pizza! pizza! pizza!

Today we had a super fun morning planned. It was finally the morning of our monthly “tour of one of our awesome local businesses” and it just so happened to be our long-awaited pizza-making date! As I’ve said before, I’ve organized these pretty cool outings for awhile now for my local moms’ group, and they’ve been a big success.

Maddy and Owen were revved before they popped out of bed, so the time before our 11:30 am restaurant date was a bit nutty. Luckily, we had some unfinished projects to work on to distract us until we could leave. We finished our Valentines and stuck those in the mail, we worked through several letters in our Alphabet Books, then Maddy, Owen, Cora, and their pal who was here for a bit today just ran around and burned steam until our lunch date.

• Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!: Before we left, we talked just a bit about where we were going and what we would see. (This is never a formal sit-down discussion; rather, it’s casual conversation while we’re getting coats on, shoes on, and drinks in hand.) We talked about what we knew about pizza, what we loved about pizza, and what we wondered about pizza. They came up with pretty smart questions, like they did for the bagel tour. What can you put on pizza? Are pizzas always round? Why do they put sauce on pizzas? They were jumping out of their seats by the time we pulled up to the restaurant.

Once there, we met the other moms and children, tried to organize as best we could, and ordered the pies. The great manager lined the children up at the counter so they could watch the pizza dough fly into the air, and the kiddos got hysterical. (The picture to the right is not our pizza guy; I forgot my camera at home today, but you get the idea. . . )

After they watched an expert, they got to try it for themselves. The very organized manager had tiny pizza doughs already rolled out and on plates for the children. Most were already “sauced” but some were left without sauce. The children were able to load their pizzas with cheese and pepperoni, and that was perfect for them; they didn’t have to mess with sauce in order for this to be a special day. They were all elated when their pizzas were delivered, five minutes later, warm and bubbling and ready to eat.

What a fantastic day! Maddy, Owen, and Cora were wiped out afterward because of all the fun and their very full bellies. I left with a smile because I am continually impressed with the generosity of our local businesses and their willingness to accommodate our littlest learners. Grazie, Grazie, Grazie!!