Gingerbread Man – Early Years Activities with Interactive Game
Bring the classic tale to life
The Gingerbread Man is a traditional tale that captivates children across the Early Years Foundation Stage. The cheeky biscuit who leaps from the oven and outruns the old woman, the old man, the cow, the horse and the fox is packed with repetition, rhythm and rich vocabulary, perfect fuel for storytelling, role play and early language.
These five activities have been designed by early years practitioners to weave the story into every area of the EYFS framework: baking for Maths and Understanding the World, spiced sensory play for Communication and Language, counting games for Number, story walks for Literacy, and mixed-media collage for Expressive Arts and Design.
Our Top 5 Gingerbread Man Activities
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Activity 1
Mix, Roll & Bake Real Gingerbread Men
Best for: Maths · Understanding the World · Physical Development · PSED
What you need
- 350g plain flour, 100g butter, 175g soft brown sugar, 1 egg, 4 tbsp golden syrup
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 2 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp mixed spice
- Rolling pins & gingerbread man cutters (several sizes)
- Baking trays lined with paper
- Decoration trays: raisins, currants, icing pens, glacé cherries
- Aprons, hair nets, jugs of water, hand-washing station
How to set it up
- Pre-rub butter and flour so small hands can finish the mix.
- Children measure and pour the sugar, syrup and spices into a big bowl.
- Knead, wrap and chill the dough for 15 minutes, a perfect “tidy up” moment.
- Children roll, cut, count their biscuits onto trays and decorate before baking.
- Bake 10–12 min at 180°C. While they cool, sing the “Run, run, run” chant.
💬 Adult prompts
- “What happens when we mix butter and flour together? How has it changed?”
- “Can you roll the dough until it’s as flat as a pancake?”
- “How many gingerbread men fit on your tray? Can you count them with me?”
- “Which gingerbread man is biggest? Which is smallest? Can you line them up?”
- “I wonder what will happen to them in the hot oven…”
📚 EYFS links
- Mathematics: counting biscuits, weighing ingredients, comparing size, estimating “how many”.
- Understanding the World: observing physical change (liquid → dough → baked biscuit), talking about hot/cold.
- Physical Development: fine motor from rolling and cutting; whole-hand strength kneading.
- PSED: taking turns with tools, waiting for the oven, sharing the finished biscuits.
- Communication & Language: sequencing words (first, next, then, finally) and new vocabulary (sticky, soft, crumbly).
✨ Extensions & differentiation
- Ages 1–2: dough exploration only: squish, poke, pinch in a tuff tray alongside the bakers.
- Ages 3–4: count decorations (3 buttons, 2 eyes, 1 mouth) and label a tally chart.
- Ages 4–5: follow a simple written recipe with picture steps; measure with scales.
- Challenge: bake one biscuit without a head. “Uh oh, what’s missing?”
💡
Allergy safe: check for wheat, egg and dairy before starting. A simple oat-and-apple purée dough works as an allergy-friendly swap. Always use plastic buttons for decoration, never real ones.
Activity 2
Gingerbread Spiced Sensory Tray
Best for: Sensory Play · Communication & Language · Understanding the World · PSED
What you need
- Large tuff spot or shallow tray
- “Gingerbread” base: 500g plain flour mixed with 2 tbsp ground cinnamon, 1 tbsp ground ginger, 1 tsp mixed spice, 1 tsp cocoa
- Cinnamon sticks, star anise, whole nutmegs and dried orange slices
- Wooden spoons, small jugs, sieves, funnels and mini measuring cups
- Gingerbread man cookie cutters and mini wooden figures
- Warm fairy lights underneath (safe, battery powered) for atmosphere
How to set it up
- Spread the spiced flour evenly and tuck cinnamon sticks around the edges.
- Hide 5–10 wooden gingerbread men in the flour before children arrive.
- Add pouring tools, cutters and a “bakery” sign.
- Invite children to explore: scoop, sieve, dig, press prints into the flour.
- Refresh throughout the day by raking the flour back flat and re-hiding figures.
💬 Adult prompts
- “Close your eyes. What can you smell? Does it remind you of anything?”
- “Can you find a hidden gingerbread man? How many can you dig out?”
- “The flour feels… soft? Cold? Dusty? Silky? Tell me with your words.”
- “Press your hand in. What did you leave behind? Can you find someone else’s print?”
- “Which spice is your favourite? Can you describe its smell to a friend?”
