“Letter A is for Alligator Week” Blog Recap!

Hello all,

PPA’s alphabet curriculum is off to an Amazing, Astonishing, and Awesome start! Can you guess which letter the students learned about first? If you said, “the letter A”, then you are correct! To help explore the letter A, the students also studied all about alligators! Well, “Letter A is for Alligator Week” has come and gone. Read on below to discover the learning that took place and fun that was had throughout the week!

The students returned to school on Monday with an Assortment of Letter A shares! Everything from Animals, Aliens, Astronauts, Anna (from Frozen), and Alligators was sent in and shared! As you will see in the photograph below, there was certainly an Abundance of Awesome letter A shares!

Monday and Tuesday morning marked the introduction of alphabet “morning work” – letter and sound recognition activity coloring pages. Working one on one with the teachers, each student took a break from their morning activity stations to come over, sit down and get to work! The teachers were so impressed with how easily the new students recognized the letter A and also how well the older students remembered all things “A” during their morning work! Whether it involved tracing, writing, or sounding out letters, the activity pages were completed beautifully! The 2015-2016 students of PPA are surely shining stars already.

In the afternoon on both Monday and Tuesday, the students worked together as a group to create the first letter list of the school year! As a whole group, the students took turns brainstorming and contributing words that begin with the letter A! The list below features all of the words the students came up with! After the list had been created, it was time to go hunting – Letter A hunting! In partners, the students took off around the room to find all of the A’s around the classroom! There were A’s on the bookshelves, A’s on the walls, A’s in the cubbies, even A’s on the students (well, on their clothing). Who knew there were some many A’s at PPA?

Can you identify all of the A Shares?

The A shares are Ariel, Airplane, and an Apple!

Wednesday began the students art exploration of the letter A as well as the theme of the week – Alligators! Take a look below at the snappy alligators that the students created!

On Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, the students participated in their first and second Spanish lessons of the school year! For the next few weeks, the students will be learning about Greetings and Numbers. You may hear your child(ren) using some of the following vocabulary at home!

Greetings:

Hola (Hello)

Adiós (Goodbye)

Gracias (Thank You)

De nada (For Nothing/You’re Welcome)

The Park Prep Academy foreign language program takes place two afternoons each week. Please encourage your child(ren) to utilize this vocabulary as often as possible as a way to reinforce what is being taught in the classroom and also increase motivation for Spanish class.

As the weeks progress, the students will be divided into two separate groups – Introduction to Spanish group (comprised of new/younger students) as well as a Beginner Spanish group (comprised of returning/older students). The learning goals for each group are similar- introduce and utilize Spanish vocabulary- but will be approached in different, more individualized and developmentally appropriate ways.

The Introduction to Spanish group will be led by Miss Justine, Miss Taryn, and Miss Sabrina and will be a very interactive approach to help expose and introduce the students to the Spanish language. The Beginning Spanish group will be led by Miss Jocelyn and Miss Angelica and will utilize a more “immersion” approach to teaching/learning the Spanish language. Students in this group will hear both the Spanish and English translation of stories, conversations, and more! Keep checking your child’s daily note and the blog weekly to stay informed as to the vocabulary the students are studying.

On Thursday morning, the students created another alligator craft! This time it was a little different. Take a look at these Adorable Letter A Alligators!

On Friday, the students created an edible A treat – Jell-O Jigglers in the color and shape of alligators! One thing was for sure – it was A-MAZING!

Friday afternoon wrapped up with a technology presentation All About Alligators! Earlier in the week, the students had asked the question, “What makes an alligator an alligator and a crocodile a crocodile?” After examining the difference in two up-close photographs, the students determined the most noticeable difference was in the snout/mouth. An alligator has U-shaped snout while a crocodile has a pointier V-shaped snout. The students also observed that if several of its lower teeth were sticking out when the animal has its jaws closed, then it must be a crocodile. When an alligator’s jaws are closed, you can’t see any of its lower teeth. What great observations the students made! The teachers informed the students of some other, less noticeable differences including color, habitat, diet and more! What an exciting investigation into the question it was!

The students also continued their investigation of the letter A with a little help from PPA’s favorite robot duo – The Storybots! Watch below to see/meet these super silly letter-loving robots! Enjoy!

Hooray for A is right! Well, that is all for “Letter A is for Alligator Week” at PPA. It sure was Amazing! As always, thank you for reading and have a fun and safe weekend!

-PPA

Reminders:

SCHOOL CLOSED: Monday, October 12th

Observation of Columbus Day

Upcoming School Events:

PPA Pumpkin Picking and Decorating Party

Friday, October 9th

(2:00-3:00 p.m.)

All PPA students and parents are welcome to attend this event.

Aftercare is not available.

School Picture Day

Friday, October 16th

ALL STUDENTS (regardless of enrollment schedule) should arrive by 8:45 a.m. Individual portraits and class photographs will be taken. Students who do not attend school on Fridays (2 dayers) will be picked up before lunch at 11:45 a.m. Students who attend school on Friday will stay for the full school day.

PPA Halloween Party

Friday, October 30th