My preschooler loves pizza, but as a toddler she wasn’t that into chowing down on crunchy dough topped with whatever veggies I could sneak under melted cheese. Still, she loved the idea of eating with her hands (it was the taste of the pizza she despised) and happily created her own fake Italian pies in her play kitchen.
Whether your toddler devours pizza by the slice or she refuses to touch it with a ten-foot pole, she’ll have a ball partaking in the following simple, age appropriate pizza-related activities:
PIZZA ART
An unused pizza pan can act as a great drawing board. Take a metal pizza pan (the one riddled with holes) and tape some paper on it. Then, let your toddler rub crayons along the surface of the pan. The holes from the pan make a great design on the paper. Your toddler can also draw shapes or scribble on the pan to yield the same effect.
FELT PIZZA
My daughter fell in love with a felt pizza set we saw at an educational toy store. However, I refused to spend 20 bucks on a toy that I could make for less than half the price. A quick trip to the craft store and I had all the ingredients I needed to make my own felt pizza.
Materials:
Black felt for olives (cut into small circles)
Green felt for green peppers, or broccoli (cut into triangles)
White felt for cheese (cut into small strips)
Orange felt for cheese (cut into small strips)
Dark red felt for pepperoni (cut into small circles)
Brown felt for either sausage or mushrooms (cut into irregular circles)
Yellow felt for pineapple (cut into squares)
Large piece of yellow felt for pizza crust
Large piece of red felt for pizza sauce
Scissors
Note: You can get creative with your toppings. Choose felt that can be cut into your toddler’s favorite pizza toppings.
Directions:
Start by cutting out the toppings and creating the crust by trimming yellow felt into a circle about 8 inches in diameter.
Take a piece of red felt and cut it into a circle about 6 inches in diameter. Next, take the red circle and cut it in half, then cut the halves into individual wedges to resemble pizza slices.
Have your toddler decorate his pizza with the toppings. While he is playing pizza chef review the colors, shapes and the names of the toppings he is using. You can also work on sharing skills by having your tot offer slices to various family members.
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