Hi guys...I was recruited to do a cake decorating project for my son's first grade class. So far I thought about making mini cakes and having them each decorate them to look like hamburgers. I'll make all the bags of icings in different colors for each table and then instruct them on what to do. I also thought of a flower pot, maybe? But, I only have an hour so I guess I would make the flowers in advance....

Any other ideas? I would really appreciate it....thanks!

How about a cupcake decorating party? It's easy and fun and the cupcake can look however they like. All you do is hand out cupcakes, let them ice it and then provide a variety of toppings to decorate with.

i did the cupcake thing with my nieces and nephews and they had a great time. put so many different colors on each table and they can use a color, pass it on, use a color, pass it on...and so forth. well, it worked with 6 kids, don't know how it would work with more than that!

I did this once at my daughters school and had mini flower cakes for them to decorate. i just started off by showing them an idea and they took it from there. it was amazing to see what each child came out with in the end.

Would they be interested in doing something with a Christmas theme? Maybe cookie cakes cut out like stockings, snowflakes, candy canes or ornaments to decorate with icing and small candies????

I love the hamburger idea. The kids would get a kick out that I bet. In my head I am thinking a flat service would be easier/quicker to decorate.... you could do pizza's too....

Just brain storming... really rambling.... its late I probably should be in bed!!

bj

With that age group and if you have a bunch of them you want to go with something simple and easy. The are going to be overly excited about this and I don't know if they would/could follow directions for anything over very basic.

I'd go with a simple idea, like cupcakes or some small cakes. What about using a star, snowman, gingerbread man, or xmas tree cookie cutter as a guide and outlining it for them in advance. Show them how to do stars/dots and them let them loose with the icing.

On your bags of icing, your best bet is to use rubber bands to close off the ends, to keep them from squezing it out the other end. I'd also consider using one or two bags per child. Kids that age are going to lick their fingers and other things. If they have their own bags that will be less germs being passed around.

You could also make up some royal icing extras or bring some candy to let them decorate with so they can add more color to their cakes with out having to use three or four bags of icing.

Thanks everyone....I'll let you know what I finally decide. Texas...you're right about the licking of fingers....maybe I'll give each kid his own icing in a small disposable piping bag.

Gracias!!!

My 5yr old enjoys playing with MMF. You could roll out some thin sheets of it and store btwn wax paper. They kids would enjoy making cutouts. You could just have them frost the mini cake in white frosting and then apply the cutouts. Include sprinkles as not all little kids have good eye-hand coordination and may be frustrated by the decorating bags.

hth

I recently did a cupcake project with my daughter's kindergarten class of 22 and it went really smoothly. The teacher had me set up at a table in the corner and sent them to me 4-5 at a time, o it wasn't overwhelming at all. The finger licking was almost non-existent, just tell them what you expect! They'll listen. There were a couple in line for the sink that couldn't resist while they waited to wash hands after. We made monkey cupcakes, and I just made sure to have everything prepped and ready to go, so there wasn't time for them to lose focus! It really is a lot of fun.
I can imagine it would be total chaos if they all did it at the same time, but the smaller groups worked really well. Talk to the teacher before-hand!

I think little santa face cupcakes would be so cute. pre-ice the cupcakes and they can just pipe on the beard and add chocolate chips or something for eyes. I don't know about the santa hat though. I would definetly keep it simple. I do these kind of things with my son who is in Kindergarten and the more precise the directions the more flustered he can get. He likes to pour things on. Last year for halloween we did those cupcakes where you pour on the crunched up oreos and then add gummy worms. That is more his speed then piping bags.