Daddy Newbie Adventures in Fatherhood
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Who doesn’t love making (and eating) pizza?
On Friday, my son and I joined a group of other kids (and parents)–for a “Make-a-Pizza” meetup at Village Pizza, in Corrales, New Mexico. Of course, we have made pizzas at home, and the boys enjoyed it. But, there was something so much more spectacular about making pizzas in a “real” pizza parlor–with all the fixings.
Along the way, it was a learning experience…
- Math. He was able to practice his counting skills, adding and subtracting ingredients
- Compare/Contrast. He was able to compare his pizza to the ones his friends were creating, as well as the one for me. (He also made a piece for his mom.)
- Self-selection. He chose how much/little he wanted to include–for each ingredient.
- Experimentation. He loves exploring (like most boys do), but he was able to test out new sensory elements (5 senses).
- Culinary. He loves to help “cook”–whether it’s measuring, stirring, or clean-up. Village Pizza offered a new way to explore culinary curiosity.
Our pizza was not the best looking, nor was it the biggest. It was quite tri-tangular, with very thin spots, as well as thick spots of crust. We both made a pizza, and he helped with both. His had one (1) pepperoni (in the middle), three (3) pieces of mushrooms, some cheese, two (2) black olives (he’d never tried olives–black or green–before) and LOTS of tomato sauce.
He decided that mine needed lots of pepperoni, lots of cheese, more pepperoni, a bit more cheese, and a little bit of sauce (as he had used most of it on his). By the end, we were both covered with flour–from head-to-toe… the true sign of a great pizza-maker guy.
Yes, he learned a lot, and I enjoyed watching him. He loved every minute of the experience… WELL almost….
He didn’t really enjoy the whole waiting part of the pizza-making experience. Really, do you know any 3-year-old who loves waiting, particularly when he’s very proud of his creative endeavor. He was eager (and ready) to devour his piece of delicious pizza. His biggest disappointment was not being able to place all the pizzas in the oven to be baked. And, 3 minutes after they took the pizzas to be baked, he was sad to find out they were not done yet, he had to wait a whole 10 minutes for the completion of our culinary genius.
I hope he got as much joy out of this adventure as I did. I hope years from now he will look back on this with as much joy as I’m sure I still will… years hence.
I so-love and cherish these times with him. As parents, we get caught up in so much that sometimes we overlook or miss these little/big moments. Taking a breathe and allowing ourselves to be in that moment is so important. I know… I will be reliving that moment for years to come (and, this is just one of many moments I hold dear).
Go and try this at home with your kids, and start making your own unforgettable moments. You’ll have lots of fun, and have a great meal in the end. Besides, you’ll find yourself covered with flour–from head-to-toe… like all the greats do.
