This month in the after-school program there has been a lot of talk about pizza! The children started drawing pictures of pizza which lead to Educator Tracy asking them "What's your favourite kind of pizza?" One child replied "Hawaiian hands down!" Another child replied "Pepperoni Is my favourite." Which seemed to be the most loved kind amongst the group. One child said they love pizza from a local pizza store loaded with onions, pineapple, pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, bacon, ham, jalapenos and lots of cheese. Although it wasn’t a favourite one for most it sure sounds delicious! Educator Tracy thought it would be fun to make our own pizzas and planned a pizza party for the following PD day. Our pizzas weren't as fancy as the local pizza store, but they were yummy! We made mini pizzas with buns, pizza sauce, cheese and pepperoni. The children were excited to make their own pizzas. As educator Tracy got the ingredients on the table, one child asked "Is the pepperoni spicy?" Educator Tracy suggested we all try it before putting it on. Each child tasted the pepperoni and loved It. Next the children got to put the sauce on and dipped their finger in to taste that as well. "Yummy" replied the children. To finish it off some children put just cheese and some cheese and pepperoni. We toasted the pizzas and then it was finally time to eat them! "This pizza is delicious!" replied the children.
The children are developing their independence and life skills of cooking. By making the pizzas they are learning about the process of putting together a recipe and gathering ingredients.
We had so much fun we hope to continue to explore some of our favourite foods and continue to learn how to make them. Cooking experiments encourage teamwork, being open to suggestions and ideas and gives the children an opportunity to explore new life skills.
