Free Printable Gingerbread Preschool Sequencing Activities

I want my kids to KNOW the smell of molasses, cloves and cinnamon. Personally, one whiff and I’m instantly pressing a gingerbread man shaped cutter into thick dough with my 4-year-old fingers. Aside from the childhood memories those distinctive smells invoke, a gingerbread theme is a great way to engage our youngest learners meaningfully in any content area. The Free Printable Gingerbread Preschool Sequencing Activity set helps preschoolers explore the steps to baking gingerbread cutouts. While improving sequencing skills, children also learn new vocabulary and gain valuable oral language skills.

The set includes three sequencing activities as well as the option to print in color or black and white. You can decide how to teach sequencing to your preschoolers: puzzle pieces, picture cutouts, or illustrations only. Download the free preschool sequencing activities printable now!

Importance of Sequencing in Preschool

Sequencing skills are a major foundational skill. It refers to putting events, or other things, in chronological order. Ultimately, it is a higher-order thinking skill children will call on for many other concepts, like cause and effect or scientific inquiry.

Step-by-step sequencing applies to daily routines, recognizing patterns, numbers, and life skills in general. Learning sequencing also lends itself to oral language development when we encourage our children to talk about the steps.

This gingerbread activity for preschool provides the perfect opportunity to give our youngest learners and speakers hands on practice with sequencing.

Students will practice putting the steps in order, but at the same time, they can practice talking about each of the steps. You can expand the new vocabulary to include: molasses, cloves, cinnamon, ingredients, cookie-cutter, bake, decorate, whisk, or blend.

How to Use the Gingerbread Sequencing Cards

Begin by printing the free printable sequencing activity for preschool. Choose black and white or color. Print them all, or choose the preschool sequencing printable that works best for you. Laminate or put into plastic sleeves for durability.

The learning goal is for students to put the cards in the correct order. However, there is much room for flexibility in executing the learning activity.

Encourage your students to talk about each step. They can follow the sentence provided, or phrase it in their own words.

Students can improve fine motor skills and practice cutting skills by cutting the square steps, or the puzzle pieces provided. Alternatively, you can cut and laminate first, allowing the students to only focus on sequencing and language goals.

This activity can be placed at a learning center or small groups, or you can complete it as a class. You can even create a game of sorts where you pass around the pieces until the music stops and those with a piece in hand must stand up and put themselves in the correct order.

Extension Ideas

Get creative this holiday season with more hands-on preschool gingerbread man activities. You can incorporate this theme into virtually anything! Math, science, art…the possibilities are endless!

• Use small cutout shapes as buttons (or a real set of buttons) to make different patterns on a gingerbread cutout
• Add scarves, earmuffs, boots, and other winter items to your dramatic play area
• Create a math center with numbered gingerbread people to practice numbers sequencing
• Make gingerbread themed play dough by adding cloves and cinnamon to the recipe and keep it at the sensory table
• Make paper gingerbread houses with old milk cartons, construction paper, and foam cutouts or real candy
• Other hands-on activities include actually baking or decorating real gingerbread cookies or houses