If Gretal had a day job...

Gretal's escaped the wicked witch and got a job teaching preschool. I made 30 cracker houses for our gingerbread week at school. I told myself I would not do it anymore. Too much work. But the rewards came the next day when I helped the kids make their houses. OK, I'm in for next year. I will just have to get more done in advance so I am not crunched for time. What a jolly project it was!

This is a picture of Lylah and some of her classmates with their houses. See the joy? I love these cuties!


This past week at school we made gingerbread houses. I made them f graham crackers. Super easy! ( took a chunk of time for the mass quantity, though). Each house takes about 5 crackers. I used royal icing to "glue" the houses together and then I mixed a little cream of tartar into canned icing to allow the kids to glue the candies on their houses. I read somewhere that the cream of tartar helps the icing to harden and, therefore, hold the candies on the houses. The project was a hit and all the kids really enjoyed decorating their houses.

It was funny to see the difference between the age groups and their thought processes. My morning group had several shades of decorating philosophies. They are 2. My younger ones mostly just saw piles of candy as the most awesome buffet ever and later caught onto the concept of putting the candies on the houses. The older 2's wanted to make houses pretty "for Mommy". I love this sweet stage where everything they do is for Mommy or Daddy to enjoy (I , being Mommy appreciate her creations and enthusiasm.) My 4 and 5 year olds had a few different philosophies too. There were some who wanted to make houses that looked great and so they added chimneys, and widows, and door knobs, and Christmas lights. These houses would go home and be proudly displayed. Then there were others who wanted to pile as much candy on their houses as possible so that they could take them home and eat them. Their houses were about 10 lbs and not a speck of the crackers underneath were visible. But they were all proud of the houses and super excited to show parents at pick up time.


Lylah had a mixture of philosophies going on too. Being 2, she was way into eating the candy rather than decorating the house at first. I took several pictures of her and her cheeks look as though she has either had her wisdom teeth extracted or has turned into a chipmunk. But really, she was a candy glutton...I guess I should let her have a piece now and then and maybe she would not feel the need to stuff her face because she will never see the stuff again. Anywho, after filling her mouth full of candy, she began to be willing to put a few pieces on the house and ended with a cute finished product. She really loved holding it on the way to the car and into the house so she could steal little licks from the peppermints that adorn the roof. It now sits safely on a shelf beyond her reach. She proudly showed Daddy her house first thing when he got home (and took a little sneak-lick).


Cheeks packed to the hilt. One for the house and sneak 3 for me...

Proud of her work! "Can I have just one more lick, Mommy, and then that's it? No more after that. OK? " Seems like she might have heard those words before. My negotiator.