Wrapping Up the Beginning of School Unit

The Gingerbread Man

This week, one of the stories we focused on was The Gingerbread Man. We connected the tale to the familiar faces the children encounter at school. Does the Gingerbread Man work at our school? No, he doesn’t! However, this connection serves as a fun way to discuss the people they will see on campus.

After we read The Gingerbread Man, we brought the story to life in many ways, first was building our very own gingerbread man, then was making gingerbread play-dough and recreating him that way and lastly was our very own gingerbread man hunt.

Gingerbread Man Building and Play-Dough

Gingerbread Man Hunt

This focus question we align the Gingerbread Man Hunt to is, 'How can we be part of a group?' We used the Gingerbread Man Hunt to work together as friends. As the children searched for the Gingerbread Man, they practiced following directions, number recognition, and worked together in a large group.

Curriculum Activity: Show Me the Number

One of our curriculum math activities featured an exercise called “Show Me the Number!” In this activity, I took turns showing the children a card displaying a number. They respond by stating the number and then visually representing it with their hands. The cards we use are flip cards, revealing a corresponding quantity of items on the back. I then have the child whose turn it is to count these items to ensure they match the displayed number. Finally, the children count as they pull out our bear counters to align with the number they were given. Although we are currently focusing on the number four, some children counted all the way up to five! This activity aids children in connecting numerals to quantities, recalling memories, and practicing turn-taking with one another.