Applications are available for download underneath the admissions tab above.

Features of PPA Open House:

• School-wide tour
• Detailed explanation of curriculum and guiding philosophy of education
• Staff introduction
• Question/Answer period regarding the application/admission process

Appointments are not necessary.

“Letter Z is for Zoo Week” was Zany, Zesty, Zippy, Zestful, and certainly Zoological!  Read on below to learn about the fun that was had and leaning that took place.

After studying the alphabet for nearly nine months, it finally was Letter Z Week!  The students arrived at school on Monday morning extremely excited to learn all about the last letter of the alphabet!  With a share box full of alphabet books, zucchini, zeroes, and more, the Letter Z shares sure were plentiful!  Of particular abundance were the various zoo animal shares including tigers, lions, monkeys, rhinos, and of course, zebras!

The letter Z fun continued throughout Monday and Tuesday morning as the students completed their morning work and worked in their morning stations.  From trains carrying zoo animals at the train station to zoo animal habitats constructed in the block area, it was clear that the students were excited about the Zoo-rific theme of the week!

During the afternoon on both Monday and Tuesday, the students brainstormed a list of letter Z words.  Fortunately, the letter Z is a very popular letter at Park Prep Academy and one entire column in the list was filled with students’ names!  The other columns in the list were comprised of some real Z words and some super silly Z words (or Z sounds rather – like Zap and Zoom!)  Here is the list from Tuesday!

On Wednesday, the students created the first Zoo-themed craft of the week – a wiggly armed (and legged) monkey!  First, they colored in the monkey’s body!

Next, some pipe cleaners were glued on and bent to create the following bendable craft!

During the afternoon on Wednesday (and Thursday) the students participated in Spanish class where they continued to explore La Familia (family) vocabulary in the most interesting of ways!  The students took turns dressing up in the dress-up area then giving clues as to who they might be.  For instance, the following student gave these clues…

1.  I make breakfast for my kids in the morning. 

2.  I hold a purse on my arm.

3.  I carry a baby with me sometimes. 

Which family member is she? 

Answer:  Madre/Mama

On Thursday morning, the students created their artistic interpretation of another animal found at the zoo.  This one is commonly referred to as the “King of the Jungle”.  Do you know which animal that is?  If you said, “Lion” then you are correct!  Take a peek below to see how these friendly lion faces were created!

Just like in the zoo, these lions were found “hanging out” together in the PPA classroom!  They are quite adorable!

On Friday, the students created the final letter craft of the school year - one of the larger and coldest Zoo-residents of all – a Polar Bear!  Using cotton balls to replicate the white fur, the students created the following project!

On Friday afternoon, the students participated in a technology presentation all about the different types of jobs people can have at the Zoo!  The students were amazed to learn that it takes so many people to make a zoo run!  Some of these jobs include zookeepers, animal feeders, animal trainers, animal doctors, and tour guides, just to name a few!  The students enjoyed learning about all of these different jobs but it was clear which clip was the favorite – Zoo Babies!

Seeing that the letter Z is the last letter in the alphabet – what better clip than the following to recap the entire Zoo-rific alphabet!  Enjoy!

Well, that is all for “Letter Z is for Zoo Week”.  As always, thank you for reading.  Have a fun and safe weekend!

-PPA

Reminders:

Next School Closing:

Sunday, May 28th

Observation of Memorial Day

Next School Event:

PPA Father’s Day Celebration

Friday, June 15th

2:00-3:00 p.m.

(No aftercare available)

Theme for Next Week:

“I Love My Mommy Week” was full of hard work and loaded with love! The students spent the entire week crafting the most incredible gifts to present to the amazing Park Prep Academy Mommies at the 2012 Mother’s Day Celebration! Read on below to learn about the students’ week while they prepared for the big day!

To help them get into the right mindset on Monday, the students created a list of many reasons why Mommies are as special as they are. The list included great answers such as:

 Mommies are beautiful and give great hugs!

Mommies make boo-boos go away!

Mommies read funny stories at bedtime!

After discussing all of the special things about Mommies, the students learned what they would be making special gifts to help say “Thank you and I love you” to the PPA Mommies!  Seeing that the PPA Mommies are so special, one gift would not be enough but three gifts seemed just right!  Continue on below to learn about these three amazing gifts that the students spent the week working on!

The first gift the students made was a special Canvas Tote bag for Mommy.  The students all agreed that the brown bags looked a bit dull; it was decided pretty quickly that the bags should be decorated!  In order to do so, the students began by writing their names in chalk.  Next, the students had their hands painted different colors and stamped them on the back of their bags.  With a little help from the teachers, the phrase “Happy Mother’s Day” was added and the students’ names were puffed painted directly over their chalk writing!  Here is how the back of the bag turned out.

