I use this activity on the first day of school to help put the kinders at ease and to acclimate them to the school environment and personnel.
Activities and Procedures:
Read as many versions of "The Gingerbread Man" as possible.
Once the children have discovered that the gingerbread man has disappeared, they naturally must find him.
Have precut gingerbread men from construction paper and stick them up in various places around the school.
Each gingerbread man should have a cute rhyme to go with it such as: Run,run as fast as you can You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man. I decided to take a look, To find my picture in a book! (This would lead the children to the library, where there would be another
Continue looking for the gingerbread man until the last clue leads the children back to their classroom (after meeting the librarian, principal, cafeteria workers, etc.)
When the children get back to the room, there is a gingerbread man for each of them to eat for snacks. *Have a fellow teacher place the gingerbread men in the classroom while your class is searching.
OTHER IDEAS:
Make a gingerbread man using a simple recipe.
Graph the children's favorite character from the story.
Cut gingerbread patterns from brown grocery sacks and let children decorate using buttons, glitter, lace, etc. (You can let the children glue coffee grounds or sand on for texture!)
Write a story about the gingerbread man and Ms. ______'s class.
