May 13, 2009 | 25 Comments

Letter Pizza Craft

We had frozen Pizza the other night and I kept the cardboard it came on to reuse it for something fun. We’ve made a shape pizza already so today we decided on a letter pizza. Good move. We had fun and this activity is so easy to adapt for any skill you are focusing on. Numbers, letters , even sight words could work!

Gather your materials. You will need a round piece of cardboard ( paper will work fine!), some red, green and beige construction paper, scissors, glue , paint, a paint brush and a marker. Oh and a paper punch for the circles if you are as bad at cutting circles as I am.
Start by cutting out 26 small red paper pepperoni slices.
Write the alphabet on them. If your child is able to have them write the letters. Set aside.
Invite your little artist to paint the crust, we used orange paint but there is no rule, your pizza can be purple, or green or whatever color feels right! Also a quick tip using sponge brushes like the one we are using is a great way of getting only a little paint on things. Perfect for toddlers. However if they are still putting things in their mouth, skip em, they can be bitten off and pose a chocking hazard.
While they are painting, cut out some toppings we did cheese and green peppers even though ours look like little pickles !
Next add the glue
Add your toppings.
Next add more glue, I dotted it around the whole pizza.
Add our letter pepperoni . Take time to ask your child what letter they are putting on, which is their favorite and what happens if they turn it upside down? If they respond well to you asking them keep going, if they want to be left in peace, chill out and let them soak it in themselves.
Let dry.

Books!

” The Princess and The Pizza”by Mary Jane and Herm Auch is really a cute re telling of the classic Princess and the Pea. They have modernized it and made it a little more feminist in the process, exactly my kind of book. The text is a little long for toddlers but my son sat through about half before wanting to go back and look at the illustration of the horse on the first page. The message is sweet, saying that a woman doesn’t need a man or marriage to attain her goals! Beware though it will make you crave pizza!

“Did Dinosaurs Eat Pizza?” by Lenny Hort has nothing to do with pizza after the first page. However it’s a fantastic book about what we don’t know about dinosaurs. A wonderful introduction for our smallest paleontologists about scientific theories. I did try to read this with my 2 year old and it was partially a success. The illustrations by John O’Brien are so well done that for a child who isn’t into the text, they are still entertained. My son was so into the illustrations that I stopped reading the words out loud . He had so many questions about the pictures, and wanted me to see all the fun things he was seeing. The book itself would be great for 4 and up, but if you have a little dinosaur lover I would try it younger , why not?

” The Little Red Hen Makes A Pizza” by Philomen Sturges is a great retelling of the classic story. Kids will be able to relate to this hen not getting any help for all her hard work. Luckily her friends realize their mistake and do the dishes after she shares her yummy pizza. Since originally recommending this book it’s made a move from the bookshelf to the dresser pile of books that are in rotation for before nap and bedtime reading. A sure sign it’s kid approved!