Hello all,
Letter U is for Under the Sea 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 U’s, however, the many shares related to the Under the Sea theme! It seemed like every single species of sea creature was brought in! Crabs, lobsters, clams, sharks, jellyfish, turtles, whales, to name a few. Take a peek at this unique whale hat that one student brought in!
Equally as popular as the sea creatures listed above was Ariel from the Disney hit movie, The Little Mermaid! Oddly enough, many Ariels were brought in but no one brought in an Ursula, the mean sea witch who also stars in the movie! Ursula was one of the additions to the word lists that the students created in the afternoon on Monday and Tuesday! 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!
Wednesday was the first craft day of the week and what better ocean creature to start off the crafts than an eight-armed friend, the octopus! The students selected their color octopus and then began assembling him. The final touch was to add Fruit Loops to replicate little suction cups that are found on the arms of all octopuses. (FYI – octopuses do not have tentacles; they have arms. Tentacles are longer than arms and only have suction cups at the ends)
During the 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 Pajaro – 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.
Pajaro is a bird.
Oso is a bear
Vaca is a cow.
Lots of Animals – Oh wow!
On Thursday morning, the students crafted their own tiny sea creature – a seahorse! The students used assorted water colors and then gemstones to create these beautiful seahorse creations!
The seahorses were set aside to dry. Later on, the students used assorted colors of paint to sponge-paint some colorful coral on the bottom of their ocean!
During their Thursday afternoon Spanish class, the students practiced their new vocabulary and song then played an animal charade game to practice the vocabulary. After concluding Spanish class, the students participated in a technology presentation all about life under the sea! First, they started off by seeing some real-life footage from underwater from the IMAX Under the Sea DVD, narrated by Jim Carrey. The students eyes widened as they watched the amazing footage from the underneath the sea! Enjoy a different “Under the Sea” clip – you may even recognize the song! Speaking of familiar songs, the students also enjoyed hearing the Beatle’s hit Octopus Garden.
Friday was April Fool’s Day at Park Prep and the students (and some parents) did not disappoint! Take a look at the student below who entered school covered in Band-Aids! The teachers gasped at the sight of the Band-Aids and asked what had happened! The student explained that he spent the entire night battling “Bad-Guys” that had come into his room! Fortunately for the student, his bravery beat out the “Bad-Guys” and they left! The teachers were so proud of the brave efforts of this students and before they could congratulate him, he shouted, “APRIL FOOLS!”
The April Fool’s fun continued as the teachers informed the students that morning meeting would be taking place at the morning work tables rather than the Bubble, Jungle, and Tree Rugs! Things got really silly when Miss Beverly reported about the traffic she saw while riding her unicorn to school that morning, Miss Jocelyn sang the Days of the Week song backwards, and Miss Thao circled all the wrong letters! What a crazy morning! The teachers even had a little surprise planned for the parents too. This was in the form of the students’ daily notes. Here is how the morning part of Friday’s note read.
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What Did You Do Today? – Simple Guide To Get Your Child To Talk About Her Day At School
What did you talk about in morning meeting?
The students discussed Albert Einstein’s “Theory of Relativity” then engaged in a heated debate over who would be crowned the season ten American Idol.
What are some things you did during work/small group time?
Zoe built an airplane in the block area then flew it to a small island in the Caribbean to get away from the Spring snow shower this morning. While there, the students spent the day soaking up the sun and working hard at relaxing! 🙂
Did you have movement or go outside?
Yes! While in the Caribbean, the students went scuba diving and observed what life is really like “Under the Sea”.
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The students and teachers weren’t the only ones having a bit of fun with April Fool’s Day. Take a look at what this student’s Mommy and Daddy packed him for lunch! Talk about a surprise!
For their morning work on Friday, the students created an Under the Sea Scene using Jell-O and some familiar fishy fruit snacks!
The Under the Sea Jell-O cups were set in the fridge to cool! After a few hours, the cups were ready to be enjoyed!
While the students were enjoying their Under the Sea Jell-O, the teachers showed their LARGER Underwater Jell-O where the fish were really swimming!
Later in the afternoon, the students were paid a visit by a very special guest! For the first time ever, a graduate of Park Prep returned to read a special story to his younger brother and the rest of the kids at Park Prep Academy! A few years ago, the student pictured below was a Park Prep preschooler. Today he is a first grader and an EXCEPTIONAL reader!
What a proud Mommy!
Take a look at their faces when he got to the silliest part of the story!
It was clearly a fun-filled day!
A special Park Prep thank you to our first grade reader for spending the afternoon with us! Keep up the good work and keep reading! You made your former teachers very proud! 🙂
Well, that’s all for “Letter U is for Under the Sea” Week. As always, thank you for reading and have a wonderful (and safe) weekend!
-PPA
Reminders:
Next School Closing: Spring Recess
Monday, April 18th – Friday, April 22nd
Pre-Kindergarten Student Graduation Fee ($50) due by Wednesday, April 13th
