|
|
'It takes a village'A gingerbread village, that isBy Rose Hooper |
|
|
Graham crackers, pretzels, M&Ms, gum drops, Hershey's kisses, marshmallows, egg whites, confectioner's sugar, vanilla, cereal, candy canes, starlight mints and sugar sprinkles. That's what students in Marsha Holder's and Carol Young's class at Scotts Creek School discovered it takes to build a house - a gingerbread house.
After whipping up a concoction of egg whites, confectioner's sugar, cream of tartar and vanilla, Kody Hall intently applied his white icing trim. Like the phrase "It takes a whole village to raise a child," Holder said their room resembled a gingerbread village. |
|
|
"The students were so creative in constructing their houses; some were very elaborate and even included moats. Their designs were so intricate, they really surprised me."
Reading "Hansel and Gretel" inspired Hall's creation. "I built my house like I thought theirs would be, but I did change some things. I added a satellite dish," the 9-year-old said. Lisa Hendershot, 12, also added a satellite dish to her creation pictured top right. Andy Franklin, 12, built a "warm, cozy" house with smoke coming out the chimney. For that effect, he used Tootsie rolls topped by icing for smoke. A load of wood, ready to fuel the fire, rests in the front yard, along with Frosty the Snowman. |
|
|
"By the students' handiwork, you can tell what's important to them," said Young. For instance, 11-year-old Derrick Nicholson built his porch with pretzel handrails for the handicapped.
While the activity definitely was fun, Young and Holder stressed that it was also educational. Students used measuring skills in the overall construction and problem-solving skills as they assembled and stabilized shapes. In addition, they used colors and shapes to create a variety of patterns. The trick, revealed Nicholson munching on a candy cane, was "not to eat all the construction materials." |
Back to Archive: 12-23-99. |