Friday Pieday

When I started doing Friday Pieday with the kids last year I really had no clue what I was doing (still don't) or where it would lead, but for about six or seven weeks every Friday I just made a point to bake a pie with whoever was around and wanted to join in. The tradition stuck like glue with them and in fact even though we took a break from making a pie every week they still ask, without fail all the time if it's Friday yet and if we get to make a pie.

It was kind of shocking to me actually how much the little act of intentionality worked on them and boosted their confidence so much in fact just this week Grandma told Josie that Grandpa loves apple pies and apparently she beamed and said "well I know how to make pies!" and that just made my heart swell with joy!

So I've decided to make it a yearlong goal to make a pie as many weeks as possible with the kids in 2015. We shall see where it leads and I know I will learn a ton, I am not a great pastry chef by any stretch of the imagination just a Mom on a mission to bless her kids with a special tradition!

I mentioned to a few friends that I was picking back up with the project and got a few comments like "that is crazy, do you even sleep?" :) ha! Made me crack up because I TOTALLY get the intimidation factor and stress of baking with toddlers - I thought I'd share just a couple things I've learned so far in case you were thinking of starting a similar tradition or are groaning at the thought of what a mess it would be.

The first thing I do is choose the pie with the kids in advance and make sure we have all of the ingredients on hand for Friday before Friday rolls around. Nothing worse than not being prepared.

If the pie has a really involved crust or many many steps I usually make the dough the night before or try to do any of the steps in advance so that Pieday is not complicated or stressful for me!

Make sure your work space is clean and set out all of the ingredients and the tools needed before calling the kids into the kitchen and if you want to photograph the experience have the camera there too so that you aren't looking for it with flour all over your hands with the kids grabbing and flinging things while you scramble.

And after we are done making the pie and get it into the oven or fridge I like to have a little snack and a special movie or activity all set to transition the kids onto the next thing and give me a chance to clean up alone - I know it's good to have the kids help with clean up but on Pieday for the most part I like to get the crazy mess under control quickly making my stress level a lot lower.

And then make a HUGE deal when the pie is served. We usually do pie right after dinner on Friday and we ooh and ahh and set special plates out - seriously you will be shocked at how they beam with pride, it's my favorite part!

Just my two cents of course if you have any other tips or ideas I would love you to leave them in the comments and if you've done a similar project tell me about it I am all ears!

These are a few pictures of pies we made that I never posted about - Orange Dreamsicle and Blueberry Fried Pies. We are making a pie today and I will be sharing it next Friday of course. Thanks so much for letting me share a little about my process and plan here it helps me with accountability! Hope you have a wonderful Friday - and I will be back tomorrow with Ten on Ten! xoxo