By Tuesday the paint on the back of the bags had dried so the students worked on decorating the front of the bags.  Here is how the front turned out.

By Wednesday, the students began part two of their Mother’s Day gifts – a beaded key chain!  The students strung assorted colored and shaped beads on a lanyard which (with a little teacher help) was looped onto a key ring!

A paper key was added to help keep track of which child had created which keychain!  They sure turned out beautifully!

On Thursday, the students began working on the final Mommy gift – a page in the “Class ‘I Love Mommy Because…’ Book”.  One by one the students were asked why they loved Mommy.  Whether their responses were funny …

or sweet …

One thing is for sure, the PPA Mommies are certainly loved a lot!

Friday morning was spent wrapping the presents and also rehearsing a special performance that the students would perform later that day at the 2012 PPA Mother’s Day Celebration!  Finally Friday afternoon had arrived and it was time for the party!  Once the room had filled up with PPA students and Mommies, the celebration began!  What a special day it was!  Below please find some of the photographic highlights from the 2012 PPA Mother’s Day Celebration.  Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this entry to view the entire photo gallery!

Thank you to all of the Mommies who attended.  We hope you had a wonderful time!  Happy Mother’s Day!

-PPA

Reminders:

Next School Closing:

Memorial Day – Monday, May 25th

Theme for Next Week:

Click here to view all of the photographs from the

2012 PPA Mother’s Day Celebration!

“Letter Y is for YummY Week” was Yerrific, Yonderful, Yantastic, Youtstanding, and of course quite YummY!  Read on below to learn about the fun that was had and learning that took place!

Shares in hand, the students arrived at school on Monday morning ready to get started!  The letter Y shares were quite plentiful!  From assorted yellow items to Younger “when I was a baby” photographs, the letter Y shares proved to be some of the most exciting shares yet!  Some of the shares that came in did not only start with the letter Y, they were quite YummY as well!  One student had a pancake shaped into the face of Yoda from Star Wars!  Judging by how quickly it was gobbled up, it is safe to assume that it was YummmmmmY!

Monday and Tuesday mornings were spent completing Letter Y identification/writing/tracing activities throughout morning work and morning stations.  The students spent their afternoons learning just how tricky the letter Y really is.  Despite sounding like it should make the Letter W (“Wuh”) sound when it is said, the letter Y makes a sound that can often go undetected and in some cases like another letter – U!  To an adult, the word “you” clearly starts with the letter Y but it sounds pretty tricky when you say and hear the sentence – “You starts with Y”.  Even in the face of a tricky letter, the students were able to create a great list of Letter Y words.

By Wednesday, things were really “cooking” as the students began their YummY morning work activities!  After asking the students which foods they found to be the Yummiest of all, the teachers realized that many of the foods the students had named were “sometimes” food.  The teachers explained that “sometimes” food is food, like YummY ice cream, which is good to eat as long as it is eaten only sometimes.   They explained that eating ice cream and other sweets everyday would not be a good choice because of what is inside it.  This being said, the teachers decided to ask the students about things that are okay to eat anytime like fruits or vegetables.  After taking a healthier approach with their YummY list, the students came up with great answers such as apples, bananas, corn, and carrots!  Upon hearing the students’ responses, the teachers decided to make YummY week all about discovering healthy YummY foods!

The students, working in groups, spent each remaining morning of the week preparing and enjoying the following assorted YummY snacks!

Cereal Snack-Mix on Wednesday!

Fruit and Yogurt Popsicles on Thursday!

Fruit and Yogurt Smoothies on Friday!

Wow!  It is quite clear from the looks on their faces that these treats were enjoyed!  To learn how the students created their YummY snacks, look at the recipes below!  Maybe you will try these out in your home one day!

During the afternoons, the students began a new unit of study in Spanish class!  Believe it or not, La Familia (Family) is the final unit of the school year!  Wow, the end of the school year is coming up so quickly!  Take a look at the vocabulary below.

La Familia (Family)

Madre/Mamá – Mother

Padre/Papá – Father

Hermana – Sister

Hermano – Brother

Abuela – Grandmother

Abuelo – Grandfather

Tío – Uncle

Tía – Aunt

Speaking of Familia, one of the student’s grandmothers who grew up in Greece  came in Friday morning to talk to the students about Greece but particularly the Greek letter Y word from Grandma – Yιαγιά (pronounced Ya-ya)!  The students loved hearing the student photographed below call his Grandmother by such a fun letter Y name!

They also loved looking at photographs of the student’s Yιαγιά at her  home in Greece and hearing a poem (written by the student’s Mommy) all about her childhood in Greece.

My Yiayia

My Yiayia comes from a town far away,

Where she grew up very different from me,

In a very small town that had few families,

But all kinds of animals and even honey bees.

