1-2-3 Come Do Some Gingerbread Activities With Me

Looking for some gingerbread-themed activities that practice a variety of standards?  You've come to the right place. Hopefully you'll find something useful in today's assortment.

No matter what grade I taught, my students LOVED making glyphs.
They are a quick, easy and fun way to practice listening and following directions.

They also provide a "hard copy" to use as proof that a child does or doesn't.
Completed projects make an adorable bulletin board, as each one will be different.

To practice data collection & analysis, as well as process of elimination, have students try and figure out who made some of the gingerbread glyphs. 

Click on the link to zip on over to Diane's Dollar Deals in my TpT shop to have a look:Gingerbread Glyph.

Another Dollar Deal is this 6-piece gingerbread man puzzle.  It's a quick, easy and fun way for your kiddos to practice numbers 1-6.

Print off the numbered, "color me" gingerbread pattern, along with the base.  Students color, cut him apart, then choose a partner to play the puzzle game.

Children take turns rolling a dice. Whatever number they roll, they glue that piece of their gingerbread man to their worksheet.

You can also skip the gluing part, so that students can continue to play the game at home, or make this a center activity that you can use every year and run off on brown construction paper, laminate & trim.

Are you studying digital and analog time to the hour and half hour? Then "It's Time For Gingerbread" might interest you.

Use the clock cards as flashcards, puzzles & games. 
There are also 3 options for an analog gingerbread clock to use as a spinner game, or for whole-group assessing.

If you're going to use the gingerbread man as a clock, have children attach a large and small paperclip with a brass brad.

Simply call out a time. Children manipulate the paperclips to show that time.
I've also included an assessment worksheet, a "Kaboom!" game, plus 2 cover options to make an Itty Bitty "My Telling Time" booklet. 

Finally, since 2D shapes is also a standard for us, I designed a gingerbread house craftivity, as well as a gingerbread cookie game and put them in a "Shaping Up With Gingerbread" packet. 

For that finishing touch, we sprinkled colorful confetti on the rooftop. 

Today's featured FREEBIE also has a gingerbread theme.  It's a set of number puzzles.  I hope you find them useful. 

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by. My grandchildren are due any minute, so it will be a day filled with crafts and giggles.

Wishing you lots of love-filled moments. 

"Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Gingerbread Activities With Me

DJ Inkers is one of my favorite clip artists.  Her gingerbread house is so cute, that I went on a designing frenzy, creating all sorts of gingerbread-themed activities. 

I like to have a lot of matching items in my classroom and centers, so if we think alike, perhaps you too will enoy adding some of these items to your gingerbread activities this month. 

First up is a gingerbread house "flip open" writing prompt card. When you flip the house open, it reveals a completed writing prompt, where students write what it’s like to be a gingerbread cookie, or what it’s like to live in a gingerbread house.

Another option is to send the worksheet note home, for the entire family to take part in. 

They glue a family photo to the square and everyone signs their name. The caption reads: “Merry Christmas from our house to yours.”

For that finishing touch, have them write the number portion of their address on the gingerbread house. Completed projects make an adorable winter bulletin board.  

Older students can draw their family, or glue a photo to the front, then do the writing prompt on the back. 

Next up is a gingerbread place value game packet, which is a quick, easy and fun way to practice, as well as whole-group assess.

Print off a class set of the colorful place value mats, laminate & trim.
Call out a number and have children break it down using a dry erase marker. 

I've included manipulatives, in 3 different sizes, so that you can "show" the number in a more visual way too. 

Another fun way to practice and whole group assess, is with the gingerbread house "sliders".

Call out a number; students pull on the "sliders" 'til the appropriate numbers appear in the windows.

You can see at a glance who is having difficulty.

Staying with math, students can also practice fact families with the Gingerbread House Fact Family Fun packet, which includes games, centers and worksheets.

Finally, to cover reading, I designed the Gingerbread House Emergent Reader packet,Gingerbread House Emergent Reader packet, which practices spatial directions, a Common Core Standard.

Students read the simple sentences, add end punctuation, trace and write the spatial direction words (above, under, beside, left, right, between) and then color, cut and glue the gingerbread cookie to the appropriate place.

