DECATUR - It's not every day you see a room full of toddlers enthusiastically consuming fresh fruit.

Yet at Pershing Early Learning Center on Tuesday, that was the order of the day as chef John Redden of the Beach House prepared fruit pizza for the birth-to-3 class and their parents and taught moms, dads and grandmas how to do it at home.

The month of November, Pershing's birth-to-3 class has focused on food and cooking, said Janet Oyler, Early Beginnings program coordinator.

"You have to try to get your kids to eat healthier and not just have chips for lunch," Redden said as he chopped fruit at a dizzying rate of speed. "The only way to do that is to get the kids involved. Otherwise, they won't know any better."

Clemmie West said her granddaughter loves fresh fruit and is old enough to help make the fruit pizza, which she can't wait to try at home. She chaperoned her 2-year-old grandson Realgen, who was sporting a miniature chef's hat emblazoned with his name. All the little ones got a chef's hat, but Realgen managed to snag his a bit ahead of schedule.

"My granddaughter's going to love this," said West, who also used the opportunity to get some cooking tips from Redden on making lemon sauce. West's mother made bread pudding with lemon sauce when West was a child and she's never been able to replicate the sauce. Redden cheerfully gave her some easy tips.

"What this was about was to try to have parents interact with their children and get something healthy," Redden said.

Redden's sister Amy Bramer is a home educator at Pershing.

"We thought, well, we'll drag him in here," Bramer said with a grin at her brother. "We thought it would be neat for the kids to see a real chef, with the jacket and the hat and everything, something fun and different to do with the kids."

Neither she nor their sister is as accomplished at cooking as Redden, she told the parents who attended the session.

FRUIT PIZZA RECIPE

Sugar cookie dough, premade or home mixed, spread on cookie sheet or pizza pan and bake for 12 minutes according to directions

Mix Cool Whip and cream cheese together in equal proportions. When cookie dough is cool, spread the mixture on top.

Chop fresh pineapple and strawberries into bite-size pieces; mix with fresh blueberries, sliced kiwi or other fresh fruits of your choice and spread onto Cool Whip/cream cheese mixture.

Top with glaze: ½ cup of sugar; ½ cup of orange juice; ½ cup of water, 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens enough to coat the spoon. Let cool and drizzle over fruit.

If desired, sprinkle sugar on top.

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