They had a big garden with trees that grow figs

And a farm with sheep, chicken, and pigs.

My Yiayia didn’t have many things we have today

Like a TV, a car or toys with which to play.

Her parents didn’t go to the market to buy food,

Everything was homemade and oh so good!

Her mommy made her own cheese, yogurt and soap,

The milk they used came from Yiayia’s pet goat!

She tells great stories that you won’t find in book,

But I love her most of all cause she sure is a great cook!

She bakes me Greek cookies, that are so very Yummy,

and she brought some for you, to fill your tummy!

The students were delighted when they learned that Yιαγιά (pronounced Ya-ya) had baked a Greek cookie called Koulourakia for the students!  What a YummY and lovely surprise!  A special thank you to the student’s Mommy and his Yιαγιά for visiting us!   :)

Even though ”Letter Y is for YummY Week” has come to a close, it does not mean that the Yumminess has to stop!  Be sure to keep looking for new and different YummY foods to try out each day!  In the wise words of Sam I Am, “You do not like them. So you say.  Try them! Try them! And you may.  Try them and you may, I say!”  As always, thank you for reading!  Have a fun and safe weekend!

-PPA

Reminders:

Next School Event:

PPA Mother’s Day Celebration

Friday, May 11th (2:00-3:00 p.m.)

no aftercare available

Next School Closing:

Memorial Day – Monday, May 28th

Theme for Next Week:

ATTENTION MOMMIES:

Next week, all Mommies will be asked to remain outside of the classroom during arrival time as PPA will transform into a Mother’s Day Factory full of goodies and surprises for Mommies! 

Daddies/Grandparents/Caregivers are welcome to come in during arrival to take a sneak peek if they wish!

Letter X week was, in a word, X-cellent!  Be sure to read below to learn about all the fun that was had and learning that took place!

On Monday and Tuesday morning, the students entered the classroom and  much to the surprise of the teachers, nearly ALL had xylophones in  hand!  The colorful instrument was clearly the most popular share of the  week.  It seemed like EVERYONE at Park Prep plays the xylophone when  they are not at school.  After the shares had been discussed, the  students got right to work on their letter writing/tracing activity  sheets.  By far the most silly picture of the activity was the picture  of the Pristella maxillaris, more commonly known as the X-Ray Fish!   Although the students enjoyed coloring in the cartoon X-Ray fish, it was  clear that they much preferred the opportunity to see a close-up of a real X-Ray Fish later on in the day.

The fun continued in the afternoons as the students brainstormed all the  X words they could think of.  Not surprisingly, the X list was a tough  one.  In order to help lengthen it, Miss Jocelyn’s suggestion that the  students should “think of words where you hear the X sound inside” led  to slightly mispronounced words like X-scalator and X-cape!  Eventually  the students came up with some really great words like the ones listed  below.

The students began their Letter X art exploration as they created the first X-Ray inspired craft of the week!  Moving a step away from traditional X-Rays, the students discussed a super silly idea – X-Ray vision!  When asked about the idea of X-Ray vision, the students remarked that it was the ability to see through things like walls!  Some of the older students remarked that some superheroes have this ability – most notably Superman!  For their morning work on Wednesday, the students all transformed into superkids as they created their very own pair of X-Ray vision glasses!

Here is how they turned out!

On Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, the students took part in a special animal X-Ray presentation.  With special thanks to Dr. Greenwald, the teachers were able to borrow an actual X-Ray viewing machine!  One by one, the teachers held up assorted X-Rays images to the X-Ray viewer.  Starting with human X-Rays and then moving on to animal X-Rays!  The students had a blast trying to “Guess the Animal X-Ray”.  Take a turn and see how you do guessing the animal in each X-Ray.  Good Luck!

Well, how did you do?

Animal X-Ray #1 -Frog

Animal X-Ray #2 – Veiled Chameleon

Animal X-Ray #3 – Marmoset (Monkey)

Nice work!  Now for a real tricky one!  Can you guess this animal?

Believe it or not, this is the X-Ray of a rabbit!  The students all seemed to think it was parrot!  Did you?

After the X-Ray presentation, the students had Spanish class where they wrapped up Los Animales vocabulary unit.  Next week, the students will begin their final unit of the school year – La familia (family!)  Also on Thursday, the students had an opportunity to create their own hand X-Ray.  First, the teachers painted each student’s hand white then the students stamped it onto black paper.

The students, while viewing a real hand X-Ray, glued some small noodles onto their hand X-ray to replicate bones.

Having discussed nearly everything about X-Rays, the students spent the morning on Friday completing assorted letter X puzzles, games, and activities while creating some eXcellent artwork at the art easel!  Take a look for yourself at this eXceptional piece of art!

