Do you need Gingerbread lesson plans? I’ve done them for you!
I hope you don’t mind but I did your Gingerbread lesson plans for you! Teachers are busier than ever and the crazy holiday season is here. Plus, this school year has been nothing but one challenge after another. So I thought it might help if you had a week’s worth of lesson plans already done!
My favorite activities for morning arrival, circle time books, art ideas, as well as math and literacy games for small groups are all included in these lesson plans. Everything you need for a gingerbread theme is linked right here!
Gingerbread Fine Motor Fun at Table Time
Morning arrival is the perfect time to fit in some gingerbread fun and fine motor practice! These ideas will work great for your morning Table Time as well as with busy boxes. You could even use them during center time, too.
Make a batch of yummy smelling gingerbread playdough for extra sensory goodness! First, you need my tried and true homemade playdough recipe. Then just add a few extra ingredients to transform it into gingerbread playdough! You’ll mix in:
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Use your gingerbread playdough with these fine motor paths and activity mats. Your students can practice rolling, squeezing, molding, and pinching as they play with the scented dough.
One day provide hole punchers and yarn for lacing. Next, work on snipping and cutting during Table Time. Finally, bring out the dry erase markers and do some tracing. I like to put these fine motor tracing cards in a little Dollar Store photo album so the kids can just trace and erase! So easy, so fun!
The Very BEST Gingerbread Books for Circle Time
There are so many great gingerbread stories you’ll have a hard time picking one for circle time! It’s always interesting to compare a couple different versions of the story and then vote on your favorite one!
Click on a title to see more about the book and to get it for your classroom library.
Here’s the Best Gingerbread Book List:
- The GINGERBREAD BOY by Paul Galdone
- The GINGERBREAD MAN by Catherine McCafferty
- GINGERBREAD MAN by Jim Aylesworth
- GINGERBREAD GIRL by Lisa Campbell Ernst
- The GINGERBREAD KID GOES TO SCHOOL by Joan Holub
- GINGERBREAD MOUSE by Katie Bratun
- GINGERBREAD FRED by Nick Page
- The GINGERBREAD MAN by Karen Schmidt
- The GINGERBREAD MAN by Eric Kimmel
- CHARLIE’S GINGERBREAD HOUSE by Melissa Ivey Staehli
- GINGERBREAD FRIENDS by Jan Brett
- GINGERBREAD BABY by Jan Brett
- GINGERBREAD CHRISTMAS by Jan Brett
Gingerbread Art your students will LOVE!
The cute gingerbread kid art started as a marble painting. Then we cut out the body, mounted it on red paper, and trimmed with decorative scissors. Next, we decorated and accessorized with jewels, glitter, buttons, and bows. Finally, we put the gingerbread kid on a foil covered paper to look like a real baking pan!
Our gingerbread cookie cutter printing is so easy but so much fun! Just grab a long piece of brown kraft paper or bulletin board paper and print lots of sweet gingerbread shapes with a cookie cutter. Be sure to save it for a literacy activity later in the week!
Is anything better than dot markers and a gingerbread kid? Your students will sure enjoy dotting and decorating this themed activity mat.
I also included a favorite gingerbread in the oven art activity in the lesson plans. Step by step directions are here.
Alphabet Games for your Gingerbread Lesson Plan
Letters and beginning sounds are especially engaging when you’re learning with a gingerbread theme! These alphabet games are ideal when you gather a few students at the Teacher Table!
Remember the gingerbread cookie cutter printing you did? Let’s use it for matching letters! Simply put alphabet stickers in the gingerbread shapes and then match up the uppercase or lowercase letter! You can use magnetic letters, letter tiles, or any letter manipulative you have for this fun activity. Your students could also write letters inside the gingerbread shapes.
During gingerbread week, plan on playing lots of small group games. Your kids will be delighted and you’ll be thankful the prep was super easy!
Need some writing practice? Make an aromatic writing tray with gingerbread scented rice! Here’s how:
- Mix 1-2 tablespoons water per one cup brown rice.
- Add 1 teaspoon each of Ginger, Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmeg.
- Stir in brown food coloring if you want your rice darker brown.
- Mix well and pour onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread rice out evenly in a single layer.
- Bake at 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes until the rice is dry.
Pour the rice in a shallow pan or tray and have the kids write letters with their finger or a craft stick!
Small Group Gingerbread Math Activities
Meet me at the Teacher Table for a gingerbread game!
That’s what you’ll be saying to your students when it’s small group time! Math games like these are a class favorite and a teacher pleaser! Print the game boards, gather a few tokens or counters, and you’re ready to play!
Students will practice identifying numerals, counting, and matching numbers with sets when they play these games.
Another math activity in your lesson plans is count the buttons on the gingerbread kid. To make this one, you’ll need some gingerbread shapes. I cut mine from cardboard so they were extra sturdy and naturally brown! Just write numbers on them and provide a bowl of buttons for your students to count and match to the gingerbread kid.
Here's your FREE Gingerbread Lesson Plan!
I did all the planning for you! But you can definitely tweak things to work best for your class! Switch around the activities to fit your classroom schedule. Mix and match the small group games for the skills your students are working on. Feel free to add your favorite gingerbread craft. Read a different book than those I shared. Use the lesson plans as a guide that works for you and your students.
Just click on the picture below to download your copy of the ready to go lesson plans!
I’m glad you can sit back, relax, and enjoy all the excitement of gingerbread week without having to write any lesson plans! You deserve it!