The cookies are in 2D shapes.
When everyone is done, read as a whole group to cover concepts of print.

I've also included a "Where's the Gingerbread Man?" game to further reinforce spatial directions. 

The featured FREEBIE today, also features a gingerbread house. 

It's an upper and lowercase letter slider craft, which is a quick, easy and fun way to whole-group assess. 

For that finishing touch, we sprinkled colorful confetti on the rooftop, which looked like little bits of candy. I bought a bag at a party store for just $1.50. 

To review and practice patterning, I had my kiddos trace the letters on the "slider strips" in an ABAB (red & green) color pattern.

Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by. It's time for me to switch gears and do some painting. 

I'm making 3 animal pictures for a zoo-themed nursery, for grandchild #7.  Wishing you a marvelous day, filled with memorable moments.

 "And I had but one penny in the world. Thou should’st have it to buy gingerbread." –-William Shakespeare, Love’s Labours Lost

1-2-3 Come Do Some Gingerbread Activities With Me

“Gingerheads” are a quick, easy and fun craftivity with a variety of game options, that will help reinforce 2D shapes. 

If you look closely at the photographs, you will see that the eyes and noses of the gingerbread "cookies", match the 2D head shape.

Make a set for an independent math center, so students can practice 2D shapes; cut another set in half, and use as puzzles--this is an interesting way to review symmetry too.

The bows, with the shape word in the center, are matched to the appropriate gingerhead.
Place a bow on the top to make a girl, use them as a bow tie for a boy.

Play 4-Corner FREEZE! Which helps practice a variety of life skills, like listening and following directions, as well as the 2D shape vocabulary, plus recognition, and counting backwards from 10 to 0.

My kiddos absolutely LOVE this game.
Easy-peasy for me, and only takes a few minutes, so it’s perfect for the end of the day.

You can also use the gingerheads as big flashcards. Hold one up. Children call out what shape it is, along with its attributes, like number of vertices.

Play “Who’s Missing?” Display the smaller set on a wall. After children leave, take one away. In the morning, children guess which one is missing.

Besides the 5 games, I’ve also included a 2-on-a-one-page template, so children can pick their favorite and create their own gingerhead. There’s a graphing extension as well, plus directions for the games.

I used white puffy paint for the trim.
It looks so real, and adds that finishing touch.

Children name their gingerhead, write what shape it is, along with its attributes on the back. 

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to take a look: Gingerheads, A Gingerbread 2D Shape Craft.

The featured FREEBIE today, is a sweet set of gingerbread-themed alphabet cards.  I hope you find them useful. 

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.  Hopefully we can get our tree up, which is a big enough job for one day. 

We'll save decorating for the next.  Wishing you a delightful day.

1-2-3 Come Do Some Gingerbread Puzzle Craftivities With Me

First up, is a sweet gingerbread puzzle game.  It's a quick, easy and fun way for your kiddos to practice numbers 1-6.
Print off the numbered, "color me" gingerbread pattern, along with the base.

Students color their gingerbread man, cut him apart, then choose a partner to play the puzzle game.

Children take turns rolling a dice. Whatever number they roll, they glue that piece of their gingerbread man to their worksheet.

If they've already rolled that number, it becomes their partner's turn.
The first one to assemble their gingerbread man is the winner.

You can also skip the gluing part, so that students can continue to play the game at home.

Another option, is to run a class set off on brown construction paper; color and laminate.
Before I cut the pieces apart, I add white puffy paint trimming.

It really looks like frosting!
So that I can reuse them every year, I keep each puzzle in its own Snack Baggie, and the laminated worksheet bases in a file folder.

This Dollar Deal has a full-page pattern, as well as a smaller, two-on-a-page gingerbread puzzle. 

1-2-3 Come Do Some Gingerbread Activities With Me

Our Gingerbread theme was one of my Y5's favorites for December. (Mine too!)  It's pretty neutral, so if your district is picky about what you can and can't do at your school, perhaps gingerbread will be "appropriate".

A few years ago I designed the schoolhouse fact family packet, followed up by the haunted house fact families, so why not make a winter-themed fact family right; what could be more fitting for a winter fact family than a gingerbread house? 