Speaking of art, the students participated in an “X-Ray Art” technology presentation!  During the presentation, the students learned that despite having a very specific medical diagnostic purpose, X-Rays can also be used for other things including art!  Thanks to an email from a pair of PPA parents who are artists, the teachers learned about Nicky Veasey, a British photographer who takes X-Ray photographs of all sorts of things!  After viewing several amazing and interesting X-Ray photographs of objects such as teddy bears, plants, seashells, even a Boeing 777, the students were hooked!  The students were so excited to see these objects in such a new and interesting way!  The teachers explained that these types of photographs show some of the very best things about art - it can change how you see even the most regular things and it can come from anywhere!  Be sure to take a look at some of these images on the artists website (listed at the end of this entry).

Well, that is all for Letter X is X-Ray Week.  As always, thank you for reading!  Have a fun and safe weekend!

-PPA

Reminders:

Next School Event:

PPA Mother’s Day Celebration

Friday, May 11th (2:00-3:00 p.m.)

no aftercare available

Next School Closing:

Memorial Day – Monday, May 28th

Theme for Next Week:

Click here to be directed to photographer Nick Veasey’s Website!  

“Letter W is for Whisker Week” was Wonderful, Wondrous, at times Warm, WaCkY, and WiLd!  Read on below to learn about the fun that was had and learning that took place!

As was to be expected, the students entered school ready to share some amazing letter W shares.  The share box could have been changed to a share bucket or basket since was nearly overflowing!  Some W shares this week included Watches, Wallets, Wings (on a bird), Warrior Weapons, Wonder Woman, Woody from Toy Story, Whistles, Worms (fake ones!), Wands, and even a large piece of Wood was sent in!

For their morning work, the students spent Monday and Tuesday completing their letter W tracing/writing identification coloring activities.   The W fun continued as they worked in their morning stations around the classroom.  Here is the list that they created during the afternoon on Monday.  WoW!  Talk about a lot of W Words!

Things got really WaCkY on Wednesday as the students began their art exploration of the letter W and the theme of the week – Whiskers!  What better animal to discuss than a letter W animal with whiskers?  Can you guess which animal the students learned about?  Here is a hint – this animal looks like a rather large seal and has long tusks somewhat like an elephant!   Do you know this letter W animal?  If you guessed, “Walrus” then you are absolutely correct!

The students began their Walrus art project by creating the face of the walrus using googly eyes.  Since this was a WaCkY WaLrUs, they used some spaghetti-like noodles for the whiskers.

Next, the students added some sparkly sequins to give their Walrus a bit of pizazz!

Here is how the completed WaCkY WaLrUs art project turned out!

During the afternoon on Wednesday (and Thursday) the students participated in Spanish class where they reviewed their Los Animales (animals) vocabulary.  Watch below as the students play charades with their favorite animales (animals).

Thursday began with a story that is all about another animal with whiskers.  This time the animal of interest was much smaller than Wednesday’s walrus.  See if you can figure out which whiskered animal the students learned about from these clues.

1.  This whiskered animal is very tiny and very fast.

2.  This whiskered animal loves to eat cheese!

3.  The most famous pair of this whiskered animal is named Mickey and Minnie!

Do you know this whiskered animal? 

If you said, “a mouse” then you are correct!  The students started their day on Thursday with a read aloud of Felicia Numeroff’s classic tale, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.  In the story, a tiny mouse is given a cookie and then quickly realizes that he needs a few other things along the way – like milk, a napkin, a haircut, and so on!  After enjoying the story, the students were thrilled to learn that they would be transforming into mice themselves later in the day!

For their morning work, the students assembled their very own pair of wearable mouse ears!

By Thursday afternoon the glue had dried so the mouse ears were assembled and placed on the head of each student.  The students certainly made adorable mice with the ears but something was missing – of course, whiskers!  Thankfully a little face paint did the trick!

Once the kid-to-mouse transformation was complete, the students were even more excited to learn that like the tiny mouse in the story, they would be getting a cookie too!  What a wonderful and delicious surprise!

On Friday, the students left the whisker talk behind as another letter W word became the focus - the World!  With Earth Day coming up on Sunday, April 22nd, the students spent all day Friday discussing What makes the World such an amazing place along With Ways to keep it that Way!  Whewww!  Lots of W’s in that sentence!

After creating a list of what we LOVE about our World, the students crafted the following letter W World art project!  Here is their list.

Here is the “What a Wonderful World” Earth Day project.

During the afternoon, the students discussed the importance of Earth Day and participated in a technology presentation.   The presentation began with the students and teachers going on an adventure!  With the help of the following video clip from the BBC series Planet Earth, the students and teachers headed on a virtual tour all around our great planet!  Hop on board and enjoy the wonderful and majestic ride!

