Cookie Cutter Art
Trace around cookie cutters on Styrofoam food trays and cut out the shapes. Have the children place the Styrofoam shapes on different colors of construction paper. Let them dip toothbrushes in paint and rub tongue depressors across the toothbrushes, splattering paint onto their papers. Then let them remove the shapes to reveal the pictures they have created.
Cookie Cutter Printing
Pour tempera paint on folded paper towels placed in several Styrofoam food trays. Let the children dip cookie cutters into the paint and press them on pieces of construction paper to make prints.
Five Little Cookies
Cut five cookie shapes out of felt, one each from white, green, yellow, brown and red. Place the cookie shapes on a flannelboard. As you recite the poem below, let the children take turns removing the appropriate colored cookies.
Variation: Use Christmas cookie shapes and change the first line of the poem to "Five Little Christmas Cookies".
Five little cookies,
With frosting galore.
Mother ate the white one,
And then there were four.
Four little cookies,
Two and two, you see.
Father ate the green one,
And then there were three.
Three little cookies,
But before I knew,
Sister ate the yellow one,
And then there were two.
Two little cookies,
Oh, what fun.
Brother ate the brown one,
And then there was one.
One little cookie,
Watch me run.
I ate the red one,
And then there were none.
Cookie Match-Up
On a heavy piece of paper, trace around three or four cookie cutters with a felt-tip marker. Then mix up the cookie cutters and let the children place them on the appropriate shapes for a simple matching game.
Cookie Cutter Puzzles
Place cookie cutters on Styrofoam food trays and press down hard to make indentations. Use a sharp knife to carefully cut out the shapes. Let the children put the puzzles together by placing the cookie shapes in the appropriate cut-out spaces in the trays.
Variation: Instead of Styrofoam food trays, use sturdy box lids.
Sandwich Shapes
Let the children help make egg salad, peanut butter and jelly, or cheese sandwiches. Then have them use cookie cutters to cut out their sandwiches.
Sandwich Decorations
Let the children help make open-faced sandwiches by spreading soft cream cheese on slices of whole-wheat bread. Have the children place open cookie cutters on top of their sandwiches and fill them with alfalfa sprouts. Then let the children remove their cookie cutters to reveal their sandwich decorations.