December is here and with that means a long winter break from school! With so much time to fill, it would be a great idea to come up with some fun, festive activities for your family over break. A bonus?! These activities are a sneaky way to incorporate all of those executive functioning skills you’ve been working so hard on all year with your child! Today, we’re going to take a deep dive into how building a gingerbread house promotes the development of so many executive functions. This activity could also be interchangeable with baking and decorating cookies. At the end, we’ve provided a list of some other activities to try this winter break that are also great for executive functioning skills!
From organization, to planning, and even goal-directed persistence, making a gingerbread house is a gold mine for practicing executive functioning skills in a fun way this winter!
Planning
Planning comes into play in a couple of different ways here. Firstly, have your child come up with a plan for what ingredients, baking tools, etc. they will need for their gingerbread house. Will it be a pre-packaged kit, or do they want to make it from scratch? What ingredients are needed for the cookies and icing? Should they buy any extra candies or sprinkles? Secondly, when they’re ready to make the house, have them draw a picture or jot down some ideas of what they want their gingerbread house to include and look like! Planning ahead will help prevent a gingerbread meltdown later!
Time Management
Time management is a huge factor in having a successful gingerbread house creation day! Help your child to be responsible for planning a day and time to do this activity and decide if they want to invite friends or family to join in on the fun. Most gingerbread house kits suggest you build the actual house hours in advance of decorating to let it set. Your child will also need to factor this into their plans for the day. Time should also be set aside for the cleanup after the project.
Organization
There’s endless ways to incorporate organizational skills into making a gingerbread house or cookies! You can use paint trays to set out and separate different candies, sprinkles and chocolates. Labels are great for icing colors and styles. Have your child make sure that everything has its own place, and that they have enough tools, piping bags, etc. for everyone to be able to work at once.
Sustained Attention
Decorating a gingerbread house from start to finish certainly requires some sustained attention. If you notice your child start to lose interest before the project is over, try turning on some fun music or taking a hot cocoa break. You can also chunk the decorating process into smaller sections and take a 5-minute movement break in between each side.
Goal-Directed Persistence
Let’s face it, gingerbread houses can actually be a bit daunting to complete! I, myself, have already tried making one this season and found certain aspects of it to be less than relaxing! This project actually provides a great opportunity to strengthen your child’s goal-directed persistence skills. Sometimes kids start out on a project like this and when it doesn’t go exactly as planned they experience big feelings, like frustration or sadness. Help them to see the big picture by setting a goal for the end. For example, what will you do with the gingerbread house when it’s done? Perhaps you can use it as a centerpiece in your home or take it over to a friend or family member’s house as a gift! When your child finishes the house, shower on some praise and take a picture of them with their house so that they can have a memory of something they feel proud of.
Here are a few other winter activities to think about this year that also incorporate many of these above executive functioning skills:
wrapping presents
making cards and gifts for friends and families
planning and/or cooking a holiday meal
building a snowman
doing a big toy or room re-fresh and clean up
Written by Laine J.