Gingerbread House

Build a festive Gingerbread House with Crayola® Model Magic®. Everyone can help decorate-without a kitchen!

• 1.

  Gingerbread has been a sweet treat for a long time. During the Middle Ages, ginger was the second-most traded spice between Asia and Europe. Why? It preserves cakes (and tastes good, too). In England, gingerbread was popular to eat at fairs.

• 2.

  Building houses from spiced cakes is a German tradition. Remember the witch's house in Hansel and Gretel? Gingerbread was often gilded (covered in gold). The word came to mean something that was showy and pretty. Have you heard the term used to describe some kinds of houses?

• 3.

  In the United States, these traditions came together. Some places now have gingerbread house shows at the winter holidays. Find pictures of gingerbread houses. Here's a new way to make a Gingerbread House as a class project.

• 4.

  Find a recycled box. Make a roof peak by taping two box flaps into a triangle.

• 5.

  Mix and knead different colors of Crayola® Model Magic® to create the colors you want.

• 6.

  Roll modeling material out into sizes that will cover the box sides and roof. Secure pieces on box, one side at a time with Crayola School Glue. Lay flat to air dry before doing another side.

• 7.

  Pinch and glue sides and roof parts together. Air dry.

• 8.

  With more Model Magic, design a textured roof, windows, doors, a chimney, and other decorative elements.

• 9.

  Glue finished house on recycled cardboard. Add a pathway, shrubs, and light if you wish. Air dry before displaying.

• 10.

  If you want a shiny Gingerbread House, mix equal parts of glue and water. Cover your art area with newspaper. Apply the glaze to your house with a Crayola So Big Brush. Air dry.

Benefits

• Students learn about ginger, an age-old spice, and its uses in diverse cultures.
• Students knead, roll, and shape modeling material using methods similar to those used for baking and sculpture.
• Students collaborate on a large-group construction project to assemble a traditional holiday decoration.

Adaptations

• Smell and taste ginger root. Find out about the many medicinal properties of ginger. List other foods that contains ginger. Make ginger tea by boiling slices of the root in water.
• Host a Medieval festival with food stands selling fair fare like gingerbread in the shapes of letters and armor. Include booths with activities of the time period. For example, gingerbread men were sold to single women who hoped to find a husband.
• Construct a giant gingerbread house from a recycled refrigerator box. Make pretend decorations and gingerbread figures from recycled materials and Model Magic®.
• Look at photographs of Victorian houses and identify their "gingerbread" architectural qualities.