I've made some revisions and added a few more things to this newest collection of fact family houses.  I hope you enjoy today's FREEBIE. Click on the link to grab it. Gingerbread Fact Family Houses.

I really like it when my activities match, so I've used D. H. Inkers' adorable gingerbread house for a variety of lessons that I hope you'll enjoy.

I had a special request from Erin, in Montana, for gingerbread house number cards, so I got busy and whipped those together. 

I've included math symbols and counter tiles, so you can do even more things with them + games and several bookmarks.

I also dreamed up an odd and even sorting mat, and thought it would be cute to sort via odd or even gingerbread house "address" numbers. 

To practice the format for writing an address, as well as help children memorize their zip code, I've included a "give your gingerbread an address" activity.

When I made up my sample, I wondered if there really was a city named Christmas Cove and to my delight there was!  It's in Maine, the state my son Steven, was born in.  There's also a Christmas, Michigan (my home state) as well as a Christmas, Florida. (Oh to be there right now!)  Simply Google cities with holiday names, for a list of all sorts of sites, with this fun trivia.

If your kiddo’s want to locate their gingerbread house close to Santa, 99705 is the zip code listed when I googled Alaska and clicked on North Pole.  There’s nothing there for over 400 miles though; and just an FYI The North Pole is NOT a land mass. 

This is a fact that you should really share with your kiddo’s, because of the Polar Express ( a personal favorite) and other stories and cartoons, many children think that it is.

The North Pole is a definition of the latitude, which is 90 degrees north. That exact location will find you in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, so I don’t think there’s a floating post office out there.  There are ice flows though.

The most northerly piece of land on earth is Kaffeklubben Island, which according to Wikipedia is 83°40′N, 29°50′W, and is 707 kilometers (440 mi) from the geographic North Pole. I've included more information in the packet, and found some nice photography on YouTube from the weather cams at the North Pole. Click on the link to take the trip.

For the gingerbread address activity and number card fun, click on the link to view/download the Gingerbread Number Fun Packet.

This led to making gingerbread house groups/sets cards.  Cut them up and make into puzzles and Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has?" games. I've included counters for even more options. Click on the link to grab those to go along with the above packet.

I also made a Gingerbread House Slider.  Click on the link for this great whole-group assessing tool.  I've included upper & lowercase letter strips, numbers, shapes, + skip counting sliders for 2's, 3's, 5's, and 10's. 

Add pizzazz to your kiddo's houses with glitter glue, white puffy paint, or colored confetti.  I really like the candy-like look of the confetti. 

You can buy a bag at most party stores for less than $2. Stock up for next year after New Year's when bags are as much as 75% off.

To reinforce patterning, have students pick a pattern and then use a red and green marker to trace the numbers & letters.

TIPS: It's easier for them to trace BEFORE they cut their strips apart.  Putting a piece of Scotch tape on the back of seams also makes for smooth sliding. Click on the link to view/download the Gingerbread House Slider.

Finally, I had so much fun with the confetti, I thought of a gingerbread shape game.  Children pick a partner and take turns spinning, whatever shape they land on, they color that matching "window" on their gingerbread house. 

When they are done playing the game, decorate the roof tops with confetti.  For that added bit of pizzazz, have your students cut their door, so that it opens, and then glue a photo inside. 

I've also included a gingerbread man button matching game in this packet too.  Children play this shape game, by rolling a dice. When they are done, they draw a face on their gingerbread.  Click on the link for the Gingerbread Shapes Up Game.

Thanks for visiting.  It's time to go catch some snowflakes on my tongue, while I frolic as a child with my little grandson Kaiden.  Wishing you a fun-filled magical day. 

"The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is to sing loud for all to hear; and of course whipping up a batch of gingerbread to share." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Make A "Gingerbag" With Me

The idea of using a brown paper bag for a gingerbread house did not originate with me.  I saw several PINS on Pinterest of completed bags, but no one had a template others could use, so I designed one. 

Having volunteered in my own children’s rooms when they made graham-cracker gingerbread houses that wouldn’t stay together, making the gooey mess rather frustrating,  I think the "gingerbag" is a nice alternative. 

