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Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Gingerbread: a preschool theme week

Checked Oct 30, 2026 · Winter · December

One week on gingerbread for twos to fours: a five-line circle time, 3 books (2 free to read on Peabody), one craft with 4 materials, “Pat-a-Cake” with its words, a snack from the Kitchen and the letter G.

Plan this weekPrint the two sheets

Circle time

  1. Good morning song, then say each name together.
  2. Calendar: the day, the date and the weather.
  3. Ask: “Why did the gingerbread man run away?”
  4. Sing: Pat-a-Cake.
  5. Read: The Gingerbread Man (read aloud).

Threes and fours: ten to fifteen minutes; let a child hold the book.

Books

  • The Gingerbread Man (read aloud, level 5): A read-aloud: the old tale, with the line children shout along.
  • Fox and the Hen (level 1, free on peabody.kids): A kinder fox, to compare with the one in the tale.
  • A Bun for Fran (level 2, free on peabody.kids): A bun to share, for the bakery corner.

Craft: Gingerbread person

You need (4): a brown card person (grown-up cuts), crayons, buttons or stickers, glue stick.

  1. Draw the face.
  2. Glue on buttons or stickers.
  3. Give your gingerbread person a name.

With a grown-up. No heat, nothing hot.

Song: Pat-a-Cake

The words

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man, Bake me a cake as fast as you can; Pat it and prick it and mark it with B, And put it in the oven for baby and me.

Traditional; public domain. From Top 52 nursery rhymes with lyrics.

Snack

Banana Oat Cookies from the Peabody Kitchen: picture steps, allergy swaps and safety lines on the recipe.

Letter pack

GgG is for gingerbread. Print the two pages (a trace page and a color page).

Threes and fours: trace G and g once, then find G in the room and in the book.

Outside: Run, run, as fast as you can

A chasing game: the gingerbread runners run to the fence; the fox (a grown-up) walks slowly after them.

All themesDecember themesThe theme plannerPreschool and daycare

The books are Peabody's own open library, free with no sign-in. The song is public domain. The snack links to the Peabody Kitchen. Nothing here asks for a child's name.