But he was very happy anyway. All of his friends knew the colors, just as you do. (For a yummy follow-up activity, have each child ice a gingerbread-man cookie with his favorite color.

*****

Dramatic Play

Act out the story with the children...to help them "feel" the part, give each child a picture of the character which has a yarn necklace attached that they can wear around their necks.

Play bakery at the dramatic play center

*****

Songs and Fingerplays

5 Little Gingerbread Men

5 Little gingerbread men on the tray,
(place 5 fingers of one hand onto the open palm of the other hand--the tray.)
One jumped up and ran away.
("run" one finger away)
Catch me, Oh catch me, Oh catch me if you can!
I'm pretty fast, I am the gingerbread man!

4 Little gingerbread men on the tray,
(4 fingers on the tray....etc.)
One jumped up and ran away.
Catch me, Oh catch me, Oh catch me if you can!
I'm pretty fast, I am the gingerbread man!

Continue to zero...

No little gingerbread men on the tray
I will have to bake more on another day!

The Gingerbread House

Roll the dough, cut it too.
I'll make a gingerbread house for you.
In the oven, let it bake,
It takes so long, for heaven's sake!

It smells so good, pass the cream!
No! Don't eat the house of my dream.
Pipe the icing, let it dry.
The house is standing - I don't know why!

Shingle the roof, shutters on sides.
The house takes shape, I glow with pride,
Making gardens, gates and trees.
That's my fence - don't eat it, please!

Moving at a harried pace,
Candies flying everyplace
Keep on going - just can't rest,
Get it done, here come the guests.

"Oh it's beautiful!" - so they say
I turn and look the other way...
CHOMP!

The Gingerbread Man
Tune: "The Muffin Man"

Oh, do you know the Gingerbread Man,
Gingerbread Man, Gingerbread Man?
Oh, do you know the Gingerbread Man,
Who ran and ran and ran?

He said, "Catch me if you can,
If you can, if you can."
He said, "Catch me if you can,"
Then ran and ran and ran.

I can run like the Gingerbread Man.
Gingerbread Man, Gingerbread Man.
I can run like the Gingerbread Man,
Now catch me if you can.

Gingerbread Man Finger Play

Stir a bowl of gingerbread
(stir as in a bowl)
Smooth and spicy brown
Roll it with a rolling pin
(roll as if with a rolling pin)
Up and up and down
With a cookie cutter
(pretend to cut cookie)
Make some little men.
Put them in the oven
(put pan in the oven)
Until half past ten.

Gingerbread Boy and Gingerbread Girl on a Tree

I'm a little gingerbread boy.
(Boys bow.)
I'm a little gingerbread girl.
(Girls bow.)
I can jump,
(All jump.)
And I can twirl.
(All turn around.)

I have raisins
(Point to eyes.)
For my eyes,
And bright red buttons
(Point to buttons down chest.)
Just this size.

I have a mouth,
It looks like this.
(Point to smiling mouth.)
I can even
Blow a kiss.
(Blow a kiss.)

I'm warm and tasty,
But don't eat me.
(Shake head.)
Hang me on
Your Christmas tree!
(Put hands over head.)

Gingerbread Boy Song
Eat, Eat, Your Gingerbread Boy
(To the tune of "Row, Row, Row, Your Boat)

Eat, eat, your Gingerbread Boy,
Before he runs away.
Faster, faster, faster please,
Don't let him get away!

Catch, catch the Gingerbread Boy,
Catch him, yes, today.
Faster, faster, faster still,
For he has run away.

Say bye-bye to the
Gingerbread Boy.
Say good-bye today.
Say so long for he is gone.
The fox ate him today.

5 Little Gingerbread

5 Little gingerbread men on the tray,
(place 5 fingers of one hand onto the open palm of the other hand--the tray.)
One jumped up and ran away.
("run" one finger away)
Catch me, Oh catch me, Oh catch me if you can!
I'm pretty fast, I am the gingerbread man!

4 Little gingerbread men on the tray,
(4 fingers on the tray....etc.)
On jumped up and ran away.
Catch me, Oh catch me, Oh catch me if you can!
I'm pretty fast, I am the gingerbread man!

Continue to zero...
No little gingerbread men on the tray
I will have to bake more on another day!

