Pizza Pizza Sammy - O
Excitement was written all over my face. Hey, I am a New York City gal born and raised in Brooklyn. Grabbing a slice of pizza or a pizza pie up the street is our thing! So the fact that Sammy was going to make homemade pizza for the very first time was thrilling!
Pizza Dough Ball
If I could keep his little five-year-old hands cupped around the pizza dough ball forever, trust me… I would! Children grow up so quickly and even though this photographic moment will last forever in my heart, mind, and in a frame, this particular pizza dough ball will never look this way again. So baking in school must happen daily!
Unschooling = Lots of Time Baking
As a homeschool mom to Sammy, an educational and philosophical approach we are using is Unschooling. This is self-directed learning which stems from the interests of children. It is child-led. This means that in our home, Sammy and I spend a lot of time baking, cooking, and preparing meals in our kitchen throughout the day as interests explode in his little mind!
Life Lessons Are Taught to Children in the Kitchen
Sammy is learning by leaps and bounds in hands-on cooking and baking experiences. He will research the origin of foods with their continents and countries and use his personal world globe, map, Google, PBS documentaries, and YouTube videos to do this. We read books together about the cultural foods that people eat around the world. As Sammy measures, pours, cuts, and shapes, he is learning about numbers. Language skills are at hand as we talk about our observations. And once the food enters the oven, science is emphasized even more! Simply put… “learning is happening by Sammy doing it!” (Child Development Theorist and Psychologist Lev Vygotsky is one of my favorites as he has taught many that children learn by doing).
Today is Pizza Party Day!
Sammy made his very first pizza! Aside from the mozzarella cheese, his only topping was bacon! He and his daddy love bacon! As Sammy pushed, rolled, squeezed, and kneaded the pizza dough made from self-rising flour and non-fat Greek yogurt, his fine motor skills were at “play.” He was having so much fun and was also building core strength in his little hand muscles.
Outschool as a Resource
We love Outschool! As I homeschool Sammy and follow his lead with his self-interests, I have to think about educational resources to assist me. Outschool is one of these resources. There are knowledgeable and spirited teachers who introduce learning content to children as young as Sammy in fun, engaging and hands-on play and education. I highly recommend Outschool. Sammy takes weekly virtual classes that are both ongoing and one time only. Right now his classes are African Fairy Tales and Folktales, Sing and Move, Playful Play Dough Stories, Let’s Play Doctor, and The Build Guild: Aesop’s Fables.
Littlest Chef Baking School: Let’s Make Pizza
When I scrolled through the plethora of classes that Outschool offers, I came across this fun title. The class was a one time class and cost $10.00. Children would learn how to make their own pizza in less than 30 minutes. I could not wait to tell Sammy! He was just as excited. Randy and I had never made our own homemade pizza so this would be an educational, fun and playful experience for us as well. It also helps to know that Sammy loves pizza! He enjoys reading books about characters that eat pizza too. So his self-interest in pizza was a great segue into this specific Outschool class.
The End Result
The Outschool teacher made learning so much fun by explaining the process to the young learners (with adults as assistants) in meaningful ways. She also gave suggestions for alternating ingredients in case grocery shopping was not done in advance. And in the end, Sammy, Randy, and I literally marveled at the pizza masterpiece that Little Chef Sammy created! The pizza was DELICIOUS!
Again, I highly suggest Outschool as a resource for children of all ages! www.outschool.com
Happy Pizza Party Day!
this is so very awesome I feel like I know Sammy
Thank you Paula! I feel like you do too. One of these days post the pandemic…we will have to meet up – the three of us. 🙂
You’re proof-positive that learning can be fun for kids!!! Very well done!
I really appreciate that Mary Lee! I wish all children could learn in ways that are hands-on, fun, and engaging. Education would be so much more meaningful to them in my opinion.
The time and patience to make the homemade pizza
Is amazing. And it looks so delicious. Many lessons
learned and pizza enjoyed. Great job.
Thank you Jackie! You are so right about time and patience as well as the delicious pizza! We devoured it quickly! LOL I just love this educational approach to learning for Sammy! Thank you for reading my blog and commenting.
I love this method of learning. Great job, sweet Sammy! ❤️🍕
Thank you Brooklyn! We are enjoying the Unschooling journey. Sammy has so many interests and it’s fun to create activities that enhance his learning. The other day he literally packed his suitcase with toys to take to Africa after watching a PBS documentary on leopards. He wanted to bring the leopards and all other animals from Africa to North America to live in our house!
Looks like Sammy really enjoyed this learning experience as well as the finished product.
He really did Nancy! we are looking forward to his next pizza (hoping it’s real soon)! LOL
Great job Sammy! Your pizza looks Delicious!
I love seeing all of the Wonderful pictures and seeing you patiently waiting for your pizza to come out of the oven. Kudos to You and your culinary skills!
Thank you Gloria! We are so proud of Sammy on the making of his 1st ever pizzalicious bacon pizza! He wants to make another soon adding an extra topping of sausage and we can’t wait!
Out schooling…great way of learning. I learned quite a bit cooking with Sammy…excellent job. I want some pizza. 🤩
Thank you! It was the best class! Sammy is looking forward to the next one…cupcake making! Yummy!