Gingerbread Man Activities for Preschool and Kindergarten
By the Clipart Scout team8 min read
Short answer
Good gingerbread man activities follow the old folk tale: retell the story with stick puppets, count buttons, sort shapes, trace the letter G, decorate paper cookies, run a chase game and, with allergy checks, bake. This guide gives eighteen activities with what to prepare and a five-day theme week for ages 2 to 6.
Key points
- The gingerbread man is a traditional folk tale, so you can retell it in your own words and let children join the chant.
- Eighteen activities cover story, math, letters, fine motor, art, movement and baking.
- Toddlers do best with sensory play, simple movement and one-step crafts.
- A five-day theme week fits a preschool class or a homeschool week.
- Always check allergies before any food activity, and offer a no-food choice.
On this page
- What can preschoolers learn from the gingerbread man story?
- What are the best story and retelling activities?
- What early math activities fit the theme?
- Which letter and sound activities work?
- What fine motor activities suit gingerbread time?
- What art activities can you do?
- Which movement games suit the story?
- What sensory and baking activities are there?
- How do you plan a gingerbread man theme week?
- What to do next
December brings a pile of gingerbread men to preschool tables, and it is easy to run out of ideas by Wednesday. The traditional tale is a good base: it is short, it repeats, and it has a chase that children love to act out.
This guide gives eighteen activities, grouped by area: story, early math, letters, fine motor, art, movement and sensory or baking play. Each says what to prepare. After the groups you will find a five-day theme week, and a note on allergies.
What can preschoolers learn from the gingerbread man story?
The story gives children practice with listening, putting events in order and repeating a chant. Because the plot repeats (a new animal chases, the cookie runs faster), even a two-year-old can join in by the end of the first reading.
The tale is traditional, so you can tell it from memory in your own words. The key chant is “Run, run, as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!” Let the children say it with you. A gentle ending, where the cookie is caught but nobody is upset, suits a younger group.
What are the best story and retelling activities?
Retelling activities let children act out the order of events and use new words. They work best right after you have read the story twice.
Story and retelling
1. Stick puppet retelling. Ages 3 to 6. Draw or print the gingerbread man and four or five animals on card, cut them out and tape each to a craft stick. Children hold a puppet and step forward when their character joins the chase. Prepare in 15 minutes.
2. Story sequence cards. Ages 4 to 6. Draw six scenes (baking, running, meeting the first animal, the river, the fox, the ending) on separate cards. Mix them up and ask children to put them in order, saying “first, next, then, last.” Prepare in 20 minutes.
3. Chant and clap. Ages 2 to 5. Say the chant in a steady beat, clapping on each word. Then try whispering it, then loudly, then slowly. It takes no preparation and settles a restless group.
What early math activities fit the theme?
Early math with gingerbread men centers on counting buttons, matching shapes and sorting by size. Use real buttons only with children who no longer put things in their mouths.
Early math
4. How many buttons? Ages 3 to 5. Cut a gingerbread man from brown paper and ask children to place one to five paper buttons on it. For a bigger challenge, roll a die and count out that many. Prepare 10 gingerbread men and a bag of paper circles.
5. Shape cookies. Ages 3 to 6. Cut out circle, square, triangle and star shapes from brown paper and ask children to match them to outlines drawn on a tray. Name each shape as you go.
6. Small, medium, big. Ages 3 to 5. Cut three gingerbread men in different sizes. Children line them up from smallest to biggest and then back again. Mix in a fourth for children who find three easy.
Which letter and sound activities work?
Letter and sound activities for this theme center on the letter G, the sound at the start of “gingerbread.” Keep them playful so they do not feel like a test.
Letters and sounds
7. G hunt. Ages 4 to 6. Write the letter G on 12 sticky notes and hide them around the room. Children find one, say “G for gingerbread” and stick it on a chart. Prepare in five minutes.
8. Trace and write G. Ages 4 to 6. Draw a large G with a dotted line on a sheet and let children trace it with a finger first, then a crayon. A tray of dry rice makes a good first writing surface. Prepare in five minutes.
What fine motor activities suit gingerbread time?
Fine motor activities strengthen small hand muscles through pinching, pressing, snipping and tracing. For more ideas by age, see our guide to fine motor activities by age.
