Pete’s in a bad mood!  What can Dad do that will cheer him up?

Materials

• 10 small paper plates
• Ingredients to make playdough (Non-cook playdough ingredients; 2 cups self rising flour, 2 Tablespoons alum, 2 Tablespoons salt, 2 Tablespoons cooking oil, 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons boiling water).
• Playdough or pastry rollers/cutters

Vocabulary

• Miserable (unhappy, sad)

Before Reading the Story

Tell the children that your story today is about pizza.  Ask the children to raise their hands if they like pizza.  Let them talk about their favorite pizza ingredients, places they eat pizza, or any pizza experience that they might have had.  Introduce the story.

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; develops increasing abilities to use and understand language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions; and for other varied purposes.

Reading the Story

This story has a funny plot. As you read, make sure the children can see the pictures so that they can better understand the humor.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest and involvement in listening to and discussing a variety of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.

After Reading the Story

Ask the children if they remember what kind of a mood was Pete in at the beginning of the story (miserable, sad, mad, lonely). Now ask the children when a friend is feeling miserable or sad, what can they do to make them feel better? (I could give them a hug, I could play with them, I want to be a pizza!).

Social & Emotional Development/Social Relationships; progresses in responding sympathetically to peers in need, upset, hurt, or angry; and in expressing empathy or caring for others.

Discovery

Make play dough!  Let the children help knead the dough until soft and pliable. Use the non-cooking ingredients above and mix and knead them together or use your favorite playdough recipe and let the children do the kneading of the dough.

Science/Scientific Methods & Skills; begins to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and to observe processes and relationships.

Music and Movement

Sing The Pizza Song to Do You Know the Muffin Man?sung to Do You Know the Muffin Man?

Do you like a cheese pizza?

A cheese pizza, a cheese pizza?

Do you like a cheese pizza?  

Eat it if you do!

Sing several times changing the toppings. The children can pretend to eat the pizza if they like the toppings you are singing about.

Creative Arts/Music; participates with increasing and enjoyment in a variety of music activities, including listening, singing, finger plays, games, and performances.

Sing, If You’re Happy and You Know It.  

If You’re Happy and you know it clap your hands.

If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.

If you’re happy and you know it, then you really ought to show it,

If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.

Sing about angry, miserable, tired, etc.

Creative Arts/Music; participates with increasing and enjoyment in a variety of music activities, including listening, singing, finger plays, games, and performances.

Blocks

Encourage the children to act out the story.  First they will need to make the table out of blocks.  Give them some colored paper to represent the cheese and pepperoni.  They can tear it and then take turns turning each other into pizzas.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences: to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story.

Art

Do you have playdough wheels in your play dough supply?  Or do you have a pastry wheel at home?  Use these to dip into paint and allow the children to roll back and forth across a piece of circle shaped paper.

Creative Arts/Art; gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expressions and representation.

Sand and Water

Put flour into the table today with a couple of sifters and plates.  This will be messy but the flour has a wonderful silky feel. Make sure the children do not add any water or you will have an even bigger mess.

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Control; demonstrates increasing capacity to follow rules and routines and use materials purposefully, safetly, and respectfully. AND Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; chooses to participate in an increasing variety of tasks and activities.

Library and Writing

Have the children trace around a small paper plate to make a circle.  Let the children use markers to color a pizza.  Encourage them to cut their pizza in half. Ask them how many halves make a whole pizza?  Older children can be challenged to cut their pizza into quarters.  How many quarters make a whole pizza?

Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increased abilities to combine, separate, and name “how many” concrete objects. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways.

Dramatic Play

Let the children pretend to cook today.  You could set up a pizza parlour for the children to play in, there are lots of ideas on the internet on how to do this. You could even close the center for play today and use it as a real pizza making station. Make English Muffin pizzas with the children. Give each child a half of an english muffin. Let them spoon some pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce onto their muffin. Then let them load it with ingredients that they like. Place in the oven on 350 until the cheese melts.

Science/Scientific Methods & Skills; begins to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and to observe processes and relationships.

Math and Manipulatives

Write a number 1-10 on 10 paper plates.  For younger children you might add corresponding dots also.  Give the children checkers, poker chips, or plastic dots.  Ask them to put the correct number of dots onto each plate. They can pretend to be making pepperoni pizza.

Mathematics/Numbers & Operations; begins to make use of one-to-one correspondences in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Outdoor Play

Pete wanted to go outside and play ball with his friends.  Take the balls outside today to practice, bouncing, kicking, and catching.

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; demonstrates increasing abilities to coordinate movements in throwing, catching, kicking, bouncing balls, and using the slide and swing.

Transitions

Remind the children that in the story, Pete was feeling miserable but then his Dad made him feel better by playing the pizza game with him. Ask the children to tell you something that they can do when they see someone who is feeling miserable. (I tickle my baby when she cries, I could hug you, My Mommy gives me candy, I tell Jamie “I will play with you”).

Social & Emotional Development/Social Relationships; progresses in responding sympathetically to peers who are in need, upset, hurt, or angry; and in expressing empathy or caring for others.