Gingerbread Men in the Library

Do you do gingerbread men lessons in your library or classroom? Here are some fun ideas. There are many versions of the story of the gingerbread man, starting with the classic folktale. Then, there are versions for all audiences, such as The Gingerbread Girl, The Gingerbread Baby, The Ninjabread Man, Gingerbread Pirates, etc.

Gingerbread Man lessons are popular, since they are holiday-ish, without actually being about Christmas or Santa. This is relevant for school districts that have restrictions on holiday themes. In my library, I read The Library Gingerbread Man to second grade. They are still innocent at that age, but familiar enough with the original story (to chorus, “you can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man”) and with the layout of the library. In this book, the gingerbread man runs through the nonfiction sections of the library, referencing the Dewey Decimal numbers. I put large gingerbread man cutouts, with the section Dewey numbers, above the shelves. Then, I give the kids a smaller gingerbread man with a specific Dewey number, for them to find. To make it more fun, I put the paper gingerbread men on a cookie sheet and hand them out using an oven mitt and spatula (some kids really get into the spirit, saying “oh, wow, that’s hot.”). I decorate one of my bulletin boards with gingerbread men chasing holiday books.

There are so many other lessons and activities with a gingerbread man theme that you can try. How about these?