Fine motor
9. Playdough cookies. Ages 2 to 5. Give each child brown playdough, a rolling pin and a gingerbread cutter. Add buttons or beads for older children only. Dough in a tub makes tidy-up simple.
10. Pipe the icing. Ages 4 to 6. Draw a gingerbread man with a thick outline. Children trace the outline with a fat marker like a line of icing, then add dots and swirls as decorations. Print several copies.
11. Pinch and clip counting. Ages 4 to 6. Cut five card circles (“gumdrops”) and write a number from 1 to 5 on each. Children clip that many clothes pegs around the edge of the circle. Pinching the pegs builds hand strength while they count.
What art activities can you do?
Art activities give each child a gingerbread man that looks different from everyone else’s. Let them choose the decorations; the point is the choosing.
Art
12. Decorate your gingerbread man. Ages 3 to 6. Give each child a brown paper cookie and a tray of paper buttons, ribbon scraps, crayons and glue sticks. There is no right way. Display them in a row on the wall.
13. Build a gingerbread house. Ages 4 to 6. Cut a house, roof and door from card, and let children glue them on a base and decorate with paper candy and stickers. For more shapes to color, the Christmas Activity Bundle for Kids includes 6 gingerbread house pages in its baking and home coloring set.
Which movement games suit the story?
Movement games let children use the energy that the story creates. Keep the space clear and the rules few.
Movement
14. Chase the gingerbread man. Ages 3 to 6. Choose one child to be the gingerbread man, who runs a short course while the others follow, saying the chant. Pick a new runner each time. Rules: no pushing, and walkers can follow at a slower pace.
15. Gingerbread says. Ages 3 to 6. Play a version of a follow-the-leader game: “The gingerbread man says jump,” “The gingerbread man says wiggle your fingers.” Children copy only when you say the full phrase. Keep rounds short.
16. Hide the gingerbread man. Ages 3 to 6. Hide a paper gingerbread man in the room while the children close their eyes. They look for it and call “warm” or “cold” to each other. The finder hides it next.
What sensory and baking activities are there?
Sensory and baking activities use touch and smell and often involve food, so check allergies first.
Sensory and baking
17. Spice sensory tub. Ages 2 to 5. Fill a tub with dry rice or oats and stir in a little cinnamon. Add scoops, cups and gingerbread cookie cutters. Stay close, and skip it for a child who still tastes everything.
18. Bake gingerbread cookies. Ages 4 to 6, with an adult. Use a simple recipe, let children press the cutters into rolled dough and decorate cooled cookies with a little icing. An adult does the oven work. If you cannot bake, use playdough instead.
Allergy note: Gingerbread recipes often contain wheat, eggs, butter and sometimes nuts. Ask families about allergies before any food activity, keep a list for the day and offer a no-food choice such as playdough or paper decorating.
How do you plan a gingerbread man theme week?
A five-day theme week gives each day one focus and repeats the chant every day. Keep each activity to 10 or 15 minutes for preschoolers and swap in your favorites.
| Day | Focus | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Story | Read the tale, chant and clap, stick puppets |
| Tuesday | Math | How many buttons, shape cookies, small-medium-big |
| Wednesday | Letters and fine motor | G hunt, trace G, pipe the icing |
| Thursday | Art and movement | Decorate your gingerbread man, chase game, hide the gingerbread man |
| Friday | Celebration | Playdough cookies, spice tub, gentle party, optional baking |
If you would rather have the pages ready, the Gingerbread Man Preschool Unit Printable has 33 pages. It contains a 5-day plan with a circle-time script for each day, a two-page read-aloud retelling, six story sequencing cards, six stick puppets, a button counting mat with number cards 1 to 10 and a build-a-gingerbread-house craft. It also has a recipe card for grown-ups with icing and safety tips.
For a wider December, the Christmas Activity Bundle for Kids has 1,898 pages in 59 sections for ages 3 to 12, with coloring, countdown calendars, elf season pages and games. See our guide to Christmas party games for families for party ideas.
What to do next
- Pick five activities for a week, using the table, and write them on a card.
- Learn the chant so you can say it without looking. Teach it on day one.
- Gather the materials for each day the night before: brown paper, buttons, glue, crayons and playdough.
- Check allergies with families before any food activity.
- Browse our Christmas printables and preschool printables, and see our preschool at home guide for a routine around the week.