What an amazing planet we live on!  Be sure to remember this on Sunday (and every day!) as we celebrate Earth Day! Watch and listen in to this catchy tune about the different ways to keeping our world clean!  It was a favorite amongst the students!

Well, that is all for “Letter W is for Whisker Week”.  As always, thank you for reading.  Have a wonderful and safe weekend!

-PPA

REMINDERS:

May Tuition is due next week.

Thursday – 2 and 4 dayers

Friday – 3 and 5 dayers

Next PPA Event:

Mother’s Day Celebration

Friday, May 11th

2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

(no aftercare available that day)

We kindly ask that attendance is limited to PPA Students and their Mommies due to space.

LETTER AND THEME FOR NEXT WEEK:

Letter V week was Very, Very, Very exciting!  The students returned from  Spring Vacation and were more than ready to get right back into the  swing of things!  Adding to the excitement and anticipation of  returning to school was this week’s theme – Volcanoes!   Read on below to learn about the fun that was had and the learning that took place!

On Monday and Tuesday, the students began the morning with a lot of hugs  for both teachers and friends alike.  The students could hardly wait  to tell the details of their time off from school.  Once morning meeting  ended, and shares and stories had been told, the students moved onto  their morning work stations.  The students did a wonderful job of  deciphering the Letter V words on their morning work- Letter V  identification/writing activity sheets.  One word that proved quite  tricky was Van.  Thinking it was a car, many students were puzzled as to  what it could be.  Fortunately, Barbie has many cars – one of which is a  van which a student brought in as a share.  The student’s share surely  helped solve any confusion there was!

On Monday afternoon, the students created their letter V list and went  hunting for letter V’s around the classroom.  Both the V list and the V hunt were Very  successful!

On Tuesday afternoon, the students were paid a visit by a former PPA student and big sister of a current PPA student!  The guest reader pictured below certainly did a great job reading to the class!

Thank you for coming in and spending the afternoon with us!  You did a great job!

The art exploration of volcanoes began on Wednesday as the students sculpted clay to create their Very own Volcano!  Each student manipulated the clay in the perfect cone shape then used a finger to create a hole at the top – just like a real volcano!

Once the volcanoes had been molded, they were set  aside to dry.  During Wednesday (and Thursday) afternoon, the students participated in Spanish class where they continued learning the vocabulary for their new unit – Los Animales (animals).  Seeing that is was letter V week, one student asked about the translation for a particularly venomous animale – the Viper!  Like a volcano, the classroom erupted with laughter as Miss Beverly translated the word Viper into Spanish.  Viper in Spanish is pronounced “La Víbora” and a venomous viper is pronounced, “una víbora venenosa”.

On Thursday morning, the students crafted their second volcanic art project of the week.  This time the focus was on what happens during  a volcanic eruption!  Using some red paint and some pebbles collected from the park, the students created quite the volcanic scene!

Here is the final project!

After Spanish class on Thursday, the students were visited by a Surprise Guest!  The PPA Mommy featured below came in to read a very special story to the students.  Upon her arrival, the Mommy explained that she is a graphic artist and would be telling a story to the students without using an actual book!  The story was only illustrations!  The students listened in awe as the Mommy told the fabulous Letter V inspired story using visual cards that she had created!  Take a listen in yourself!

Knowing that they would be painting their clay volcano from Wednesday, the students arrived at school on Friday ready to get to work!  They spent the morning painting and decorating their clay volcanoes a more volcano-appropriate grayish/brownish color.

In the afternoon, the students observed a teacher-constructed technology  presentation about volcanoes.  Using some of the following computer clips to help, the teachers explained what volcanoes are, where they are  found, and why they erupt.  Below is one of the clips with a groovy and informative volcano song.

After seeing some footage of actual lava pouring out of a volcano, the students were very  relieved to find out that there are no volcanoes in New Jersey!

Just as the teachers were finishing up Friday’s afternoon computer/technology volcano lesson, Miss Justine rushed over to alert the students that she heard some strange gurgling noises coming  from Mt. Parkprep-Vesuvius!  The students rushed over to check on the  volcano.  Eager with anticipation, the students awaited the volcanic  activity.  Watch below to see what happened!

Wow!  Talk about an explosively exciting activity!  Mt. Parkprep-Vesuvius erupted at least ten times that afternoon! Fortunately, these eruptions were contained to inside the water table!

Well, that is all for Letter V is for Volcano Week!  As always, thank you for reading!  Have a great and safe weekend!

- PPA

FYI – For those of you interested in making your own volcano at home – here is what you will need.

