Hello all,
This past week, the students dove right in as they began their letters of the alphabet study. 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! Read on below to learn about all of the fun that was had and learning that took place!
Throughout the entire “Letter A is for Alligator Week” the students arrived at school and immediately began filling up the “Share Box” with an Abundance of letter A shares! Take a look at the photograph below; it is full of letter A shares that were sent in! Can you say all of the Letter A words that you see?
The A shares are Ariel, Airplane, and an Apple!
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 play stations to come over, sit down and get to work! Whether it involved tracing, writing, or sounding out letters, the activity pages were completed beautifully! The 2012-2013 students of PPA are surely shining stars already. Take a look at some of the fun that they had exploring “All things A” in morning stations!
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! The list below features all of the words the students came up with! Talk about A lot of A’s!
The students also hunted around the classroom for as many A’s as they could find. Whether the A’s were on books or just items that began with the letter A, one thing was for sure – there are A lot of A’s at PPA!
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!
Watch the video below to see two of PPA’s older students having some fun with their alligators.
Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Photo Printing
On Wednesday afternoon, the students participated in their first Spanish lesson 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 Caitlin, Miss Thao, and Miss Karina 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 Beverly, Miss Justine, and Miss Jocelyn 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!
During the afternoon, the students had Spanish class again. The returning students were extra helpful in teaching the newer students the PPA hit song, “The Hola Song” which is sung at the start of each Spanish class. Listen in below!
Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Photo Printing
Speaking of foreign language, Friday marked the first parent volunteer of the 2012-2013 school year! The Mommy photographed below came in and spent the morning teaching the students of PPA all about her family’s native language – Arabic. Born in Lebanon, the Mommy below shared an Ipad game that reviewed the entire Arabic Alphabet.
Afterwards, the students headed into the morning stations eagerly awaiting their turn to craft their very own rabbit or “Arnab” with the PPA Mommy. One by one, the students transformed a tiny white sock into a rice-filled, bow-tie wearing Arnab! Take a look below to see how the Arnabs were created!
Needless to say, the students had a blast creating their Arnab! A special PPA Thank You goes out to the first Mommy volunteer of the 2012-2013 school year! What an amazing activity and what an amazing Mommy!
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!
Well, that is all for Letter A Week. It sure was Amazing! As always, thank you for reading and have a fun and safe weekend!
-PPA
Reminders:
SCHOOL IS CLOSED THIS MONDAY
October 8th – Observation of Columbus Day
Upcoming School Events:
School Picture Day
Friday, October 12th
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 Pumpkin Picking and Decorating Party
Friday, October 19th
(2:00-3:00 p.m.)
All PPA students and parents are welcome to attend this event.
Aftercare is not available.
PPA Halloween Party
Wednesday, October 31st
(2:00-3:00 p.m.)
All PPA students and parents are welcome to attend this event.
Aftercare is not available.