However, if you still want to make a "real" gingerbread house click on the link for a great recipe for strong & quick-drying "frosting glue."

To make an easy gingerbag, run off the clip art pages on white construction paper.  (There are 4 pages of samples.) Students choose, color and cut out whatever pieces they want to glue to the “back” of their gingerbag.     

Face the bag towards you so that the bottom of the bag is at the top, and looks like a flap. 

This is the perfect place to glue the “candy roof.”  I drew several door, window and roof options.  Children arrange the pieces ‘til they are satisfied with the look, and then glue them down.  

White puffy paint, glitter glue, stickers, and a child's photo in the window, can all add pizzazz to their gingerbread homes.

I've also included an adjective writing prompt page where students describe their gingerbread house. (Great for Daily 5 Word Work.)

For a cute December bulletin board, cover the top of the board with blue foil wrapping paper for the “sky.”

Staple the “snow fabric” that people use for their Christmas villages, to the bottom of the board.  “Sprinkle” the houses on top.

Houses can stay flat, but look adorable lightly stuffed with tissue, so they are 3D and stand up.  You can also line them up on a window or chalkboard sill.

You can dangle a star from the ceiling and trim with real twinkle lights if a plug is nearby.  Caption: Mr(s.) _____________’s kindergartners (grade) are wishing you a sweet and cozy Christmas.

Click on the link to view/download "Gingerbag" the Lunch Bag Gingerbread House packet. 

If you're looking for even more gingerbread clip art to decorate things with, click on the link to take a look at one of my favorite artists, dj inkers. 

She has lots of adorable packs.  I used some in my sample gingerbag.  My 2 personal favorites are Build a Gingerbread and Gingerbread Mouse. 

Thanks for visiting. I'm in a super-crafty mood today, so I think I'll start on a sketch of my little grandson that I've been wanting to do. 

Maybe I'll get it done in time for a Christmas gift for my daughter. Wishing you a special day filled with relaxing moments.

1-2-3 Come Do Some More Gingerbread Activities With Me

I LOVE drawing gingerbread boys and girls.  Each one has their own personality.  I try to give them that cuteness factor with special eyes and grins.  Since the "craftivities" I post are pretty popular, I decided to revamp a few favorites.

Gingerbread Cookie Counting now has a variety of traceable number sequences.  Choose one for your kiddo's to trace and write.  I've included counting to 20, counting backwards from 10 to 0 or 20 to 0 + skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's, or 10's. 

Children cut and collate their little booklet and staple the edge.  Glue the last page on the box on the gingerbread's belly and you're all set.  Click on the link to view/download the Gingerbread Cookie Counting packet.

Look closely at the picture and you'll see that the cheek portion of the gingerbread is a pocket!  Students paint 2 paper plates brown.  When they are dry, cut one in half and staple it bottom-up, to the "face" of the gingerbread man to make a pocket. 

Children decorate their pocket to look like a gingerbread man's face, and fill with a variety of little accordion-folded books.  I up-dated this packet so that all of the booklets are now traceable. There are strips for counting to 36, skip counting by 2's, 3's 5's, and 10's.

I've also included templates for the hexagon, pentagon and octagon shapes.  Click on the link to view/download the Gingerbread Pocket Pal.

Every month I put up a new paper chain that contained a link for each day in the month.  I used it to review a variety of standards.  We'd count the links and subtract one by tearing it off; we'd identify the colors in English and Spanish and state what the pattern was. 

Children would count how many were left in English and then up to 10 in Spanish.  Students told me that the number of links was greater yesterday than they were today etc. 

As a great fine motor skill, I'd sometimes have my Y5's make their own paper chains.  They could take it home, hang it up and countdown the days to whatever special occassion was happening that month.  I designed the gingerbread paper chain with all of this in mind.  Click on the link to view/download it.

Another fun way to get some number recognition and counting sequences in, is to have students put together gingerbread 10-piece number-strip puzzles. There's one that counts to 10, another that counts backwards and finally one that counts by 10's. 

