Tasty Gingerbread Men

Run, run, as fast as you can....

We can't get away from the gingerbread man!

Last week we baked gingerbread cookies.  The kids rolled the dough, cut the cookies, and we popped them into the oven.  Don't worry we didn't peek!  The kids knew, from reading the story, that if we had opened the oven door he would have jumped right out!  

We made our gingerbread men out of sugar cookie dough and gingerbread dough, since some kids don't like the strong flavor of gingerbread.  We frosted our little guys, and then sprinkled them up.  

Many kids talked about their experiences, baking with family at home.  I love that you are taking the time to be in the kitchen with your kids.  It's always a bit messier when kids help, but the experiences you provide at home directly relate to kids' literacy development.  We have been reading and writing about gingerbread men and baking for weeks, and kids are constantly relating their experiences to the books we have read in class!

Happy baking!

Warm Cookies, On a Cold Winter Day

Is there anything better?

We've been cooking in kindergarten. Today is cookie day. Our AM and PM kindergarten classes will be making chocolate chip cookies.

We spent the morning browsing through cook books, looking to see how the authors use pictures, words, and numbers. Several kids noticed that the directions were numbered in a few of the books. We talked about how this is a sequence of events.

Our new cereal-box-writing-books are a hit! We need a few more empty cereal boxes, if you are able to send some to school. Today we wrote about something we love to cook, or have cooked for us at home.

I hope you'll continue to cook and bake with your kids at home. It's wonderful to build their background knowledge through hands-on practice!

Happy baking!

I'm Melting.....

One of my favorite things to do with my kids is bake cookies.  When I'm home, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  My kids love helping me! Cooking with kids is an amazing opportunity to share the task of food preparation and enjoy the process.  Allowing your child to cook enhances self esteem and children will experience success in the kitchen. Our little chefs will gain practical knowledge of cooking basics and food preparation. Beginning with the importance of washing hands before handling food and ending with enjoying their own creation, children will gain knowledge and independence.

Now that the snow is melting, you might want to try these melty snowman cookies with your kids.


I made plain round sugar cookies. If you don't bake often, I'm sure those slice and bake cookies would be fine too. There is nothing better than homemade sugar cookies. If you need a great recipe, click here for my favorite sugar cookies.

The thing I loved best about these melting snowmen is that they are supposed to look melty and messy. Messy is perfect for my kids.

After adding some sloppy frosting, it was time for marshmallows. We put some marshmallows on a plate and microwaved them for about 50 seconds. When they were all puffy and smooshy, we sprayed a little Pam Cooking Spray on our fingers and plunked the marshmallows onto the cookies. The Halloween sprinkles came in handy and became eyes, buttons, and a nose.

Super cute and super easy! It's so nice to make cookies that I'm not stressing about decorating perfectly. Quick, easy, cute, and kid friendly... can't ask for much more than that!

Happy baking!