MAKING PIZZA WITH KIDS

"Children remember the magic you make for them."-Anonymous

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Hello, my gentle readers, it's been a while since my last blog. I pray you all are doing all the best.

In today's blog, I am enthusiastic to share the recent activity we undertook with the children residing within the confines of Hope Mountain. As detailed in my previous blog post, I outlined the diverse range of activities and programs available to the children at our shelter. Most recently, we organized a delightful pizza-making session in which the children participated with great enthusiasm and joy.

This hands-on experience not only provided a fun and interactive learning opportunity for the children but also fostered a sense of teamwork among them. The smiles and laughter that resonated throughout the activity were a true testament to the positive impact such initiatives can have on these young minds. It is heartwarming to witness the children embrace these moments of creativity and togetherness, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to facilitate such memorable experiences for them.

This was the children's second opportunity to engage in a pizza-making activity. However, this time around, the task at hand presented a unique and somewhat challenging twist. During their previous pizza-making session, the process seemed quite straightforward and rather sophisticated, given that pizza dough was readily provided and an array of high-quality toppings such as fancy cheeses, olives, anchovies, white onions, and pepperoni were on offer. Essentially, the children had crafted an American-style pizza on that occasion.

For their second attempt, I envisioned a more interactive and hands-on experience. I proposed that the children prepare their pizza dough from scratch and venture into creating a Filipino-inspired pizza. With only a limited selection of ingredients available including flour, ham, cheese, and hotdogs for toppings, the activity aimed to introduce the young participants to a different culinary perspective while encouraging creativity and resourcefulness in the kitchen. As was expected the activity becomes chaotic as the children are very excited to make their pizza.

To start the activity, the children are grouped into pairs for two main reasons: firstly, to ensure an equal distribution of ingredients, and secondly, due to the restricted availability of materials such as bowls, pizza pans, and various other utensils.

Before the activity to start the dough-making process, I designated the older girls the task of slicing the ingredients - including ham, hotdogs, tomato sauce, pineapple, mushrooms, white onions, and cheese - to prevent any potential risks that could arise from the younger children handling sharp knives.

By segregating the responsibilities in this manner, the activity progressed smoothly and safely, allowing each child to contribute effectively to the pizza-making experience.

Following the initial instructions, we proceeded with crafting the dough. With our timeframe in mind, I chose to demonstrate the simplest method of creating dough without yeast to the children. The necessary ingredients included flour, baking powder, salt, oil, sugar, and water.

As they are following the process in the dough-making process, it shows that certain children managed to achieve the correct consistency, while others struggled with overly moist or excessively dry mixtures. Despite this, there was an air of satisfaction and joy among the children as they took pride in producing their own dough from scratch.

Once all the children had finished preparing their dough to the desired consistency, the next step was to add the toppings to their individual pizzas. Facilitating the process, I meticulously distributed the tomato sauce evenly across each pizza base before granting the children the freedom to customize their toppings according to their preferences.

Some opted for a medley of ingredients, while others favored a simpler approach with generous portions of ham and cheese.

There were also those who chose to pile on an assortment of toppings to create a deliciously overloaded culinary masterpiece. Each child's unique combination of toppings reflected their personal taste and creativity, resulting in a diverse array of pizzas ready to be baked to perfection.

Due to the limited number of pizza pans available during our cooking session, some of the other children mischievously decided to utilize a cake pan and a pie pan to expedite the cooking process for their pizzas.

Their eagerness to taste their creations led to a humorous sight as the unconventional choice of pans resulted in pizzas that bore a striking resemblance to cakes and pies. Despite the mix-up, the children's excitement and creativity in problem-solving added a delightful twist to the cooking experience, showcasing their adaptability and resourcefulness in the kitchen.

The unexpected outcome brought joy and laughter to the group as they eagerly awaited the final results of their unconventional pizza-making, after it was all done cooking all the children together with the other staff enjoyed what they made, and all their cravings and hunger were satisfied.

That’s for today I hope you enjoyed reading and see you on my next blog.