📚 EYFS links
- Understanding the World: sensory investigation, natural vs processed ingredients, introducing spices from around the world.
- Communication & Language: descriptive vocabulary (silky, gritty, fragrant, warm), turn-taking in conversation.
- Physical Development: pouring, scooping and sieving build fine motor and hand-eye coordination.
- Expressive Arts & Design: mark-making in the flour, open-ended imaginative play.
- PSED: sharing a shared space, respecting the calm of a sensory table.
✨ Extensions & differentiation
- Add rolling pins and water in small jugs, so children can mix real dough in the tray.
- Include a “smelling bar” of sealed jars with different spices to sniff and identify.
- Photograph each child’s flour “artwork” and display in a mini gallery.
- For babies: use an uncoloured flour-only tray in a smaller dish with chunky tools.
💡
Safety: always check for nut and spice allergies. Supervise closely. Ground cinnamon can irritate if inhaled. A damp cloth nearby speeds up tidying.
Activity 3
Gingerbread Button Counting & Pattern Maths
Best for: Mathematics · Fine Motor · Early Pattern Work
What you need
- Laminated gingerbread man outlines (10 per small group)
- Number cards 1–10 (and numicon shapes or ten-frames for ages 4+)
- Large plastic buttons in 3–4 colours
- Dice (standard and blank for writing numerals)
- Tweezers or pegs for fine-motor challenge
- A “gingerbread bakery” tray to collect finished work
How to set it up
- Lay the outlines in a row with number cards face-down beside them.
- A child turns a card and counts that many buttons onto a gingerbread man.
- Encourage touch-counting: one finger per button, one spoken number per touch.
- Roll the dice to “add one more”: “You had 4, now you have…?”
- Finish by making an ABAB colour pattern with the buttons across the tummy.
💬 Adult prompts
- “Show me with your fingers. How many buttons did you count?”
- “If we take one away, how many will be left?”
- “Which gingerbread man has the most buttons? Which has the fewest?”
- “Can you make a pattern: red, yellow, red, yellow? What comes next?”
- “Can you share these 6 buttons fairly between two gingerbread men?”
📚 EYFS links
- Mathematics – Number: subitising to 5, counting reliably to 10, one-to-one correspondence.
- Mathematics – Numerical Patterns: “one more / one less”, early sharing and doubling.
- Mathematics – Shape, Space & Measure: ABAB repeating patterns, comparing sets.
- Physical Development: pincer grip with tweezers and pegs.
✨ Extensions & differentiation
- Ages 1–2: posting buttons into a gingerbread-shaped tub, pure fine motor fun.
- Ages 3–4: matching numerals to button quantities, “show me 4”.
- Ages 4–5: addition and subtraction stories: “The fox ate 2 buttons! How many left?”
- Swap buttons for raisins on real biscuits and eat the maths afterwards!
💡
Tip: colour-coding the buttons helps children self-check patterns. Keep buttons large (at least 25mm) and supervise closely with under-3s.
Activity 4
Run, Run, Run! Story Walk & Chanting
Best for: Literacy · Physical Development · Role Play · Communication & Language
What you need
- Outdoor space, hall or large classroom cleared for running
- Six story stations: oven, old woman, old man, cow, horse, fox + river
- Simple character masks or lanyards (gingerbread man, cow, horse, fox)
- Blue sheet or ribbon tied between cones for “the river”
- Picture cards for sequencing the order of characters
- A drum or shaker for the “Run, run, run!” rhythm
How to set it up
- Space the six stations around the perimeter so children walk the story order.
- At each character station, everyone stops and chants together.
- Chant: “Run, run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!”
- Children run between stations: tiptoe, gallop like a horse, stomp like a cow.
- End at the river. Role-play the clever fox carrying the biscuit across!
💬 Adult prompts
- “Who did the gingerbread man meet first? And after that?”
- “What did the cow say? Can you say it in a cow voice?”
- “How did the fox trick the gingerbread man? Was that kind?”
- “Can you clap the words: Run, run, run, as fast as you can?”
- “Which part of the story was your favourite and why?”
📚 EYFS links
- Literacy – Comprehension: recalling story order, character names and the repeating refrain.
- Literacy – Word Reading: rhyming awareness (can, man), clapping syllables.
- Physical Development: varied gross motor: running, galloping, stomping, tiptoeing.
- Communication & Language: repetitive language, listening and responding, taking a role.
- PSED: turn-taking in drama, courage to speak in front of peers.
