Imagination Station - Pizzeria

 

Program: Imagination Station – Pizzeria

Ages: 2-8 (most participants ranged in age from 2-8 this month, plus a couple of older siblings around 9 or 10)

Number: Could accommodate up to 15 children; actual attendance was 14 children & 12 adults

Budget: About $5-10, as most items used were non-consumables that we already had or could borrow

Skills & Concepts: Imagination, creativity, expressive language, socio-emotional, fine motor, functional print, early literacy, family literacy, math & science literacy

Introductory Activity: Since I just can't get people interested in checking out any of the displayed books related to theme that I set up each month and also can't get regular storytime attendance, I decided to start reading a book at the beginning of each Imagination Station session. For this one, I read Pizza at Sally's by Monica Wellington, then explained the different activities.

Stations:

1. Dramatic Play 
   
   
   
   
   I once again used my trusty, versatile market stand, this time set up as the counter of the pizzeria, where customers could place and pick up their orders. I created a menu, stocked dishes and trays behind the counter, and placed scrap paper and pencils on the counter for writing orders.
   
   Behind the counter I put our play kitchen and a table with our pizza oven playset, and a stack of aprons. In front of the counter, I set a few chairs and a small, round child's table and chairs. This time I tried something new, and created cards on lanyards with various roles on them - customer, counter attendant, chef, server, delivery person - to help give them some ideas of different roles they could play. [Imagination, creativity, expressive language, socio-emotional skills, functional print]
   
   
2. Dough-Making
   
   
   
   
   I simulated making pizza dough with salt dough. I put out two big bowls of flour, a pitcher of warm water, two cartons of salt, two mixing bowls and spoons, measuring cups, and a sign with the recipe and directions (1 C flour, 1/2 C salt, 1/2 C warm water; mix until well combined. If sticky, knead in a spoonful of flour at a time until no longer sticky). I showed them how to properly measure and emphasized the importance of accurate measuring to achieve the desired result. [Math & science skills, sensory exploration, measuring skills]
   
   
3. Dough Shaping
   
   
   
   
   Once they had made their dough and gotten it to the proper consistency, they moved to the next table to work it. I put out rolling pins, rotary cutters, cookie cutters, extruders, knives, and forks. I suggested they roll it out to make a pizza crust, then mold/cut toppings, roll "snakes" for bread sticks, tie the "snakes" into knots for garlic knots, and see what else they could come up with. I gave each participant a zip-lock bag to take their dough home, with instructions to keep it in the refrigerator when not playing with it, and to discard after several days. [Fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, pre-writing, imagination, creativity, sensory exploration]
   
   
4. Shapes Pizza Craft
   
   
   
   
   I provided small paper plates I had painted light brown/dark beige, glue, and various "toppings" cut from construction paper: red triangles of sauce, skinny rectangles of shredded cheese, circles of pepperoni, semi-circle tomato slices, and green squares of peppers. I encouraged caregivers to discuss the shapes and colors as their child made their pizza, and pointed out this was a pre-math and -science activity as well as a craft. [Shapes, colors, fine-motor skills, spatial relations, vocabulary]
   
   
5. Magnetic Board 
   
   
   
   
   I got out the magnetic letter's to spell out "Luigi's Pizzeria" and left the rest for the kids to use, as well as my magnetic "P-I-Z-Z-A" set along with the lyrics. [Letter recognition, phonological awareness]
   
   
6. Book Display
   
   
   
   
   I pulled several books with a pizza theme, as well as a pizza cookbook and displayed on a table in the room. [Print motivation, early literacy]

How It Went

It was very messy, but worth it! The kids loved making their own dough, and their caregivers loved that they got to do it away from home and leave the mess at the library. One child had a big smile on his face and happily exclaimed, "This is fun!" Yes, there were bits of dough and flour all over the tables and floor at the end, and I had to get my ice scraper from my car to scrape up the bits of dried dough, but I enjoy providing the opportunity for some good, messy, fun. 

Though the dough was definitely the hit of the program, they also loved the dramatic play, and I saw many orders placed, and many pizzas made and delivered to waiting customers. Not everyone did the craft because they came late and didn't have time to do everything, or just couldn't tear themselves away from the dough and dramatic play. No one interacted with the magnet board and letters or the "P-I-Z-Z-A" song, and once again, no one checked out any of the books I had on display. I think they are just too focused on the fun activities to take time out to look at the books. 

What I Would Do Differently 

The only thing I would do differently is to label the measuring cups clearly as to what they were for, as many caregivers didn't pay attention and some didn't know the difference between cups for measuring dry ingredients and one for liquids. We went through about 8 pounds of flour and a little over 2 pounds of salt! If I had an even larger crowd, I'd cut the recipe in half.

Next time I'm going to try putting related books on display outside of the room, in the children's department. I think they are too busy having fun with the activities to take time out to look at books, but several families do end up staying in the library for a while after the program is over.

Up next month at Imagination Station.....the Kentucky Derby! 🐎👒🏆