Gingerbread Man Craft
Bake a cute gingerbread man craft with your preschooler. It’s the perfect activity after reading The Gingerbread Man.
Benefits of Doing the Gingerbread Man Craft
Cognitive Skills
While making this gingerbread man craft, preschoolers will think about what they want their gingerbread man to look like (after reading the story). Planning and executing a plan are foundational skills that little ones need practice with.
Fine Motor Development
Cutting, gluing, and picking up small items help develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Dexterity is another foundational skill that little ones will build upon throughout their lives.
If your little one is up to it, by all means, let them cut out the gingerbread man and the circles. It’s added scissor practice and will give the gingerbread man an adorable figure.
Language and Math Skills
The literacy connection between The Gingerbread Man story preschoolers listened to and the gingerbread man craft helped to make a connection and deepen preschoolers’ understanding of the story.
There are many variations of The Gingerbread Man story; it may be fun to make a different gingerbread man craft for each version– Baby Gingerbread Man, Gingerbread Girl, and even Ninja Gingerbread Man.
Math skills like colors, shapes, patterns, and counting can all be reinforced and worked on during a gingerbread man craft.
Creativity
Letting little ones be creative helps them express themselves. From the colors they choose to the placement of the items on the gingerbread man craft, preschoolers are free to make it their own—just like decorating a real cookie.
This article may contain affiliate links to products that may help you when homeschooling preschool.
Items Needed
*construction paper (brown, white, black, other colors as wanted)
*scissors
*glue
*pencil
*googly eyes
*marker
How to Make a Gingerbread Man Craft
1. Fold a brown sheet of construction paper in half hot dog style so the gingerbread man will be the same on both sides.
2. Using a pencil, draw half of a head, a neck, one arm, the body, and one leg to make the outline of a gingerbread man.
3. Keep the paper folded and cut out the gingerbread man, making sure to cut through both layers. Unfold the gingerbread man. If making more gingerbread men, use this one as a template to trace on the other brown sheets of paper.
4. Cut out circles from other colors of construction paper. Add tiny white rectangles for the frosting near the hands and feet. Add googly eyes to the face.
5. Let little ones use the items to decorate their gingerbread man craft.
6. Once complete, use a marker to add a smile.
Paper Gingerbread Man Activity
When baking a real gingerbread man is off the table, let your preschooler still enjoy the cookie decorating process with this cute paper gingerbread man craft. Plus, it’s less messy and doesn’t require waiting time.
You may want to have some cookies on hand because they will surely get hungry while doing this craft.😂
