Early years activity: Christmas gingerbread biscuits
In this activity, children will mix, roll, shape and decorate their own unique gingerbread person. While supporting their maths and motor skills, this sensory exploration will also fill the nursery with delicious festive aromas.
Christmas gingerbread biscuits activity learning aims
- To follow a recipe
- Recognise and use numbers
- Physical development
- Work with others
- Be creative.
Resources you will need for this activity
- Gingerbread recipe
- Recipe ingredients, utensils
- Gingerbread person biscuit cutter
- Oven tray/access to a cooker
- Icing to decorate the biscuits.
You may have your own low sugar recipe to use or an old family recipe but if not, try this one:
100g butter softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1 egg, whisked
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
- Cream the butter and sugar
- Add the spices and egg then mix again
- Fold in the flour and baking powder to form a dough
- Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper
- Roll out the dough and cut the shapes
- Bake for 8 minutes, or until lightly golden
- Cool on wire baking rack before decorating.
Christmas gingerbread biscuits activity outline
- Read the gingerbread man story to the children. If you don’t have the story book, you can watch a video together before starting your baking session
- Show the recipe on a tablet or write it on a large piece of card/paper – add images/draw symbols for each ingredient/step for the children to follow
- Wash hands
- Read through the recipe together, look at the ingredients and utensils
- Once you have formed your dough, divide it into equal pieces so all children can roll their own and cut out their own biscuit
- When they are cooked and cooled, encourage children to use the icing and decorations to create their own unique gingerbread person
- You can either enjoy your home-made biscuits at tea/snack time together, or you can wrap them up to go home.
How to extend this activity
Take photos of the finished biscuits. Use the photos to create your own gingerbread person and act out the story (attach the images to wooden spoons or lollipop sticks).
How to extend this activity
Prior to starting this activity ensure you check for any allergies that children may have against the recipe ingredients.
Disclaimer: Activities with children must always be risk assessed, including for allergies or choking. Children must always have adequate supervision. Resources and materials must always be appropriate for children’s age and stage of development.
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