Please note that these items are not intended to be eaten, even though they smell good enough!
* 1 cup cinnamon
* 3/4 cup applesauce
* 1 tablespoon nutmeg
* 1 tablespoon ground clove
* 2 tablespoons glue
Directions:
Mix ingredients until dough becomes a moist ball. Roll the ball out on waxed paper or another no-stick surface. You can also do this by pressing the dough between two sheets of waxed paper or parchment paper.
Use assorted cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Use a drinking straw to punch hanger holes in the top area of the figure. Allow to air-dry for a few days (I find an occasional flip helps speed the drying process).
Once they are hardened, thread a string through the hole and hang them in your car, or on a Christmas tree, if you so desire. The fragrance they produce is quite nice. (Note: There is a significant amount of shrinkage of the material during the drying process).
My classroom theme is Bears, so my first graders will be making bear figures this week. Because of the color of the material, Gingerbread Men/Ladies would also be great. Glue and glitter could also be used to decorate them. Please note that these items are not intended to be eaten, even though they smell good enough.
* We did these with the Cub Scouts one year and they took them to a local nursing home to hand out as gifts to the elderly patients, complete with hanging ribbons. After the ornaments were handed out, the children assembled in front of the home’s Christmas Tree to sing a few carols. Well, before the songs were done, three of the ornaments had been half-devoured by the residents. We forgot to tell them, or they didn’t understand, that they were NOT cookies!
T2T Contributor: Ron Gettler, 1st Grade