Recipe - Gingerbread Men

• 1 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 125g butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• pinch of mixed spice
• pinch of nutmeg
• mixed fruit and choc chips for decoration

1. Cream the sugar and the butter, then add the egg and beat well
2. Add sifted flour, baking soda, ginger, mixed spice and nutmeg (kids seem to love sifting, let them have a go, but be prepared for mess!)
3. Use a floured roller to roll the dough out onto a floured board
4. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the gingerbread men and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper
5. Decorate them! Chocolate buttons, currant mounth, and maybe a cherry nose? Let your littlies go to town and see what combinations they come up with
6. Cook the gingerbread men in a moderate over for 15-20 minutes
7. Allow to cool, and enjoy!

Gingerbread Men

I'm going to have to make another batch of these up with Eden, they were a smash with her and with our family too! Before we began cooking, I told her the story of the gingerbread man (if you need a refresher, you can find the story here), and then told her that we were going to try making some.

She was so excited! When we were decorating the gingerbread men, I noticed that Eden was putting the choc chips all over the bodies, but not the heads. I asked her why, and she said "because Mummy, if they no have faces, they no run away"! Ha ha ha! Stuff like that just makes my day!

Incidentally, storytelling is really important. Books, of course, are a huge part of it, but also just telling your child a story with no pictures or books or anything is important. It teaches them listening skills and comprehension, and how to follow a storyline without visual cues. If you're a bit rusty on fairy tales, check out http://www.childrenstory.info/ for great versions to tell your kids. There's a link on the left hand side, 'Children's Stories' where you'll find nearly fifty tales to tell your tots.

See if you can link the stories in with an activity; colouring pages, puppets, cooking or baking, etc. Let us know what you come up with! ~ L.