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Hannibal, MO —
For many, thoughts of building a gingerbread house brings back fond memories of a winter afternoon spent at grandma’s side. For 28 Logic Enrichment Academic Pursuit (LEAP) students in Hannibal, they will remember their gingerbread-building experience as educational and fun.
“It was fun getting to hang out with friends and doing the project together,” said 11-year-old Lauran Haye, a fifth-grader at Oakwood Elementary School.
“This was a fun project I’d like to do again, although some people were sick of gingerbread at the end,” said Bradley McCollum, an 11-year-old fifth-grader at Veterans Elementary School.
“It was hard, but it was still fun. It was a challenge to do,” said 11-year-old David Hjelm, a fifth-grader at Veterans Elementary School.
“It was really fun,” said Della Rodenbaugh, a 10-year-old fifth-grader at Stowell Elementary School. “We goofed around some, but we actually did learn something.”
Alec Mundle, a fifth-grader at Mark Twain Elementary, admitted the project had him worried at times.
“It was definitely stressful at times,” said the 11-year-old. “There was definitely a feeling of victory when we overcame an obstacle.”
There were an assortment of obstacles the students encountered.
“The gingerbread started sliding one day. We had used the wrong kind of icing and the walls started sliding,” said Bradley. “We took those pieces off and re-iced it with the right kind and put it back on. Then we piped icing into openings between the pieces to keep it from sliding more. I was confident we could fix it.”
For Della, the baking of the gingerbread was a hurdle to overcome.
“I liked baking and decorating the buildings, but I wasn’t good at rolling it out. I made it too thin and used too much flour,” she said.
David cited facing a deadline as a challenge.
“We had four days to do it all,” he said. “We worked a day-and-a-half on putting the gingerbread together and decorating it. Some people gave up recesses to work on it. It was worth it to make something like that.”
Math challenge
The math necessary to determine the perimeters and areas of certain parts of the project was another obstacle, according to David.
“One of the teachers said we were doing math normally done in the eighth grade,” he said. “I felt proud we could do it and build a building.”
The urge to nibble on the primary building material was a major temptation for Lauran.
“I loved putting it together, but I was tempted to take a bite. I didn’t,” she said. “I’d never had gingerbread before. Its smell was so good.”
Not every part of the restaurant, train station, community center and hotel constructed by the youngsters was a treat.
“Everything you see is edible, but if you dig down you’ll hit cardboard,” said Della.
While they enjoyed the project, none of the students is considering a career in architecture.
“It was stressful enough just doing a building of gingerbread. There would be too much stress doing a whole building,” said Alec.
“I don’t want to be an architect,” said Della. “I liked doing it, but not all the time.”
“I doubt I’ll be an architect,” said David. “The stuff I like to design is not possible.”
For many, thoughts of building a gingerbread house brings back fond memories of a winter afternoon spent at grandma’s side. For 28 Logic Enrichment Academic Pursuit (LEAP) students in Hannibal, they will remember their gingerbread-building experience as educational and fun.
“It was fun getting to hang out with friends and doing the project together,” said 11-year-old Lauran Haye, a fifth-grader at Oakwood Elementary School.
“This was a fun project I’d like to do again, although some people were sick of gingerbread at the end,” said Bradley McCollum, an 11-year-old fifth-grader at Veterans Elementary School.
“It was hard, but it was still fun. It was a challenge to do,” said 11-year-old David Hjelm, a fifth-grader at Veterans Elementary School.
“It was really fun,” said Della Rodenbaugh, a 10-year-old fifth-grader at Stowell Elementary School. “We goofed around some, but we actually did learn something.”
Alec Mundle, a fifth-grader at Mark Twain Elementary, admitted the project had him worried at times.
“It was definitely stressful at times,” said the 11-year-old. “There was definitely a feeling of victory when we overcame an obstacle.”
There were an assortment of obstacles the students encountered.
“The gingerbread started sliding one day. We had used the wrong kind of icing and the walls started sliding,” said Bradley. “We took those pieces off and re-iced it with the right kind and put it back on. Then we piped icing into openings between the pieces to keep it from sliding more. I was confident we could fix it.”
For Della, the baking of the gingerbread was a hurdle to overcome.
“I liked baking and decorating the buildings, but I wasn’t good at rolling it out. I made it too thin and used too much flour,” she said.
David cited facing a deadline as a challenge.
“We had four days to do it all,” he said. “We worked a day-and-a-half on putting the gingerbread together and decorating it. Some people gave up recesses to work on it. It was worth it to make something like that.”
Math challenge
The math necessary to determine the perimeters and areas of certain parts of the project was another obstacle, according to David.
“One of the teachers said we were doing math normally done in the eighth grade,” he said. “I felt proud we could do it and build a building.”
The urge to nibble on the primary building material was a major temptation for Lauran.
“I loved putting it together, but I was tempted to take a bite. I didn’t,” she said. “I’d never had gingerbread before. Its smell was so good.”
Not every part of the restaurant, train station, community center and hotel constructed by the youngsters was a treat.
“Everything you see is edible, but if you dig down you’ll hit cardboard,” said Della.
While they enjoyed the project, none of the students is considering a career in architecture.
“It was stressful enough just doing a building of gingerbread. There would be too much stress doing a whole building,” said Alec.
“I don’t want to be an architect,” said Della. “I liked doing it, but not all the time.”
“I doubt I’ll be an architect,” said David. “The stuff I like to design is not possible.”
