School tosses rules out the window to build gingerbread houses

Knight Ridder ^ | Fri, Dec. 12, 2003 | DARREN BARBEE

[jwalburg]

COLLEYVILLE, Texas - (KRT) - No gingerbread house should have to endure a carrot-stick fence or a door made of celery.

It's just not the way gingerbread houses are done.

The kindergartners at O.C. Taylor Elementary School therefore had a sticky problem Friday. New state guidelines prohibit distibution of certain yummy snacks, jelly bean Christmas lights among them, by schools.

``Contraband candies,'' O.C. Taylor teacher Debbie Horn calls them.

But for as long as anyone can remember - possibly as far back as when gum drops were gum drips - the school's kindergartners have made gingerbread houses.

So teachers issued a delicious decree: The houses could be built as tradition dictated, but only if the children brought their candy from home.

And the school still supplied M&M candies and gingerbread cookies, Principal Angie Gray said.

Horn, wearing a sweater depicting an ``illegal'' peppermint, issued special instructions for her class of 5- and 6-year-olds before construction began: No candy sharing. No candy left behind.

``The candy you don't use on your house ... '' Horn said, before being interrupted by 6-year-old Jack Malloy.

``You eat it?'' Jack asked.

``No, you can take it home,'' Horn said.

Jack was later seen working on homework.

Asked about candy's shortage of nutritional value, Patrick Blasingame, 6, scarcely paused before affirming that he likes sugar.

``But it's bad,'' Patrick said, affixing a marshmallow doorknob to a pretzel door.

Sweet snacks have been blamed for weight increase among children as young as 5, a trend most recently reported in a 1997 ``American Academy of Pediatrics'' article.

``And it gives you rotten teeth. That's what I don't like,'' Patrick said, licking icing from his fingers.

Teachers were allowed to distribute the white icing because it is milk-based.

``Think of the icing as glue,'' Horn told her class, to their delight.

After all, what child hasn't wanted to taste glue?

[jwalburg]

contraband candy

[Texas_Jarhead]

``Think of the icing as glue,'' Horn told her class, to their delight.

After all, what child hasn't wanted to taste glue?

LOL, nice article

[Texas_Jarhead]

nice sweet article

[jwalburg]

I wonder about the milk-based icing, however. Kind of like ketchup being a vegetable. But at least that categorization allowed the kids to make their houses with something OTHER than ketchup as mortar.

[GeronL]

Colleyville?? Thats like the town next door to me =o)

[basil]

Aren't you proud to see your neighbors thumbing their noses at stupid pc rules! I wonder how many kids are too fat because one time when they were in kindergarten they built a gingerbread house.

[GeronL]

well of course I am proud. We have to stand up against these PC persnippety puppets. Is persnippety a word??

[little jeremiah]

Kids are too fat (the ones that are) more because of sitting in front of TVs and games rather than playing outside and riding bikes. And while sitting, it's easy to eat as well. When I was a kid (50's) I played outside unless it was dark or freezing. And even in the snow. And I wasn't fat.

[TheSpottedOwl]

What would we do without our government looking out for us.

[July 4th]

But Ritalin's okay for little Johnny...

[Humidston]

Ummm, don't tell anyone but when I was a kid, Mom often gave me a slice of bread laden with butter and tons of sugar sprinkled on top.

I'm proud to say I'm still alive and I'm not a diabetic.

[Sacajaweau]

We would put syrup on bread and eat it. Why? Because we were hungry. We also ate raw onion sandwiches.