Gingerbread Man Fingerplay

Stir a bowl of gingerbread
(stir as in a bowl)
Smooth and spicy brown
Roll it with a rolling pin
(roll as if with a rolling pin)
Up and up and down
With a cookie cutter
(pretend to cut cookie)
Make some little men.
Put them in the oven
(put pan in the oven)
Until half past ten.

Gingerbread Children by Ilo Orleans

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!

*****

Center Games

Make a one-to-one correspondence matching game using gingerbread man shaped erasers. Trace the gingerbread men shapes on to a gray piece of construction paper with the edges trimmed to look like a cookie sheet. Children place the gingerbread man shaped erasers on each outlined shape. To make the game a bit more challenging, add a pair of dice for children to roll, the number they roll is the number of gingerbread men they must place on that turn.

Gingerbread Pairs

Cut gingerbread men shapes and decorate them into matching pairs. Mix them up and let the children discover the pairs.

*****

MISC

Home project for The Gingerbread Man

On a sheet of paper draw a gingerbread man (approx. 8x6") This is a fun activity for children and a great way to get the entire family involved. Using the pattern, trace a gingerbread man or woman on a piece of large cardboard - one for each student. Send the cardboard gingerbread person home with the children, along with a note explaining the project. (note to follow)

When the gingerbread creations come back to school, take pictures of each one individually. Put the pictures on pieces or oaktag to form a booklet. Give each child a chance to talk about his/her creation. Then send duplicate pictures and the original creation back home.The children love having their parents help with the project, and the results are wonderful and varied. It's also a great time to discuss recycling and making "something out of nothing."

Note to be sent to parents:

Dear Parents, We are sending home a gingerbread man/woman shape for the entire family to decorate. Use your imaginations and anything else that you have sitting around the house. Please return your creation by_________________. Thank you,_________
Take Care
(Name)

*****

Cooking and Food

Gingerbread Cookies

Make gingerbread cookie dough from your favorite recipe ahead of time & have the children roll out the dough & cut out the cookies. Add raisins for eyes & buttons & a red cinnamon candy for the mouth. These are fun to make, yummy & make the house smell wonderful!

Have ginger snaps for snack

Make gingerbread cookies from scratch. Put all the cooking tools in a bag and before you pull them out, describe them and see if they can guess the tool's name.

Ginger Bread "Yummy and Warm"

2 eggs, 1 tsp. allspice, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 3 tsp. ginger, 3/4 cup molasses, 3 tsp. cinnamon, 3/4 cup melted crisco, 1/2 tsp cloves, 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp nutmeg, 2 tsp. baking soda, 2 tsp. pummpkin pie spice, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1 cup boiling water

Add beaten eggs to sugar, syrup and melted crisco. Sift dry ingredients and add to egg mixture. Lastly, add boiling water and mix well. Pour into greased and floured bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

*****

Games, Math, and Science

Gingerbread Hide N Seek

After reading the story of the Gingerbread Man, have the class make a giant gingerbread man or decorate individual ones. While the children are out of the room, hide the gingerbread man in another part of the school / center. Once the children have arrived back in the room, and once the children realize that the gingerbread man is gone, the entire class as a group must search for him. Go room to room encouraging the children to ask for the gingerbread man. Encourage the children to use the phrase (as the gingerbread man did) run run run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man! Once you find him, eat him!

Gingerbread Man Game

Cut a big gm shape out of brown posterboard, cut little assorted shapes from different colors of construction paper, glue these around edge of game, then decorate game with construction paper eyes, nose, smile, buttons, etc. Laminate the game. Color ends of four clothespins each with a different color with marker. Make a die from a little wood cube with only numbers 1, 2, and 3.

Directions for the game- Using the die, roll and move clothespin along outside of gm. The space the player lands on must be identified by shape and color. If they cannot be identified, player can not move to that space, but must stay where he's at. First player to the end wins.

Gingerbread Pairs

Cut gingerbread men shapes and decorate them into matching pairs. Mix them up and let the children discover the pairs.

Math

Use the "run away" activity. Have each of the children eat a gingerbread. Then give each a paper gingerbread and have them "tear off" the part they ate first. Then make a graph to compare the information.

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