The Gingerbread Baby Literacy Play

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

Oh, my goodness! We had so much fun with this offering to explore the gingerbread man. This classic tale and the several versions we read to the children had them retelling and creating their own stories the entire month of December. What are some of your favourite classic stories to share with children? Type in the comments below. We are always looking for inspiration for future play invitations. 

We began with Jann Brett’s story, “Gingerbread Baby.” This was one of my own children’s favourite board book when they were little. We also explored the traditional verse of the gingerbread story and then continued our literacy exploration with, “Gingerbread Friends” and “Gingerbread Christmas” both by Jann Brett. The illustrations in Jann’s books are wonderful for developing predicting skills and for discussing the meaning children can gather from the illustrations found within a book. They are rich in detail and a visual delight. She is absolutely one of my favourite author/illustrators. 

The children created their own gingerbread house drawings inspired by the books and added them to the retelling offering at the table. They were sharing and creating their own stories through their play. This retelling experience allowed the children to collaborate and build stories together. The power of imaginative play was truly visible and we heard many times from the children these wonderful words, “Let’s pretend.” The Magic of childhood is so powerful and inspiring. It brings us back to our own childhood and the gift of enchanted play. 

Materials for this invitation are from: Michelle van Heugten Etsy wooden collection pieces,  @schleichofficial animals, @safariltd, and @hobbylobby. Wishing you many creative explorations. 

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❤️

Sincerely,

𝑀𝒾𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓁𝓁𝑒