Print, laminate and trim and have students place the pieces on the numbered grid, or run off copies for everyone; they trim and then glue back together.  Click on the link to view/download the gingerbread puzzles. 

I made a gingerbread dice game with a 6-piece puzzle as well.  Students pick a partner and take turns rolling the dice.  Whatever number they roll, they place that numbered puzzle piece on the grid.  The first one to complete their puzzle is the winner.

I've also included a black and white set if you want to run off copies for all of your kiddo's.  They color and trim. 

They can either glue their rolled pieces to the grid, or place them on so that they can take their gingerbread puzzle home and play again. Click on the link to view/download the Gingerbread 6-Piece Puzzle packet.

I hope your students will also enjoy the Gingerbread Number Fun packet. This 33-page packet is chock full of all sorts of activities to help students recognize numbers; add and subtract; make groups and sets; show greater and less than; and count from any number.

I've included gingerbread number cards from 1 to 126, with a blank template for you to program with more.  There's also trace and write the number worksheets, "what's missing?" worksheets + skip counting activities by 2's, 3's, 5's, and 10's.  Skip counting bookmarks to use as rewards, are also included. Click on the link to view/download the Gingerbread Number Fun packet.

Finally, since the Clothespin Number Matching games have been so popular,  I decided to make some winter ones as well, and started with gingerbread.  Click on the link to view/download the Gingerbread Clothespin Number Matching Game.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.  If you'd like to take a look at the awesome educational things I spend way too much time pinning, click on the heart to the right of the article. 

I design and blog daily so I hope you can stop by tomorrow for the newest FREEBIES.

"Come sit at my table and share with me, warm gingerbread cookies and cinnamon tea." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Gingerbread Activities With Me!

I really enjoy it when teachers contact me with special requests, so when Carol in Wisconsin, asked me for some gingerbread alphabet cards to go with her big themed-unit in December, I happily got to work. 

To help reinforce Common Core State Standards,  I also included a trace and write upper and lowercase worksheet as well as a match the uppercase letter to the lowercase letter one.

There's  5 different assessments + a 3-page tip list of what to do with the cards, including games like Kaboom.  

If you too have a request, simply email me at: diane@teachwithme.com and I'll see what I can do.  Click on the link for Gingerbread Alphabet Cards

To review even more standards I designed 2 gingerbread sliders and included slider strips for counting numbers to 30; counting backwards from 10 to 0 and 20 to 0; skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's, and 10's; shapes, + upper and lowercase letters.  You can use these to review, assess, and play games with. 

Students trace the numbers/letters/shapes.  I encouraged an ABAB pattern using red and green markers.

For that finishing touch allow students to decorate with wiggle eyes, ribbons, rhinestones, buttons and glitter.  I used white puffy paint for the "frosting."  My kiddo's loved that; so easy, but so "Wow!" Click on the link for the Gingerbread Sliders.

I also started working on the winter time cards, and completed the gingerbread ones. The packet includes digital and analog time to the hour and half hour, with a cover to make an Itty Bitty booklet + a tip list of how to use the cards.  Click on the link for the Gingerbread Time Cards

I tried to graph every day with my Y5's.  Pretty soon the light bulb comes on for everyone.  A graph was always part of our table top lessons, and I think my kiddo's really enjoyed coloring and filling in their worksheets. 

By switching things up via a theme, interest remained high.  I often used shapes inside the themed-item, so that I could review yet another standard.  This packet also includes a game.  Click on the link for the Gingerbread Graphing Activities

Finally, I also designed the ever-popular shape matching game with a gingerbread theme.  I feel as with the above lessons, if you change an activity with a new theme, things stay fresh.  Students also feel empowered because they know what to do an can get right down to business.  Click on the link for the Gingerbread Shape Games

Thanks for visiting to day.  Feel free to PIN away.  If you'd like to take a peek at all of the creative-educatonal items that I spend way too much time pinning, click on the big heart to the right of the article. 

I design and blog daily so I hope you can pop in tomorrow for the newest FREEBIES.  I have lots more gingerbread goodies that I'm excited to share.

"A cookie a day chases sadness away; an entire jar brings it back!" -Unknown