kindergarten

Pizza Bread

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11

slice pizza bread

It was our turn again in the kindergarten snack rotation. This time I talked Miss Priss into pizza bread. Our dear neighbor friend has a dear longtime friend who brings a batch of this stuff every time she visits. I love it, and it tastes great at room temperature. I thought it would be a good kindergarten snack that would appeal to all kinds of different eaters (that is code for picky).

If you missed the dill dip post, I will update you about our snack dilemmas. My daughter eats lunch at 10 am and has a snack each day at noon. Since the snack is at normal people lunchtime, I always feel obligated to send in something a little more substantial than a graham cracker when it is our turn to provide snack. My daughter disagrees. She wants me to send in a tiny bag of pretzels like all of the other kids. I don’t want to be like all of the other kids. Disregarding the damage I may be doing to my daughter’s school image, I moved ahead with the pizza bread.

ready dough

Ingredients

  • Ready-Dough*, thawed only– not raised (available in the grocery store freezer section) 
  • turkey pepperoni cut into slivers
  • shredded mozzarella or pizza cheese

* If you can’t locate Ready-Dough, use Pillsbury French Bread in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.

assembling pizza bread

Directions

  • Flatten the thawed Ready-Dough out into a rectangle on a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam. Try to press it out as close to the edges as possible without ripping holes in the dough. If using Pillsbury French Bread, unroll and press out the same way.
  • Sprinkle a generous amount of cheese down the center of the dough. Top with the slivered pepperoni.
  • Fold the sides of the dough into the center like you are folding a business letter. Pinch the ends together.
  • Flip the loaf, so it is seam side down on the cookie sheet and bake according to the package directions for pizza (400 degrees about 15 minutes).
  • Let cool slightly and slice. Serve warm or at room temperature.

folding pizza bread

Notes

  • If you are sending pizza bread to school for snack, make up the loaves, put on cookie sheets, cover with Saran wrap and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, wake up 20 minutes early and put loaves in the oven. Get in the shower while the bread is cooking. Pull out of the oven and let cool. Slice and arrange in a large tupperware. Get as close to room temperature as possible before putting the lid on the tupperware. Send a note to the teachers letting them know to keep snack at room temperature until serving and to NOT refrigerate.
  • If you are taking to a tailgate, follow the school snack serving directions above.
  • If you are taking to a Super Bowl party at a friend’s house, bake the bread at your house, let cool, and wrap completely in tin foil. Re-heat in the tin foil at the friend’s house and serve hot. Set out a dish of marinara sauce for dipping!

pizza bread slices

Star Snack

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8

Miss Priss earned kindergarten Star of the Week last week. Since all students receive this prestigious award at one point during the year, I am not so sure it is a terribly big honor, but she was excited. Requirements? Send in several pictures of your family (= work for me). Send in special show and tell (= monitoring from me). Send in special snack on Friday (= opportunity to get carried away for me).

If you read about the Dill Dip, you know that I take kindergarten snacks very seriously, and my daughter has a much better sense of what is appropriate. Nevertheless, she was Star of the Week, and I thought it deserved something special– Heath Bar Apple Dip with pretzels and apple slices. The first time I tasted this stuff, I practically fell down. Let me know if you think it is as delicious as my family does.

Ingredients

  • 1 8-oz block cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 3/4 c. brown sugar
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 1/2 bag Heath toffee bits (or crushed Skor bar)
  • Apple wedges (I like Granny Smith apples, peeled)
  • Snyder’s Dipping Stix or Snaps (optional)

Directions

  • Cream together cream cheese, sugars, and vanilla
  • Stir in Heath bits with a spoon
  • Serve with apple wedges and/or pretzels
  • Note: cut apples into pineapple juice to keep from turning brown

Kindergarten Snack Debut

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3

Dill Dip with Snyder’s Pretzel Snaps and mini carrots. Recipe below.

This week is our first turn at kindergarten snack. Every student is assigned one day to bring a snack, and it rotates alphabetically. We will probably end up with snack duty about once a month. Any guesses as to how long I have been planning our debut kindergarten snack? Yep, that’s right. The day we got the snack calendar at kindergarten orientation back in August.

I have been envisioning mini servings of some sort of kid friendly dip with a few dipping choices. Kindergarteners eat lunch at 10:10 (am!) and are starving at snack time around noon (real lunchtime). I wanted to send something slightly substantial. My daughter, Miss Priss, squashed my dip idea after seeing the finished product. Apparently, it was too fancy!

Well, I don’t do not-fancy very well, but I also do not want to rock Miss Priss’ kindergarten boat. So, I sent in special snack to my daughter’s teachers; I sent in special snack to the teachers at the school where I work; I sent dill dip in my daughter’s lunch because it is her favorite, and I bought three boxes of chewy granola bars for the class. Should I tell my daughter about the ghoulish granola mix I have planned for October’s snack or just spring it on her at the last minute?

Ingredients

  • 2 c. sour cream
  • 2 c. mayonnaise
  • 3 T. chopped fresh dill
  • 3 T. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
  • 2 T. grated onion
  • 1 T. seasoned salt

Directions

  • Combine ingredients and chill at least one hour or overnight.
  • Serve with raw vegetables, pita chips, pretzels, etc.

Room Mom Rules

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1

I am a teacher and have held the position of room parent volunteer (aka The RoomMom). After many years of working with parents in my classroom and volunteering to help other teachers, here is the boiler plate of what has worked for me.

  1. Do not abuse the class e-mail list. I think e-mails to the families should be limited to holiday parties and class gifts unless the teacher has asked you to contact families. An example of an “extra” e-mail might be help with drivers for a field trip.
  2. Aside from teacher gift and party e-mails to parent volunteers, only send e-mails when requested by the classroom teacher.
  3. Offer to collect for a group gift at holidays/end of the year, but do not make the contribution mandatory. Suggest an amount for the donation to the gift fund but make it clear that the amount is a guideline. Parents should not feel obligated to contribute. And, if you know you have a community where contributing would be difficult, don’t even ask.
  4. This is an addendum to #3. If you are purchasing a group gift, use a generic but personal policy. In most cases, you probably do not have a personal relationship with the teacher. Generic gift cards are best (Visa, AmEx, etc.). Teachers love when the generic gift card is accompanied by a little something that shows you are aware the teacher works hard with your child every day. For the past several years, I created a Favorite Books Bookmark to go with the gift card at the end of the year, so the teacher has something with which to remember the class.
  5. If you are not the official room mom but want to help, sign up on the class volunteer sheets and wait to be contacted. Too many cooks in the kitchen creates confusion. Teachers can only handle so many parent volunteers.

If you have school aged children, what reminders and information would you like to receive from the room parent, and what information should be the classroom teacher’s domain?