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Activity and strategy

Gingerbread Man Sensory Activity

This sensory activity helps students with visual impairments and multiple disabilities to develop independence.

At times, it is more important for a child to be successful in completing a simple task independently rather than a complex task with maximal assistance or several prompts. Simple 1 to 2-step projects are the perfect opportunity to give a child more independence. The “Gingerbread Man” activity described below requires children to put glue on their gingerbread man and then sprinkle cinnamon over it. An easy two-step project that creates a cute end product that also smells delicious! This project is ideal for children who may have motor planning or sequencing difficulties, however it can be adapted to suit a variety of children’s needs.

Materials

  • Paper
  • Gingerbread man tracing
  • Marker
  • Cinnamon
  • Glue
  • Buttons
  • Gingerbread man poem (optional)

Procedure

  • Draw one gingerbread man onto each paper.
  • Give paper to child and have them put glue on the gingerbread man.
  • Have them sprinkle cinnamon over the gingerbread man (and onto the glue).
  • Shake off the excess cinnamon.
  • Glue buttons onto the gingerbread man to complete!
  • Make this a complete project by reading the gingerbread man poem before completing the activity.

Variations

  • Gingerbread manMake a ‘life size’ gingerbread man by having children trace each other’s bodies and then sprinkling cinnamon on them! Great for low vision kids and those who need work on gross motor skills.
  • Have one “life size” gingerbread man and have a 3-5 children work to complete it to make it a group project and to encourage working together.
  • Use other scents or textures such as powdered sugar or cocoa to create a different sensory experience.
  • Leave out the buttons on this project and just have child glue and sprinkle. This makes it a two-step project which may help children with multiple disabilities or motor planning difficulties complete it more independently.
  • Add simple visual and written step-by-step directions next to the activity to help children to complete it independently. (See picture above)
Gingerbread man collage

Inspired by: http://jensotforkids.blogspot.com/2012/01/mmmmmmmmmmthe-gingerbread-man.html

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