Gingerbread Houses

On Friday, December 16th, our class made gingerbread houses! The excitement had been building for several weeks as we collected ice cream buckets, frosting, and supplies for decorating. Finally, the big day arrived, everything was ready, and it was time to begin! Each child had to invite one guest as a helper. We had moms, dads, grandmas, and grandpas join us as we created our houses.

We started the event by singing a few songs to entertain our guests.
We sang "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," "Jingle Bells,"

and "We Wish you a Merry Christmas."

We got our instructions on the Smartboard by looking at pictures from last year's blog post showing the whole process. We got lots of good ideas! Finally, it was time to begin.

The first step was to frost a foil-covered lid as a base for the house.

Then, we frosted an empty milk carton for the house.

Next, we stuck graham crackers to the cartons.

Frosting made great glue!

And it tasted good, too!

Oops! Caught you!

The parents worked just as hard as the kids!

Next came the decorating. The kids got to take a trip to the supply table and fill a bowl with fun "stuff" to use to add details to their houses. We had marshmallows, gum drops, M&M's , pretzels, CHEX cereal, Lifesavers, Bugles, string licorice, sprinkles, Teddy grahams, gummy bears, chocolate chips, Fuit Loops, coconut, candy canes, and much more.

It was so much fun to see the creativity of both kids and parents!

When the houses were finished, the parents covered them with the ice cream buckets and took them home.

We cleaned up, washed desks, and the kids went off to the Computer Lab while I rounded up a custodian to do a little vacuuming. By the time the kids returned, everything was back to normal and we continued with the rest of our day, although everyone was on quite a sugar high from all that nibbling. Oh well...

The kids had so much fun and were so proud of their creations. Hopefully, they all made it home in one piece. Thanks, parents, for all of your help, and for taking time out of your busy day to take part in this fun activity! Happy Holidays, and remember to read lots during vacation!