✨ Extensions & differentiation
- Record the children’s chant and play it back as a class soundtrack.
- Use puppets at each station for quieter children to “speak through”.
- Freeze-frame each scene and photograph, then make a book of the story.
- Rewrite the ending together: can the gingerbread man outsmart the fox?
💡
Top tip: for babies and toddlers, scale it down to three stations with large, bright pictures and a 30-second version of the chant. Pair with a real biscuit tasting at the end.
Activity 5
Mixed-Media Gingerbread Collage
Best for: Expressive Arts & Design · Fine Motor · Creativity · PSED
What you need
- Brown card gingerbread outlines (small, medium and large)
- Collage materials: buttons, sequins, wool, fabric scraps, rickrack ribbon, tissue paper
- Natural materials: cinnamon sticks, dried star anise, hessian, corrugated card
- PVA glue, glue spreaders, child-safe scissors
- Stamps and ink pads, white crayons for resist patterns
- Drying rack or string washing-line with pegs
How to set it up
- Offer three craft techniques side-by-side: collage, printing and bark rubbing.
- Children choose an outline and decide how to decorate it, freely.
- Model one small example so children see the possibilities, then step back.
- Peg finished gingerbread men along the washing line as they dry.
- Gather at the end to share. “Tell us about your gingerbread man.”
💬 Adult prompts
- “What will you choose for the eyes? Why that one?”
- “Can you snip a very small piece of wool? And now a long piece?”
- “Is your gingerbread man happy, sleepy or cheeky? How can we tell?”
- “Can you make a pattern on the tummy: spots, stripes or swirls?”
- “Tell me a story about your gingerbread man. Where is he going?”
📚 EYFS links
- Expressive Arts & Design: exploring materials, texture and colour; making creative choices.
- Physical Development: scissors control, precise gluing, pincer grip on sequins.
- Communication & Language: narrating their creative process, describing textures.
- PSED: self-expression, pride in finished work, sharing materials kindly.
- Literacy: invite children to “sign” their work, early name writing.
✨ Extensions & differentiation
- Ages 1–2: offer large chunky stickers and pre-cut shapes to press onto a tacky board.
- Ages 3–4: introduce potato printing, cut a gingerbread shape for repeat prints.
- Ages 4–5: design a paper-bag puppet version to use in the Story Walk.
- Display the whole class as “The Gingerbread Family”. Honour every design, no wrong answers.
💡
Inclusion tip: display every gingerbread man at child eye-level, on different shades of backing card, to celebrate diversity. No two gingerbread men are the same, and neither are we.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers for Gingerbread Man activities
What age are these activities suitable for?
The activities are designed for the full EYFS age range, 1–5. Babies and young toddlers benefit
from sensory flour trays and button posting. Two- and three-year-olds love the story walk and
decorate-the-gingerbread-man game. Four- and five-year-olds can follow a recipe, work with
numerals to 10 and retell the story with character voices.
How do these activities link to the EYFS framework?
Together they cover all seven EYFS areas: Communication and Language (chants, descriptive play),
Personal, Social and Emotional Development (turn-taking, pride in work), Physical Development
(fine and gross motor), Literacy (story retelling and early writing), Mathematics (counting,
pattern, sharing), Understanding the World (baking changes, spices, seasons) and Expressive Arts
and Design (collage, printing, imaginative role play).
Do I need to read the story first?
Reading the tale first gives children the hooks they need: the refrain, the characters, the
chase. Multiple versions on the story table let children compare illustrations. That said, every
activity also works as a standalone experience, so it’s perfectly fine to start with the baking
and read the story over snack afterwards.
Can these activities be done outdoors?
Absolutely! The Story Walk is at its best outdoors with real space to run. The spiced sensory
tray works wonderfully on an outside table (and the smell carries!), and a garden mud kitchen
becomes a brilliant outdoor bakery. Just keep loose decorations contained in windy weather.
How can I involve families?
Send home the simple gingerbread recipe for baking together, share a home-learning version of
the chant, invite parents to join the Story Walk day, or ask families to donate a button or a
cinnamon stick for the sensory tray. Photograph finished crafts and share securely via your
parent-communication app.
How long do these activities take to set up and run?
Most can be set up in 15–20 minutes with one practitioner. The baking session needs about 90
minutes end-to-end (mixing, chilling, baking, cooling). The sensory tray and counting tray can
stay out for several days, refreshed each morning. The Story Walk runs in 20–30 minutes.