Gingerbread People Pretend Play & Counting Game
Gingerbread People Pretend Play & Counting Game
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This is a fun, simple, activity that also fits right in to pretend play during the holidays. You can use craft materials or real gingerbread people cookies if you’d like.
This pretend play activity uses gingerbread people to decorate, count, develop their creative skills, and work on fine motor and motor planning. This activity also helps to promote confidence, social and language skills, as well as just being a fun activity to do!
You can plan this activity for time spent with just you and your child(ren), or as a group play activity.
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What you Need:
o Foam/paper gingerbread people (can find at craft store, in craft aisle, or purchase brown craft foam or heavy brown wrapping paper / grocery bag, and trace/ cut out your own troop of gingerbread people)
o A spatula that will not scratch your cookie sheet
o A cookie sheet for the pretend play
o A large tray or platter to move gingerbread people from cookie sheet to
o Dice or Dominoes (with 1 to 6 dots on them)
Add on Ideas: Sticker Dots to add buttons, Sticker Christmas Hats, Googly Eyes to glue on, Markers to get creative with, Hole punch & yarn to hang your gingerbread people on the tree or in the window
Optional: Use REAL Gingerbread People Cookies either purchased from the store OR make your own!
NOTE: If you plan on eating them, please do not use non-edible decorative add-ons, but rather use cake and cupcake decorating sprinkles, dots, and other edible tasty treats. You can use some frosting as “glue.”
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How to Play: Gingerbread People Counting Game
· Gather your gingerbread people and place them onto the cookie sheet.
· Roll the dice, or pick a domino (without looking) to get a number – if your child rolls a 4 for example, they get to use the spatula to pick up and move 4 “people” from the cookie sheet to the dish/tray. Have them move them one at a time.
· Take turns (you and your child, or each child that is taking part)
Always stay alert for any choking hazards!
More Ideas Below for Making it Even More FUN!
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o Decorate with “buttons” (read, craft buttons, and edible baking dots)
o Decorate with stickers, markers, frosting, and other edible candy from baking aisle
o Make them into hanging ornaments for tree or window
o Make up little stories about each gingerbread person – have your child give them a name, talk about where they live or work, and what their favorite thing to do is (pretend play where anything goes!)
o If you have a gingerbread house, you can pretend the “people” are decorating their home for the holidays
o Instead of using a spatula, try using salad tongs to pick up and move the “people”
o You can have a race for how many they can move in a 30-second time frame
o Write name or initial on a gingerbread person – if planning to eat, use frosting or edible gel
o Make a whole string of gingerbread people to hang around a doorway or window
o Don’t forget to take a few pictures of the fun!
PRINT AND USE – SMALL & LARGE OUTLINE
PRINT and USE! TheraPlay4Kids.com
PRINT and USE! TheraPlay4Kids.com