October has gone and the leaves have almost all fallen which can only mean one thing – winter is almost here! Whether you love the cold or want to hide for the next several months, we can all agree that the colder weather brings with it some fun teaching themes. Especially for preschoolers!
Since you have found your way here you have obviously already started thinking of all the fun winter theme activities for preschool students. So let us simply say, welcome! We are excited that you love winter learning activities as much as we do and we are so excited to share our favorite Gingerbread Man activities for preschool with you!
Gingerbread PreK Bundle
Gingerbread man activities are one of our favorite themes for winter learning because they can be used in ANY classroom! They are great to use in addition to Christmas activities for preschoolers or alongside general winter activities (that are not tied to Christmas).
Because gingerbread man activities are perfect for any classroom, or even to use at home with your own preschoolers, we have created several fun activities to choose from. From independent learning with exploration stations to small group STEM work and whole class read alouds we have a gingerbread activity for every type of learning. Moreover, an activity for every content area (yes, even math).
Keep reading to learn more about each of our activities in our Gingerbread themed PreK Bundle.
Gingerbread Man Exploration Stations
Preschoolers love their independence! Therefore, it is important to foster this independence with effective learning opportunities. Exploration Stations are one of the best ways to encourage and support independence in a preschool classroom.
All of our exploration stations (regardless of theme) follow a similar structure. This includes color-coded materials with visual icons that match the instruction cards and workboard. These materials help students manage themselves as they move from one station to the next.
In addition, students are given a checklist for each activity to help them practice accountability.
Beyond the signs and checklist, each exploration station packet comes complete with 9 stations. Including our Gingerbread Man Exploration station!
Take a look at what each station includes:
- Explore: read informational sheets
- Build: use the cards to build gumdrop shapes
- Experiment: test if each gingerbread man sinks or floats
- Make: use the materials to roll, cut, and decorate gingerbread men
- Solve: solve the puzzle to put the steps of making gingerbread men in order
- Play: roll the dice to create a gingerbread house using the key
- Create: follow the directions to make a gingerbread man
- Match: cut and paste to match the parts of a gingerbread man
- Write/Draw: write or draw what you know about gingerbread
With nine different stations to explore, you and your students will have plenty of Gingerbread fun for the week. Depending on how your classroom is set up you can have all stations in one area or spread them out around the room. Furthermore, you can choose to have students complete one station a day or several during one class.
While we provide you with all the materials you need and a detailed lesson plan, there is still a lot of flexibility to make each gingerbread activity fit your classroom and your teaching style.
Gingerbread Man Circle Time Activities
Giving preschoolers independence is an essential part of the learning process. However, there is also a need for supported and guided activities through whole-class learning.
One of the best opportunities for whole class learning is through circle time. During this time, teachers get an opportunity to introduce important academic and social skills as classmates sit together in a whole group.
In addition to the academic piece of circle time, this is a great way to help students build positive relationships with their peers. It is also fun and helps kick off the school day with a positive tone.
While you may have a set routine or circle time that is used for the entire school year, it is easy to adapt those events to follow a seasonal theme. Take a look at the Gingerbread themed circle time lessons included in our activity pack.
- teacher overview
- detailed circle time lesson plans
- print or projectable text
- 2 reread/review the text activities
- 3 responding to text activities
- song lyrics with a familiar tune + 2 corresponding activities
- pocket chart poem + 2 corresponding activities
- 3 game-style whole class activities
- 5 corresponding independent worksheets
- 1 emergent reader
This complete circle time activity pack is perfect to add gingerbread activities to any lesson or support the other gingerbread man lessons in this bundle.
Gingerbread Man Math and Literacy Centers
Despite thinking that math has to simply be about numbers it is quite easy to adapt math lessons to themes. Just like we did with our Gingerbread Man Math center activities!
We created several math center activities that are not only holiday-themed but also align with important core skills for preschoolers. Here is an overview of the math lessons included in this activity packet.
- Count and Build: Counting Gingerbread Men & Forming Numbers with Play Dough
- Count and Color: Counting Gingerbread Men and Coloring
- Order by Size: Ordering Gingerbread Items Small to Big – Big to Small
- Rolling and Graph: Button Graphing
- Roll and Cover: Roll the Dice and Cover the Gingerbread Man Game
- How Tall?: Measuring Gingerbread Items
- Flip and Match: Recognizing 2D Shapes
- Decorating a Gingerbread House: More or Less Than
Math centers are not alone in getting a fun theme. Literacy centers are also more fun with a theme. Therefore, we created a handful of Gingerbread themed literacy center lessons.
- Where’s the Gingerbread Man?: Positional Words
- The Gingerbread Man: Emergent Reader
- Gumdrop Syllable Sort: Counting Syllables
- Gingerbread Man Spin and Cover: Beginning Sounds
- Gingerbread Man Puzzle Match: Rhyming Words
- Clip It: Uppercase and Lowercase Letters Match
- Feed Me!: Upper and Lowercase Sort
- On My Own Craft: Lacing a Gingerbread Man
- Gingerbread Craft: Writing Own Name
- Free Write: Gingerbread Writing Center
The best part? You get BOTH the math and literacy activities together in one activity packet! Therefore, you can cover two important subject areas with one resource.
Gingerbread Man PreK STEM Activity
Beyond math and literacy, science is also an important area to address in preschool. Science is not just about experiments though, especially in today’s world.
Today, one of the best ways to explore science is through STEM. Yes, even with young kids in preschool. STEM in preschool is a great way to introduce young learners to higher-level thinking skills that will support their learning in ALL areas! It is also fun!
Preschool students love PreK STEM activities! They allow kids to explore new topics while working with peers and completing hands-on activities. For example, in our Gingerbread Man PreK STEM Activity, students get to explore how to build a bridge to help the gingerbread man cross the river.
Using the Step-by-Step lesson plans and STEM Exploration Process posters it is easy to guide your students through the Exploration Process. Furthermore, students have opportunities to build relationships and independence while working in small groups to solve a problem.
Ninjabread Gingerbread Man
A holiday-themed lesson would not be complete without a fun read aloud! You may already teach the classic Gingerbread Man book in your classroom, but have you read the Ninjabread Gingerbread Man?!
The Ninjabread Man, by C.J. Leigh, is a wonderful book to add to your winter themed read alouds. Moreover, it is the perfect book to read alongside The Gingerbread Man by Gail Yerrill, which is exactly what we suggest.
Using our Ninjabread Gingerbread Man read aloud lesson plan you and your preschool students will explore BOTH books by comparing and contrasting the stories. The perfect way to enjoy two books and develop literacy skills.
This complete read aloud comes with several lessons. Therefore, you will have enough activities for 3-5 days of reading lessons. Perfect for a Gingerbread Man Themed week!
- Comprehension questions
- Whole group response to text activities
- Response to text worksheets
- Writing pages
- Vocabulary cards and worksheets
- Quiz
- Retelling puppets
- Craftivity Template
In addition to the ready-to-teach lessons for each day, this resource comes with a detailed lesson plan to follow. Therefore, you can simply print the materials or upload to your favorite digital platform and be ready to go.
Our Gingerbread Man read aloud is not the only resource ready to teach. ALL of the resources included in this bundle are ready to teach and come with detailed lesson plans. Indeed, the perfect way to add a Gingerbread Man theme to your preschool classroom.
Not only will your students love each activity and lesson, but you will love getting to enjoy time teaching AND the holiday season since you won’t have to plan lessons at home!
