3 Easy Gingerbread Crafts for Preschoolers - Preschool Christmas Activities
Today Jennifer from OrganizedHomeschooler.com is sharing 3 gingerbread crafts that you AND your preschoolers will love! This is the next post in our Preschool Christmas Activities series!
The holiday season is such a wonderful time with little children. Their excitement is palpable and contagious. I like to capitalize on that excitement by reading Christmas books and doing crafts. These easy gingerbread crafts are perfect for the holiday season.
There are plenty of gingerbread-themed books that could accompany these craft projects, but one of my favorites is The Gingerbread Man: Loose at Christmas by Laura Murray.
In this story, the Gingerbread Man and his classmates make gifts for members of their community. They go around town delivering the gifts.
This is one of my favorite gingerbread-themed books because the cute rhyming text talks about community helpers.
Read the book and then dive into these festive crafts.
These cinnamon scented gingerbread crafts are a fun and festive way to create gingerbread men for all kids, but it is especially handy for children with dietary restrictions that make the cookie version off-limits.
Decorate a scented gingerbread person
Decorating a scented gingerbread person is the very first step to these crafts.
Materials:
* Sandpaper
* Gingerbread shaped cookie cutter
* Pen
* Scissors
* Cinnamon stick
* Glue
* Decorations - The options here are pretty limitless. I used coffee beans, google eyes, red pom moms, craft pony beads, dried beans, and paint pens.
Trace a gingerbread cookie cutter onto sandpaper
Begin by tracing a gingerbread cookie cutter onto the back of a piece of sandpaper. This works best with a pen. Pencil is not dark enough to see clearly.
You can use any grit sandpaper you have handy. I used 180 grit.
Cut out the gingerbread man shape with scissors
Cutting out the traced shape requires adult scissors, so it might be best left to an adult.
Rub the sandpaper with a cinnamon stick
Rubbing the sandpaper with a cinnamon stick adds the holiday scent. The sandpaper acts like a grater but it also holds onto the cinnamon particles.
The cinnamon scent is real, so it is not overpowering like artificial cinnamon can be.
Decorate the sandpaper gingerbread man
The gingerbread man can be decorated with many items that you have around your own home. Take a look through your craft supplies and kitchen pantry to see what you can find.
I used regular Elmer's school glue to attach all of the decorations.
Make as many scented sandpaper gingerbread as your kiddos like. I like to leave out a tray with pre-cut sandpaper gingerbread men, cinnamon sticks, glue, and decorations. Then my kids can make as many gingerbread as they like, whenever they like.
There are 3 options for using the scented gingerbread men, so you can never have too many!
3 Easy Gingerbread Crafts for Preschoolers
All of these easy gingerbread crafts use the scented sandpaper gingerbread men.
Make an ornament
It is super simple and quick to turn the scented gingerbread men into ornaments. All you need to do is attach a loop of ribbon onto the back of the sandpaper gingerbread man. I attached a loop of ribbon with heavy duty packing tape, but hot glue would also work.
Create a festive garland
Create a cute holiday garland by stringing an assortment of sandpaper gingerbread men onto a length of ribbon.
This can be done two ways:
* Create small slits in each gingerbread arm and weave the ribbon through the holes
* Hook each gingerbread man onto the ribbon with a paper clip
When my kids were in the toddler and preschool stage, I preferred to use the paperclip technique anytime the garland would be within their reach. This gave them the freedom to rearrange the gingerbread as often they wanted.
Make a gingerbread wreath
Create a truly one of a kind gingerbread wreath. All you need are a few of the scented sandpaper gingerbread, fake pine needle wreath, flexible metal ornament hooks, and hot glue.
First, glue an ornament hook on the back of each gingerbread man using a dot of hot glue.
Then, just arrange the gingerbread men around the wreath. Attach them with the hook.
If your preschooler enjoyed this book and crafts, consider planning a Gingerbread Day- a full day of gingerbread-themed fun!
Jennifer Knick is a homeschool mom of two. Before having children, she was a kindergarten teacher. She shares organizational tips, hands-on lesson ideas, and great book lists at OrganizedHomeschooler.com. In her free time she enjoys reading and spending time with her husband. Follow her online on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.
Happy Educating,
Carla
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