Thursday, September 2, 2010

Pizza Party Review and Give Away




Pizza Party is another great Download N Go unit study from Amanda Bennett and The Old Schoolhouse.  We had a great time with this unit learning about Italy, Galileo (and other famous Italians), how mozzarella cheese is made (and we bought some fresh to try), how yeast works, geography, volcanoes and more!  Not only that but we ate pizza! (and lots of it as you will see!)

These one week unit studies are designed for grades K-4. The more of these studies we do, the more I like them.  (Be sure to read to the end to find out how you can win a copy!) They are so easy for me to implement and we have fun learning too.

Pizza holds a special place in my heart because my husband and I met 23 years ago when we both got jobs at Papa Gino's (a pizza chain here) when it opened in our town.  We worked there for several years while going to high school and college.



In Pizza Party there are 5 days of lessons:




Day 1: Pizza—What Is It? 
Day 2: The Story of Pizza 
Day 3: Types of Pizza 
Day 4: The Science of Pizza 
Day 5: Let’s Have a Pizza Party





Here are some pictures of our week:

We did a yeast experiment:

Emma adding water to the yeast and sugar

Jenna observing 
Wow...it really grew!
We used our yeast experiment to make pizza dough
Jenna adding salt to the pizza dough
Emma performing experiments by dropping objects to see
 if they land at the same time
Pizza for supper
adding onions to a pizza for lunch
.
A bacon chicken ranch pizza made with ranch dressing, chicken,
bacon, fresh mozzarella and cheddar cheese

When Jenna was asked what kind of pizza she would like to try she told me she wanted a pickle pizza (we have not tried this one) and a peanut butter and jelly pizza.  At first I thought that sounded silly but then I saw this.  So, we made one (and it was delicious).  I baked the crust then we spread peanut butter on the hot crust, then poured and spread melted strawberry jam over the crust and sprinkled it with powdered sugar. I will be remembering this one when we are low on bread!
Jenna spreading the peanut butter
The finished peanut butter and jelly pizza
Connor and his pb & j pizza
This is a dessert pizza.  I made a sugar cookie crust the frosted it with red frosting (sauce) and grated white chocolate for the cheese.  Then we decorated it with fruit roll up pepperoni and peppers and some m & m's that didn't represent anything but yummy goodness!
the plain "pizza"
Our multi topping dessert pizza
Our library books and video
The seat had been taken out of our 15 passenger van so we sat on the benches
 and read some of our library books.

Jenna, Emma and Connor with their finished "lapfolders"
our finished books
Now for the fun part!  I have been given one copy of Pizza Party to give away.  Thank you to Amanda Bennett and The Old Schoolhouse for making this possible!  So here are the details:

Please read carefully!  Individual comments count for entries. Please make separate comments for each of the following so that I can use a random generator to choose a winner. If you put it all into one comment it will only count as one entry.

1) Comment and answer one or more of the following questions.(each question answered will count for 1 entry but remember to answer them in a separate comment)

Have you ever used a Download N Go or an Amanda Bennett unit study?  
If you have not used a Download N Go unit study is there something that is preventing you from trying it? If so, what is it?
What is the most unusual kind of pizza you have ever eaten?
Have you ever been to Italy or anywhere in Europe?
What is your favorite kind of pizza?

2) Post about this giveaway on facebook for 3 entries (3 separate comments)


3) Share on your blog about this giveaway for 3 entries (3 separate comments)


4) Follow my blog for 2 entries. (2 separate comments) (If you already follow me say so and that will count too.)


The winner is the 6th comment on the blog!  I have contacted the winner. Thank you all so much for participating and answering my questions.  It was a lot of fun!
I will choose a random winner on Wednesday, September 8.  Please leave an e-mail address so that Download N Go can send you your free copy of Pizza Party if you win.  I will choose another winner if I cannot contact you. 


Pizza Party will be on sale this weekend for just $5...Saturday, September 4 and Sunday, September 5 only.


Read more reviews and enter for more chances to win Pizza Party on the Download N Go blog tour.


*I received Pizza Party free in exchange for an honest review.

50 comments:

  1. I have never used an Amanda Bennett study, but will be using my first one this year! :)

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  2. Most unusual pizza I've ever eaten had shrimp on it! :) BTW it was REALLY good! :)

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  3. I have never been to Italy or Europe :(

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  4. My favorite pizza is spinach & mushroom! :)

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  5. posted on my blog though so far you are my only "follower" lol

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  6. We've never used a DNG unit study, but I recently bought one to try for next week - Sunny Seashells.

    cookiert at yahoo

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  7. I've never been to Italy, but I've been to Spain!

    cookiert at yahoo

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  8. My favorite kind of pizza is BBQ chicken pizza.

    cookiert at yahoo

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  9. I have never used a Download N Go or an Amanda Bennett unit study, but plan to in the next couple of weeks. :)

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  10. we are using Amelia Earhart and it is our first ever...new homeschoolers this year here!

