Whip up a batch of gingerbread cookies

During the holiday season, there is always a hum of excitement as children and teachers decorate their classrooms and school hallways, and musical programs are rehearsed and presented to enthusiastic parents. As an art teacher, I have always looked for ways to bring joy to the holidays without using the symbols of any particular relation.

I feel it is better, and fairer to all, to do secular and seasonal lessons which can also be full of holiday flavor. Winter themes, for example, are appropriate for the art program, and fit in perfectly at holiday time.

Paintings of original and fanciful snowmen are one favorite, and winter trees or landscapes are another. Winter birds can also be done in many media at any grade level for a stunning and festive lesson.

One idea that has been successful for my younger elementary children (K-1) is making paper "gingerbread cookies." By the time we are finished with these, you can almost smell them baking in the oven! Older classes could use clay or papier-mache to make holiday cookies, pies or other fanciful desserts.

As always, the children pour into the art room, eager for whatever surprise I have in store for them. The lesson begins. Mmmm, gingerbread! "What yummy looking 'cookies' could we create that would look good enough to eat?" I ask the class, while shades of brown. What different sorts of cookie characters could we shape? Could they wear hats or funny shoes? Could they have bows, crowns or snazzy hairdos?

Interest mounts as I quickly give them a few hints on how to fill the space with an imaginative cookie character using white tempera paint. Eager MATERIALS

* 18" x 12" construction paper in black and shades of brown

* Paintbrushes

* White tempera paint

* Oil pastels

* White glue

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will ...

* practice imaginative thinking.

* explore individual ways to draw a simple "person." filling the space.

* learn about a variety of Facial expressions.

* make thoughtful use of the design elements of line, shape, pattern and color.

* experiment with approaches to detail and elaboration.

* develop skills with handling a paintbrush.

* gain greater dexterity in cutting and gluing.

* take pride in their own and others' creative expression to start, and not short of ideas, my young artists dip their brushes into the white paint "icing" and begin to outline their special character on the brown construction paper. They have to think through their idea a little ahead of the brush, visualizing how it will go, as this is direct painting on the paper, with no pencil drawing underneath!

Unique boy and girl figures begin to emerge, and character ideas begin to take shape. After outlining the basic cookie idea, the children add some simple design ideas to the clothes. We discuss shapes and types of decorative lines they could use. For faces, we talk about different ways to show delight, surprise, happiness and pride--all upbeat expressions. The children, now fully engrossed, add details such as hair, hats or bows.

Off to the drying rack. Do you think they are finished? Well, you'll have to wait till the next art session to see what new magic we are going to do!

Color! Yes, using oil pastels, the next step is to color in some of the white-icing designs. Pressing hard, the children add deep, lush colors to carefully chosen areas of their cookie characters. It is important to leave plenty of brown paper showing, too, to give the true "gingerbread" look.

With a nice balance of white icing, lively color and brown paper, the cookes begin to take on a beautifully finished look. The final touch is to carefully cut them out and glue them onto black paper. The black background provides a handsome contrast to the white icing and bright color accents.

All finished, we proudly serve up our gingerbread cookies in a grand roll display, and everyone agrees: They look truly delicious!

Cynthia Cox Farris taught art at Veterans Park School in Ridgefield, Connecticut. She is now retired, but continues to share her successful art lessons with us.

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COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group