The Perfect Kindergarden Christmas Craft

We made cinnamon applesauce ornaments today. It was surprisingly simple and enjoyable. Perhaps because I was prepared (everything out and organized before beginning) and perhaps because there was so much the kids could actually participate in, there was relatively little frustration for both the kids and myself. I will absolutely admit to being the mom who looses her temper mid-craft when kids start dumping, grabbing, poking holes, and basically not doing what I want them to do. Lame, I know. these types of projects are supposed to be fun, right? Well this one was. We all took turns measuring, mixing, kneading, rolling, cutting, and painting. It was a lovely festive holiday morning. With the added bonus of a house that smells ridiculously wonderful as a result. 

Here's what we did:

We mixed the following ingredients:

2 cups cinnamon

1 1/2 cup applesauce

1 tablespoon school glue

1 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon ground clove

Then we rolled it out to about a quarter inch thickness.

Cut out our shapes and placed them on greased cookie sheets. Then we poked holes for the hooks using toothpicks. We made out holes pretty big so we can use ribbon through them. 

Then we baked the ornaments for an hour at 200 degrees on the cookie sheet and then another half hour just on the racks. They all came out perfectly dry.

We passed the time waiting for the ornaments to cool completely while listening to the Christmas book Grandma recorded for us.

Then we painted our ornaments!!!

I wish this is how it was at my house every day. I've got to get more organized...