Hello all,
“Student Choice Week” was absolutely awesome! The students blew the PPA teachers away with their intellectual curiosity and excitement to investigate various themes ranging from scientific to mathematical to cultural and more! Keep reading to learn all about this amazing and special school week!
In order to prepare for “Student Choice Week” the teachers asked the students a very important question at the end of “Spanish Review Week”. The question was, “What do YOU want to learn about?” As one could imagine, each student had a wonderful contribution to the list of possible topics to explore. Some students even offered MULTIPLE suggestions to the list! After careful consideration of all the topics, the students voted and settled in on the following three topics to explore.
On Monday, the students arrived at school ready to tackle the first “Student Choice Week” topic – Caterpillars and Butterflies! Thankfully the PPA library contains a plethora of books on the subject! Naturally, Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar was read during the day. After hearing the story, the students made a Life Cycle of a Butterfly Diagram by retracing the pages of the story from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis and finally to butterfly! To help remember this incredible transformation, the students created the following art project!
Later in the day, the students participated in a technology presentation where they had the chance to view a few INCREDIBLE video clips from the PPA archive. Back in 2010, the students and teachers of PPA raised butterflies from tiny caterpillars and managed to capture the exact moment the final butterfly emerged from his chrysalis!
The “Student Choice Week” fun continued on Tuesday as the students began investigating the second topic of the week – SHARKS! Again, the PPA library proved very helpful and full of wonderful information on the subject! In fact, the students learned some interesting things about sharks – Did YOU know these following facts?
Sharks are older than the dinosaurs!
Sharks do not have bones – just cartilage!
Hammerhead Sharks use their funny head shape as a fin to help them turn and change direction quickly while swimming.
Speaking of Hammerhead Sharks, the students assembled their very own mini-Hammerheads for morning work! Naturally, they made sure to include A LOT of teeth inside the mouth!
Again during the afternoon, the students continued to learn all about sharks during a technology presentation! Just like Submarine Sam (from Beck Ward’s Submarine Sam book), the students put on their imaginary scuba gear and explored the entire ocean! Along the way they met some sharks along with a few other interesting ocean characters!
Wednesday’s “Student Choice Week” topic was out of this world! The students explored Outer Space! The student LOVED listening to There’s No Place Like Space! All About Our Solar System by Tish Rabe which featured amazing rhymes all about the planets. Read the excerpt from the book below. Can you guess which planet this is?
“You have been living on it
each day since your birth.
It is third from the sun –
it is our planet…”
If you said, “Earth!” you are correct! With planets on the brain, the students created the following solar system art project by with a sponge, a marble, some paint, and a whole lot of glitter! Wow, they sure turned out great!
On Thursday and Friday, the students got a jump start on their special surprises for the AMAZING PPA Daddies in preparation for the annual PPA Father’s Day Celebration which will be held next Friday! As is always the case, the Father’s Day projects are so special that they take a few extra days to complete. The students worked diligently to create their special and surprise gifts! Sorry, Daddies! No details will be given prior to the big day! 
Be sure to look at next week’s blog post to see the students in action!
Also on Friday, the students were visited by a PPA Mommy who came in to read to the class about a very interesting subject – Bees! The story read by the Mommy photographed below explained how Bees, while sometimes seemingly scary, are actually very important! The students were thrilled to learn the rule, “Let them Be(e) and they will leave you alone”. A special PPA Thank You to this Mommy and daughter duo for spending the morning with us!
Well, that is all for “Student Choice Week” at PPA! As always, we hope you enjoyed this posting. Thank you for reading and have a great weekend!
-PPA
Reminders:
PPA Father’s Day Celebration
Friday, June 12th
2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
After care is not available
Theme for Next Week:
