making apple pie and the best kitchen gadget ever

We did three weeks of apple themed books in the classroom. As I was planning out our days I really wanted to make apple sauce and apple pie. I figured I could use a crock pot to make sauce but how could we bake pies? The school does have a kitchen but I wanted the children to be able to see the pies get made and so, after discovering the pie making capabilities of the cupcake maker I discovered one on super sale and snatched it up. We were going to make apple pie in class! Each kiddo would get to make their very own tiny apple pie. I was super excited!

To make things easier and to allow for more play time, I used Trader Joe's pre-made pie crust (it is super tasty). The children each got a chance at using the rolling pin to roll over the dough...large motor skills!

And then use the crust cutting tool to cut out  circle, shape recognition!

I didn't turn the maker on until we were ready to bake so the children got to select which batter well they wanted their pie to bake in and got to place their crust into the well then use the push tool to press it down after they dunked it into some flour so it would not stick. They then added a few scoops of cooked apples (I made this at home) into their bottom crust (some chose one scoop while others did two, three or even four). Here the children learned new vocabulary words, methods of baking, and used hand-to-eye coordination to place their crust evenly into their wells and drop their apple filling on top.

 

 After they used the other side of the crust-cutting tool to cut out a smaller circle for their top-crust (more vocabulary and shape recognition going on) they used their "pinching fingers" to pinch up a small amount of sanding sugar for the top (fine motor skills).

The pies baked up in ten minutes and made the room smell delicious for the remainder of the day. We shared our apple pies with the Jr. K class at lunch time and there was nary a crumb left. We are totally going to make pumpkin muffins and corn bread in November!

Happy Pie Day!

Yup, today is pie day and while I am indeed baking a pie today, at some point, do not have any purdy pictures to share, nor do I have any of the Pie Books I recommended on my LISTMANIA list...drats! Wait, here is an okay pic of a tart I made, this could work! So, for now, take a gander over to my Kaboodle page for some linky-dinks for some pie crazy fun and here are a few ideas you could try for today with yer wee ones.

*Make some pie crust! Here's a vegan recipe that is easy and fun and yer kidlets can play with it like play dough. You can roll it out and they can make wee little pie crust cookies that would be yummy with jam. You can also make wee tarts by folding the dough up and over a dollop of jam or preserves...yummy!

*Have any aluminum pie pans? set them out with an assortment of collage materials and let yer wee ones make a wall hanging. Once everything is dry, add a picture hanger to the back and viola! Instant art!

*Make a shaving cream pie! Cover the play area with a splat mat or vinyl table cloth, pull out yer alluminum pie pans (you can also pick them up at the supermarket for cheap or save them from previous pie fun), add a little shaving cream and a few other washable toys and such and let them have a go at it. A Place of Our Own mentions using food color. I would recommend using Liquid Watercolor. A little goes a LONG LONG way and you can go in as a group to purchase all the colors and then split them up into smaller portions using the nancy bottles. Seriously, this stuff lasts a long time!

*If the weather permits, make mud pies! You can make them indoors if you are very brave but outdoor play is always a plus!

Okee doke, folks! That's all I have for now. Tomorrow, make sure you pay someone a compliment. After all, it is National Compliment Day!