Pizza Unicorn's Grand Opening!

After weeks of research and preparation, our pizzeria has finally opened for business! This is what it looked like:

How it all began

During the 1st weeks of school we noticed that there was a lot of talk and play that involved food and the culture around food. At the Dramatic Play area students were always busy preparing soups and other foods to be shared with our class.


While using Play Dough, students also created a lot of foods from restaurants that they know. Things like french fries, burgers and pizza were popular choices to make. We took this opportunity to have discussions about making Healthy Choices and how those choices positively impact our lives.


That being said, pizza kept coming up... so we began to listen!

Process

Voting

Small groups of students brainstormed with Ms. Wu ideas on what to name the pizza parlor. After the children had the opportunity to voice their opinions, Mr. Berberick & Ms. Wu selected 3 of their ideas to vote on. Mr. Berberick explained the concept of one vote per student and we began to ask them which name would be best for the pizzeria. 

Pizza Unicorn won with a 9 vote majority. Coming in 2nd was Pizza Truck with 6 votes and then Pizza Machine with 5 votes.

 Making Menus/Looking at Menus

The educators brought in some flyers for groceries. In small groups the students were shown pictures of what take-out pizza menus looked like and what elements were included.

(Pictures, text, toppings, drinks, name of restaurant, etc.)

Creating the Elements of Pizza Unicorn

Students worked in small groups to create their favourite pizza combinations as well as toppings for the chefs to use. During class discussions, we decided on all of the items that were needed to open Pizza Unicorn. We collected pizza boxes, made the crusts and sauce, created the sign for the pizzeria, created an oven and the educators brought in the other materials that were missing. 

(Pizza pans, mixing bowls, towels, aprons, chef hats, role cards, table cloth, etc.)

Practicing the Roles

Once everything was in place, we practiced the different roles that were involved.

CHEFS: We decided that our pizzeria needed 2 chefs to operate.

SERVER: Who kept the customers happy and took their order.

CUSTOMERS: 4 customers to fill the pizzeria.

  
Pizza Unicorn is Open for Business!!!

After all of our hard work creating our pizzeria, it is now open and taking customers daily! The students are really enjoying exploring the various roles and take pride in their creation.

Here is a sample conversation that we documented:

In the Kitchen:

E- 2 pepperoni pizza and one carrot pizza!

J- Pizzas always have tomato sauces. Yeah, there is supposed to be tomato sauce first and then pepperoni.    

J- Hey! Can you help me? We need another chef. 

Next Step: Health & Safety

The educators have been noticing a lot of food on the floors and most of the chefs and servers have not been washing their hands before handling food. As a response, we are beginning to create a new role in the pizzeria... Health and Safety :)

We hope that Pizza Unicorn will continue to be a success!