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  11. our favorite pizza is "pizza margharita" basil, tomato and mozzarella slices.

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  12. The only thing preventing me from using a Down Load N Go unit study is time. I bought a bundle three weeks ago and just haven't had time to start one yet. I plan to do one in the next couple of weeks.

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  13. I'm not too daring so the most unusual pizza I've ever had is Ham and Pineapple. LOL!

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  14. I have never been to Italy or anywhere in Europe, but would like to visit someday.

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  15. My favorite kind of pizza is Ham, Pepperoni and Mushroom.

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  16. I posted about this giveaway on facebook. (entry 1)

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  17. I posted about this giveaway on facebook. (entry 2)

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  18. I posted about this giveaway on facebook. (entry 3)

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  19. Love, Love your review. Great job and I can tell you all had so much fun. Mine will be up soon! Loading pictures now. :)

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  20. We used the Amelia Earhart study last spring and really enjoyed it. I loved the pictures of your kids doing this study!

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  21. My favorite pizza topping is shrimp, which I guess is somewhat unusual.

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  22. FANTASTIC review! I love, love, love looking at all the pictures! :) I am so happy you tried the peanut butter & jelly pizza . . . even happier that it turned out PRETTY. Ours looked so crazy! :)

    Such a fun study! :) Ami
    www.walkingbytheway.com

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  23. I just used my first Download N Go this past week while on vacation. We chose several videos linked in the Sunny Seahells study and it was very easy and fun. I'll definitely use more of these studies in the future!

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  24. We have not tried any of the Download and Go studies or any of Amanda Bennett's other unit studies.

    buram@gmail.com

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  25. We have not tried them because we are just starting homeschooling and our first day will be Sept 13. I have bought a few and plan on using them throughout the year.

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  26. Most unusual pizza? At Cici's pizza a few weeks ago they had macarroni and cheese pizza.
    buram1234@gmail.com

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  27. I have been to Germany, many, many years ago.

    buram1234@gmail.com

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  28. My favorite topping is pepperoni.buram1234@gmail.com

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  29. I was just showing my daughter your pictures of Pizza week and she loved all of the pizzas your family made.

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  30. Looks like your week was as fun as our week with Pizza Party! Nice review; enjoyed the photos.

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  31. Hello visiting (as part of the crew no contest please) I LOVE you blog!! So glad you had as good a time as we did. I am looking up some of the recipes you tried! Stop over at my blog when you get the chance love to have you!
    God bless
    Heather Laurie
    www.specialneedshomeschooling.com

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  32. I am really enjoying reading all of the comments! :) I love shrimp so I think I am going to have to try shrimp on pizza soon since a couple of you mentioned it.

    Ami, the trick to the pretty pb & J pizza is to sprinkle it with powdered sugar and cover it up! LOL!

    This really was a fun unit! I am enjoying reading the other reviews on the blog tour too!

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  33. I don't think I've used an Amanda Bennett unit study, but honestly, I don't remember! If I did, it was a long time ago.

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  34. I just haven't tried a download n go because I haven't made the time to put it in our schedule yet!

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  35. I don't remember any unusual pizzas....besides a fruit pizza I made in middle school. My favorite pizza was called the Roadrunner by Pizza Hut. It was sausage, onions and green chiles!

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  36. I have been to Italy and many other places in Europe....Germany, Switzerland, Austria, England, and Norway. Italy was one of my favorite!

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  37. as for my favorite pizza, at the moment it would have to be a gluten free pizza. I like spinach pizza! (no sauce or alfredo sauce)

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  38. Well, this seems a bit involved, but here it goes....I have not done a DNG just yet, but I am looking forward to Dolphins real soon. :)

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  39. The most unusual kind of pizza I have ever eaten, hmmmm........it has to be the shaved asparagus pizza and it was DELICIOUS!!

    brandyshutt@yahoo.com

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  40. I have visited London and Ireland. Wonderful experiences. Dream trip is to go to Italy!!

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  41. My favorite kind of pizza would have to be a type of veggie pizza, I love it!! I do like the fruit pizza thing as well. Great questions! Your pics are fun and make me want to eat and learn with this fun food!

    Thanks for sharing! (that wasn't so bad, I am new to this blog world)

    brandyshutt@yahoo.com

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