Preparing individual pizzas allows each child to make a creation he'll enjoy. Sprinkle flour over a clean table and give each child a lump of pizza dough. Pass out rolling pins or have children flatten their dough using their hands. Transfer the dough to baking pans and set out bowls of tomato sauce, cheese and pizza toppings. Once children have created their pizzas, bake them in a 450-degree oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese begins to turn brown. Once the pizzas cool, enjoy a pizza party.
Most preschoolers don't yet have an understanding of fractions. Pizza is an ideal way to introduce them to the concepts of halves and quarters. Create four pizzas out of paper. Leave one whole and cut one in half, one in thirds and one in quarters. Show children each pizza and explain what each fraction is called. Ask children to help you count how many pieces are in each pizza. Give children paper and art supplies and ask them to first draw a pizza divided in half, then draw pizzas divided into thirds and quarters.
The variety of pizza toppings available makes for a challenging sorting activity for children. Print pictures of common toppings such as pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers, olives, onions and sausage. Make six to eight copies of each topping per student. Make a bag full of toppings for each child, then ask children to dump out the pictures and sort them into like piles. To make the activity more tactile for children, mix real pizza toppings in bowls. Give children gloves and ask them to sort the toppings by hand.
Paper pizzas are made up of mostly circles, which are fairly easy for young children to cut out. Draw three circles for each child. Each child will need one beige or brown circle for the pizza crust. He will also need a red circle that's slightly smaller than the crust and a white circle, which is slightly smaller than the red, signifying cheese. Help children cut out all these circles and glue the pizza layers together. Pass out markers and crayons so children can draw on toppings.