Some Clay

Some Water

Some Baking Soda

Red Food Coloring

Some Vinegar

 1. Mold your clay volcano then place in a tray (to avoid lava overflow)

2. Mix together some water, some baking soda, and some red food coloring.

3. Pour mixture into the volcano.

4. Pour in the vinegar.

5. LOOK OUT! YOUR VOLCANO IS ERUPTING!!!

REMINDERS:

Next PPA Event:

Mother’s Day Celebration

Friday, May 11th

2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

(no aftercare available that day)

We kindly ask that attendance is limited to PPA Students and their Mommies due to space.

LETTER AND THEME FOR NEXT WEEK:

“Letter U is for Up (in the sky) Week” was utterly unbelievable, unimaginably unique and uber-uplifting!  Read on below to learn about the fun that was had and learning that took place!

Although the letter U is not the most common letter in the alphabet, the students managed to fill the sharebox each day throughout the week!   Only a few of the shares actually started with the letter U while most of them related to the Up in the sky theme!  Take a peek at this Umbrella that one student brought in!

The students spent Monday and Tuesday morning completing their letter U activities and morning work!  During both Monday and Tuesday afternoon, the students created a Letter U list and went hunting around the classroom for any U in sight!  Despite the confusion early on with word suggestions like “You starts with U”, the students were able to come up with a lot of great U words!

Things even got a bit silly as the students transformed into U’s themselves!

Also during the afternoon on Monday, a PPA Mommy came in to be a Guest Reader for the students!  The Mommy photographed below lives in the United States now but grew up in different letter U location – the United Kingdom (England).

The student loved learning about the United Kingdom and hearing a story about a little girl named Kate who lives in London!

They were particularly excited to learn that they would be tasting a sweet (and delicious) treat from the U.K. as well!

A special PPA “Thank You” to this Mommy for coming in and spending the afternoon with us!  We hope you had as much fun as we did!

Wednesday morning was spent discussing the letter U theme of the week – Up in the sky!  For their art project, the students created a feathery friend that can be found Up in the sky – can you guess what the students made?  If you said, “A bird!” then you are correct!  Take a look below to see how the students created their beautiful birds!

During snack time on Wednesday, the teachers informed the students that they would be observing a technology presentation later in the afternoon.  The students were thrilled to learn that the topic of the technology presentation had yet to be determined!   Seeing that the students had spent the morning discussing the “Up in the sky” birds, the teachers suggested that perhaps a question about birds would be a great topic to investigate during a technology presentation!  One by one, the students asked various questions about birds until it was determined, the question for the technology presentation about birds would be -

Why do birds fly?

During the afternoon, the investigation into the question began!  Websites including National Geographic Kids proved to be very informative!  The students looked at several upclose photographs of bird bodies – particularly the wings and legs.  It was noted that each bird had rather long wings relative to the rest of its body.  The students were suprised to learn that birds, like people, have a pair of legs.  Unlike legs on a humans, bird legs are quite little and weak.  After looking at the following photograph it was concluded that birds would need to take A LOT of steps to get around on foot!

Thankfully the wings of a bird help it lift up off of the ground and soar through the sky!    The students were so excited to view images of all different species of birds and see them soaring in the air.  They also enjoyed learning about the V formation that geese fly in!  Take a look for yourself below.  It is much more impressive than you might expect!

While the authentic photographs and footage was a big hit amongst the students, it was clear that the following animated clip was the favorite of the day!  Enjoy an animated version of the PPA favorite below but REMEMBER, DON’T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS!

On Thursday the students began discussing a different winged “Up in the sky” topic – Airplanes!  For their morning work, the students transformed a paper towel roll into a realistic looking airplane!  Here is how they did it!

On Thursday and Friday afternoon, the students began a new unit in Spanish class called Los Animales (Animals).  With some help from the returning students, the Animale vocabulary from last year was reviewed.  Here are the words that the students reviewed/learned this week.

El Gato – Cat

El Perro – Dog

El Oso – Bear

El Pájaro – Bird

La Vaca – Cow

Afterward, they practiced singing the following song.

La Cancion de los Animales (The Animal Song)

(to the tune of This Old Man)

Gato – cat.

Perro – dog.

Pájaro is a bird.

Oso is a bear

Vaca is a cow.

Lots of Animals – Oh wow!

Also on Thursday the students were paid a visit by special guest!  The student pictured below is not only the big brother of a current PPA student; he was once a student at PPA himself!

The student, now in first grade, returned to PPA to read a story to his brother and his classmates!  What an exciting visit it was! A special PPA thank you to PPA’s guest reader! You did such a great job!

In the morning on Friday, the students completed another Up in the air craft!  This time it was a bit different because it was a free-draw!  Given sky blue paper and some cotton balls for clouds, the students added their own illustrations of various Up in the sky items!  Take a peek at one of the illustrations to see what great detail went into these art projects!

