Craft Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments!

Don’t even think of buying a Christmas gift for your kindergartner’s teacher! Let your child make it from home instead. These fantastic-smelling ornaments look like gingerbread, are as easy to make as cookie dough, and will teach your little one some valuable measuring skills!

What You Need:

• 1 ½ cups cinnamon
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup white glue
• Glitter glue

What You Do:

1. Help your child measure the ingredients, pouring each into a mixing bowl. As you work, discuss each ingredient: What does it look like? Smell like?
2. Ask your child to stir the ingredients together and then knead—this is a very stiff dough. How is this mixture different from each individual ingredient? How is it the same?
3. Now your child can use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until it is about 1/4-inch thick.
4. Time to bring out the cookie cutters! It may be difficult to remove the “cookies” from narrow cutters, but let your child have fun. Help him or her re-roll the dough and cut out more shapes until most of the dough has been used.
5. Help your child poke a hole through the top of each ornament so that you can include a hanger later on.
6. Ask your child to place the “cookies” on a drying rack. It will take about two days for them to dry. Encourage your child to take a close look at the cookies. How can they tell which parts are still wet and which are dry?
7. Once the ornament is dry, get out the glitter glue and encourage your young artist to get creative!

Invite your child to give the ornaments as gifts to teachers, or use them to decorate the family Christmas. Your child will see the vital role he plays in creating holiday memories!