Toddler Tuesdays: Gingerbreadman

Ahh gingerbread week. I have been looking forward to this "lesson plan" for months. Yesterday... Things did not go as planned. Panda could only be described as feral. He was a three foot tall tornado of terror yesterday. Tipping over everything (and I do mean everything.. furniture included), yelling, hitting, biting, ripping, dumping, eating half his books, breaking things, climbing the walls, tables, chairs, like a possessed monkey.. I have no idea how to tame his destructiveness right now (ideas are most welcome). We also had to cancel our annual gingerbread decorating party because we are all sick;

 but today is a new day. 

So, for our sensory bin we have gingerbread play-dough, cookie cutters, and a rolling pin. Simple, and smells so yummy. Although I get the distinct impression that the dough would have turned out better if I didn't have to use gluten free flour.

 We baked up some yummy treats . I was worried that our book this week might be a bit to wordy, but giving him one of these little handsome fellows to munch on during book time did the trick, and was the only time he sat still all day.

 We also made these yummy morsels. Instead of rolling them into balls I used a mini gingerbread man cookie cutter.. Panda was not impressed. They have a curiously strong flavor, but Bear and I like them. We will try another batch and substitute Honey for the molasses later. In the mean time all of Panda's food is being cut into cookie shapes and that has helped dramatically with his eating issues.

 I swiped these ornaments from our Christmas stash for a simple counting game. I could have printed gingerbread clip art out, but why do the extra work when I had these laying around? 

A simple match the shapes puzzle...

and on the flip side an invitation for play, since our build your own snowman activity went over so well last week. This opened up a lot of opportunities for words and working on his speech therapy.

A salt tray for precursor to handwriting activities. I scented the salt with ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Panda likes this tray. It's like a bonus sensory bin to him. His favorite thing is to use the rolling pin on it and hear the salt crunch.. Not its intended purpose, but it works.

And last of all... sigh... our gingerbread house.... We planned on making a tent for Panda's birthday to replace his old tent, so we made the frame for it ahead of time to decorate for a special treat this week..... Sigh...

He LOVED the tent, but I have to redo this as he has ripped all the paper walls down before noon yesterday...That was my mistake.. But I said I would blog about what worked and what didn't when I started Toddler Tuesdays.... Paper was a bad idea. I almost think that is what set him off yesterday. The sound of the paper when hit, and torn was to much, and he does like to eat paper.... Well.. it is supposed to look like an edible house too.... There is also the feel of the paper.. It may have been to much.

 I will be remaking this to look the same, but I will use felt instead of paper. Then we can reuse it every year for the gingerbread decorating party and it will withstand his punching, kicking, tearing, biting, and being sat on a little better. 

 Have a blessed, wondrous, healthy, and Calm week. What is going on in your home? I would love to hear about it in the comments, or send me an email. 

~Shine on~