The students wrapped up Friday with a Spanish lesson all about their new (and most exciting one yet) unit - Los Animales (Animals) – see above.  Well, that is all for “Letter U is for Up (in the sky) Week”.  As always, thank you for reading!  Have a fun and safe weekend!

-PPA

REMINDERS:

SCHOOL IS CLOSED NEXT WEEK!

Spring Recess – Monday, March 2nd - Friday, March 6th

School will resume on Monday, March 9th

Theme and Letter for Next Week:

“Letter T is for Tie-Dye Week” was tubular, terrific, and totally tremendous!  Read on below to learn about all the fun that was had and learning that took place!

The school week kicked off with a rather full share box.  Some of the “share highlights” from Letter T week included:  T-Rex, Tripod, Turtles, Tarantulas, Tigger, Tigers, Trains, Thomas, and even a real (old) telephone!  The letter T activities continued during the morning on Monday and Tuesday as the students worked on their letter T tracing/writing identification activity pages.  During the afternoon, the students brainstormed as many letter T words as they could come up with.  Here is the list from Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the letter T fun really began as the students learned that they would be making their very own Tie-dye T-shirts!  With some help from the teachers, the white T-shirts were twisted and wrapped with rubber bands.  One by one, the students made their way over to the Tie-dye table which contained the three primary colors – yellow, red, and blue.  First, the T-shirts were placed into the yellow dye-bath to get a base color.

Once the shirt had soaked up the yellow dye, the students then dipped their shirt into the red dye-bath and then the blue dye-bath.

The strangest thing happened when the shirts were taken out of the blue-dye bath!  To the surprise of the students, the shirts came out of the BLUE dye-bath looking GREEN!  How could this be?

The teachers checked the packaging to make sure they had not made a mistake.  Did they mix up the dye and add green dye instead of blue?  How could this have happened?  Thankfully the students were there to help explain to the teachers that the yellow shirts looked green after being dipped in blue dye because when yellow and blue mix, it makes the new color green!  Take a look,  the student photographed below has both green and blue on her shirt because there are some parts of her shirt that turned yellow and some parts that stayed white.  The parts of the T-shirt that stayed white turned blue when dipped into the blue dye-bath while the parts of the shirt that soaked up the yellow dye appeared green when the blue dye was added on top of it!  Wow, how smart the students of PPA are!

Each student dipped a shirt during the morning and eagerly awaited the “big reveal” which took place during Wednesday and Thursday afternoon!  The students’ jaws dropped and eyes lit up as each Tie-Dye T-shirt was opened up and revealed!  The designs ranged from bullseyes to lines to swirls and more!  Regardless of the design on the shirt, one thing was for sure – they were all Totally Terrific!

The Tie-dye fun continued into Thursday morning as the two day students created their Tie-dye T-shirts and the five and four days students created a Tie-dye inspired art project.  Using collage-like application techniques, the students assembled tiny tissue paper squares on a mini paper t-shirt.

Once the little papers were put into place, the students used a paintbrush to spread glue overtop of the papers.

The students watched in awe as their paper project began to change.  With the addition of the wet glue, the colors in the paper pieces began to spread (or bleed) into one another!  The students were so impressed at this change!  They also noted that this was just like what happened with the Tie-dye T-shirts!  The colors blended together to make new colors!  How exciting!

Thursday afternoon was spent opening up the two-day students Tie-dye T-shirts and then participating in Spanish class.  Since there was a great amount of color conversation throughout the week, the teachers felt a quick review of the Colores (colors) vocabulary was in order.

The students arrived at school on Friday dressed (proudly) in their Tie-dye T-shirts!  The classroom has never looked so colorful!

For their morning work on Friday, the students had the opportunity to create a painting!

Seeing how colors had clearly been on the brain throughout the week, this seemed like the perfect activity to wrap up the week.

What a colorful and tremendous week letter T week turned out to be!  Things will continue going Up from here as the students head into “Letter U is for Up (in the sky) Week” next!  As always, thank you for reading.  Have a fun and safe weekend!

-PPA

REMINDERS:

Tuition for April is due on Thursday and Friday of next week.

Parent-Teacher Conferences will be taking place throughout next week.  Please check your email or the calendar board for your child’s designated conference time.

Next School Closing:
Spring Recess – April 2nd – April 6th

THEME FOR NEXT WEEK:

Letter S was a huge SucceSS!   Seemingly out of nowhere, Mother Nature gifted us with Some Super Sunny days!  The Sunshine filled days could not have come at a better time – Letter S is for Spring Week!  The students enjoyed long periods of outdoor time that was full of Sunshine – rather than Saturating rain Showers or worse, Snow!  Read on below to learn more about the fun that was had and learning that took place!

