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Once a year, Luverne Pizza Ranch employee Dawn Cope throws pizza dough in the air.
“We generally hand-spread the dough,” said Ranch owner Lila Bauer.
But on the days when the Luverne Elementary kindergarten classes visit, Cope is encouraged to spin the pizza dough in the air and catch the stretched dough in her hands before it hits the ground.
Giggles erupted from the last of the four classes to visit the Luverne Pizza Ranch on Wednesday, May 11.
They stared raptly at Cope, while each held personalized-sized pizza pans.
The annual field trips, which began almost 30 years ago, allow students to add toppings to their own little pizzas and carry them into the kitchen to be placed in the oven. They later eat their own creations.
While the pizzas bake, Bauer reads a story called “Hi, Pizza Man!” and encourages students to say the book title to the Pizza Ranch’s own pizza man, Kevin Elbers, when he delivers pizza to their homes.
The trips to Luverne Pizza Ranch are part of the kindergarten classes’ regular spring field trip schedule, which included a visit to the Rock County Library Monday.