Activity: Cookie-Cutter Nouns

This is the first in a new series of posts that hopefully will illustrate activities compatible with a learning lifestyle. The take-away: learning is fun!

Have you ever considered the fact that those cookie cutters you keep out of sight in the pantry are all nouns? You know: star, heart, tree, bell, butterfly (yes, thanks to a beloved grandmother, we even have a butterfly cookie cutter).

What a better way to enjoy grammar than to eat it!

Remind your children that nouns are a term we give to words that name a person, place or thing. (They can learn that a noun can also name an idea — like simplicity, anger or glee — later!)

Don’t let this become a “schooly” activity. Keep it simple. Finding other nouns during the cooking process will likely be contagious (sugar, flour, rolling pin, cookie sheet, oven, icing).

If you want to beef it up, you can always add the name to the cookie-object — written in icing.

A simple follow-up activity would be to list one letter of the alphabet on each line of a notebook page, dividing into two-columns if necessary to fit them on one page. Help your child write the nouns he encountered during the activity, one object per letter of the alphabet.

Cook up some nouns!

Suggestions
  • Add a little extra vanilla for a warm, cozy, cookie taste.
  • To save steps, roll and cut on parchment paper directly on cookie sheet. Then remove unused dough before baking.

Additional Resources

Favorite Sugar Cookies
Our family favorite; but be forewarned, younger children in particular don’t always appreciate the spicy flavor.

Heart-of-My-Heart Cookies
A favorite from Betty Crocker.

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