On Monday and Tuesday morning, the students worked on their letter S  tracing and identification activity pages.  In the afternoon, the  students created their Letter S list.  Similar to last week, the  students ran into some tricky sounds again when words like Circus and  Sea were suggested for the list.  After hearing circus, the teachers  explained that the letter C sometimes makes the same sound as the letter  S.  Things got even harder to figure out when a five year old added the  word “Sea” to the S list.  If you repeat the following sentence aloud,  you will hear why this was so tricky.  “Circus sounds like ‘sssss’ but is really a ‘C’ but the word Sea says ‘C’ but really starts with an S”.  Fortunately, the students were able to think of  many words that begin with the letter S that were not so tricky!  Here  is the list from the Tuesday group!

On Wednesday morning, the students began their Springtime art exploration!  For their morning craft, the students began by drawing “things of Spring” including (but not limited to) flowers, playgrounds, outdoor fun and more.  After the Spring scene had been created, the students used Stampers to stamp the letters of the word Spring onto their picture!

Here is how the completed Spring Scene turned out!

In the afternoon on Wednesday, the students had Spanish class where they participated in a Super Special Spanish lesson!  Led by a PPA Mommy who is an actual Spanish teacher in an elementary school, this Spanish lesson was super exciting and certainly Spring-themed!

The mommy pictured above read a lovely story titled, “El Conejo Muy Hambriento ” or The Hungry Rabbit!

Before starting, the Mommy above reviewed the vocabulary that the students would hear in the story.

In the story, el conejo (rabbit) becomes hungry!  He sees un jardín (a garden) and begins to nibble on zanahorias (carrots) and lechuga (lettuce).  Soon el conejo is happy but el granjero (the farmer) is not! 

Once they had heard the story a few times, the students took turns dressing up as all of the characters and acting out the story!

What an amazing Spanish lesson!  The students were thrilled to learn that they would be going home with their very own copy and coloring book version of the story!  A special PPA Gracias (thank you) to this PPA Mommy!  We hope you had as much fun as we did!

On Thursday, the students created a Springtime art project that would decorate one of the classroom bulletin boards!  A Springtime favorite, Kites were created using Silky Sticks!  Similar to oil crayons or cray-pas, the silky sticks  colored just like regular crayons.  The major difference is that Silky Sticks spread!  Using their fingers, the students rubbed the colors around to blend them together to create new and beautiful colors all along their kites!

A popsicle stick was glued on the middle and a ribbon was added to create the following kite!

Later in the day, the teachers hung all of the kites up to create a new Letter S Week/Spring-themed bulletin board!

During the afternoon, the students were paid another visit by a PPA parent volunteer – Meet Mr. Shamrock!  Mr. Shamrock, a native of  Ireland, came to school to teach the students  about Saint Patrick’s Day and about his native country.  The student was  beaming with pride as her father, Mr. Shamrock, told the story of St. Patrick as well as introducing a few Gaelic words to all of her friends!

Listen to this silly sounding word for teacher! 

The student then read a special St. Patrick’s Day story called, There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed A Clover!

What a fun and exciting day!  The students were so excited when they learned that they would be going home with their very own clover (shamrock) plants.

A special PPA Thank You to Mr.  Shamrock for coming in and spending the afternoon with us!  Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

On Friday, the students prepared for Spring by planting some seeds of their own!  Using tiny cups or “flower pots”, the students filled their pot with some soil, a few seeds, then a little more soil.

The final step involved adding some water!

Once all of the seeds were planted, they were set aside in a nice sunny spot of the classroom.  Later on in the morning, the students discussed all of the ways they would care for their new seeds which would soon be plants!

During the afternoon on Friday, the students participated in a springtime technology presentation!  The video below was particularly helpful for some of the younger ones who were a little upset that their seed had not turned into a plant yet!  The time lapse video below shows the entire process from seed to plant in a minute or so!

Here is another view of plants sprouting.  This is what the students will likely notice over the next few days!

Once the plant breaks through the soil, they can keep an eye out for some flower buds just like this rose!

How exciting!  Speaking of exciting, the students loved seeing this clip where a baby bud was not quite ready to blossom just yet but it was certainly ready to dance!  Enjoy!

The following Springtime song was also a huge hit!

After the technology presentation, the students began heading home for the weekend – flower pot in hand.  We hope our  students and their families enjoy caring for their seeds/flowers.   Be  sure to take photos of the flower pot over the next few weeks as we  would love to see what Sprouts!

Well, that is all for Letter S week!  As always, thanks for reading and see you next week!

-PPA

Reminders:

Please submit any outstanding Summer Camp paperwork as early as possible if you wish to have your child join the 2012 Summer Camp!

Parent-Teacher Conferences Begin NEXT WEEK! 

Please check your email for your scheduled conference time slot. 

Letter and Theme for Next Week: