Pizza Time

Cooking with children is a delightful activity, and pizza is a good introductory food. Kneading dough and putting on toppings invests a child with pride about cooking for himself and the family. Iain likes a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, and pizza is one more way for him to enjoy them. Since his daddy is the pizza maker in the family, this is an activity that can be special for father and son. The ingredients are simple, the kneading is fun like Play-doh, the rising dough is like magic, and topping pizzas is creative! It's a pretty cool experience.

Easy Pizza

2 Tablespoons yeast (one little foil package)

1 1/3 cup warm water

1 teaspoon sugar

Whisk these together and let it stand 5 minutes.

Add:

3 cups white flour

1 cup wheat or semolina flour (or another cup white)

1 teaspoon salt

Wash those little hands and let your child help knead the dough for a full 5 min. Cover the bowl and let it stand for 1 hour (on the stovetop near the tea kettle is a nice spot). It will puff up to the amazement of all, and then it is time to knead it again for 5 minutes. Divide the dough into 2 balls--each one will make 4 nice pieces, so you can cook them for lunch on separate days or use it all to make two 12" pizzas. Roll the dough out to about a 12" circle or square. Use spaghetti sauce for pizza sauce, load on mozzarella cheese or a cheese blend, and add the toppings. Place on a baking stone or a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking oil. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, or until the crust is browned. Enjoy--and give lots of compliments to your little chef!

Slalom Racing

More Cardboard Tube Fun

It's pretty much never-ending, the number of fun times possible with a few toilet paper tubes. Daddy thought a bowling set at the end of the hall would be the ticket, or maybe a line of tubes to jump over; but Iain decided a slalom race course was the best idea. Mommy, you be the cheerleader, and Daddy, you be the announcer--Iain will be the racer.

Keep a tall kitchen garbage bag hanging in the garage to collect all sizes of cardboard tubes. They recycle into a big assortment of props for playtime.

Making Playdoh

Playdoh Craft Fun

In case you haven't had an occasion to make Playdoh lately, here is the recipe: 1 cup flour, 1 cup boiling (or hot) water, 1/2 cup salt, 1 tablespoon oil, 2 tablespoons cream of tartar, and a few drops of food color. Mix and knead. It should be like mashed potatoes and pull away from the side of the bowl. A little more flour might be necessary. Store it in a Ziploc bag or plastic food storage container. It lasts a long time in the refreigerator, but with active play it can be easily replaced.

Iain had an introduction to Playdoh made by the college students in the child development class at the college preschool he attends. The students prepare various centers for the children to experience new sights, smells, textures, and skills. Iain gave the clay a few tentative pokes. When he had his own clay at home he was more willing to roll it and build with it.

When I was substituting in a kindergarten class several weeks ago, there was the same homemade Playdoh. One of the activity centers had several bags of colored Playdoh with a big assortment of molds, cookie cutters, and little rolling pins: Lots of manipulation skills and active imagination at work.

I saw Playdoh again in the Special Education room during a recent substitute day. Each child had a bag labeled with his name, and it was used as a quiet transition activity between other learning activities. My recipe came from the staff there, but http://www.cooks.com/ and http://www.instructables.com/ have an assortment of different recipes and colorful picture directions. Other than the hot water, and I've found that warm water works just fine, this is a recipe that a child can make with an adult. It is amazing to watch the ingredients form the dough.

ModPodge Craft

Iain's mother made him a nice set of drums using ModPodge, wrapping paper, and cardboard oatmeal containers. ModPodge is that old craft standby that glues, seals, and finishes all kinds of paper craft projects like decoupage, preserving jigsaw puzzles you want to keep as a picture, and covering cardboard tubes to make them fancy. Your child can be involved in saving the containers, choosing the paper, and brushing on the finishing coat. The drums make good containers for small toys, and they are ideal for tower-building. When they get worn out, they're recyclable!