Preschool Part 4: Christmas Time and Letter L

I am on week 4 of my turn with preschool playgroup and I am loving it!  Only two more weeks after today and then I have to turn my 7 little cuties over to the next mom.

Today we learned about the letter L and for a snack we had...

Christmas "Lights"

 These beauties were made when I used my football shaped cookie cutter for the shape and then used one of my favorite things this month, a box of 6 colored sprinkles shakers.  Z thought they would have looked better if I would have used green for the bulb, but once again, I have a TON of red frosting in squirt bottles left over from Halloween!

 We also made these cute "letters" to Santa.  I saw  craft kit for something similar on Oriental Trading, but decided to make up my own template.  I bought some felt and pieced them together with the preschoolers.  We put a loop of ribbon on the top so that they can hang on the tree, or on a door knob, which is what Buddy did with his.

 And then we attached a ribbon on the back so that we could tie on a letter to Santa!

Gingerbread Man Pancakes

Who says gingerbread men are just for Christmas time?

GINGERBREAD MAN PANCAKES
4 Eggs
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Molasses
1 Cup Buttermilk
3 Cups Flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup butter melted
1/2 cup - 1cup milk
Whipped cream, fruit, chocolate chips, and other garnishments optional

1. With electric mixer, beat the eggs until they're light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar, molasses, and butter milk and mix until blended about 1 minute more.

2. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, spices, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and stir until smooth. Stir in the butter. Gradually, add milk until pancakes are to desired consistency.

3. Pour a circle for the head, a circle for the body and four small circles for hands and feet. Cook on a pancake griddle over low heat until golden brown. Decorate and serve with maple syrup if desired.