Hello all,
Letter E is for Eric Carle Week was Extraordinary, Exciting, Exhilarating, Excellent, Etc. Etc. Read on below to see all of the fun that was had and learning that took place.
The students started off the week by filling the share box with an enormous amount of letter E shares. These shares included Sesame Street favorites such as Ernie and Elmo, Elephants, Elves, Eagles,Eggs and of course, nearly Every Eric Carle book! See how many Letter E shares you can see in this photograph below!
In the morning on Monday and Tuesday, the students worked on Letter E tracing/writing identification activity sheets. The students were a bit confused to hear that words like elephant started with the letter E. The students who are practicing sounding out and writing words had a tough time hearing the E sound at the beginning of elephant or “L-ephant” and we see why! The letter E sound can be pretty tricky at the beginning of words like elephant or exercise!
During the afternoon, the students brainstormed all the letter E words they could think of! They also hunted for E’s around the classroom. The E hunting continued even as the students headed outside to the park! The students found so many E’s in street signs, buildings, and parked cars in the neighborhood that one student commented, “Wow! Maybe we should change this street name [from Central Avenue] to E Street!” Here is the list the students came up with.
The art exploration of Eric Carle’s work began on Wednesday as the students created a character from one of Eric Carle’s most famous stories, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The main character in the story is a caterpillar who, needless to say, is very, very hungry! The caterpillar is so hungry throughout the story that he attempts to eat nearly everything he sees. As the story progresses, the caterpillar becomes rather full and also begins to change! Before long, the caterpillar transforms into a beautiful butterfly. What an amazing (and true) tale it is and what an amazing art project the students created!
During the afternoon on Wednesday, the students discussed the butterfly to caterpillar transformation process by observing old archived photographs and video footage from “Life Cycle of a Butterfly Week” during the 2010 PPA Summer Camp! In the photographs and videos below, you will see the students as they “Grow” caterpillars into Butterflies and experience the various stages of the transformation! It really is quite incredible! 🙂
Two students observe the very hungry caterpillars shortly after they arrived in jars of caterpillar food!
The very full caterpillars make their way to the top of the jars and begin to form their “Cocoons” (chrysalis).
Two students look on as the chrysalises are placed into a tent. Beautiful butterflies will soon break through and learn how to flutter around!
Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Photo Printing
A few days later, the butterflies begin to emerge!
Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Photo Printing
Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Photo Printing
Finally, it was time to say “See you soon” to the butterflies!
Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Photo Printing
Believe it or not, the students did such a great job “raising” the butterflies, one butterfly did not want to leave them! Eventually, he found his way! 🙂
Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Photo Printing
Needless to say, the students loved watching some of their big brothers and big sisters learn about caterpillars and butterflies! What an exciting way to wrap up the day! Perhaps the students of PPA will revisit this project themselves when the weather becomes more “Butterfly-friendly” this Spring!
Thursday morning also began with a technology presentation and a conversation with Eric Carle! Listen in below to hear what he has to say about his creative process! (This is as much for adults as it is for children, too!)
Seeing that Eric Carle is as much an illustrator (artist) as he is an author (writer), the students were so excited to see how even Eric Carle was inspired by another artist, German Expressionist, Franz Marc, and also how creative he is! After hearing the story, The Artist Who Painted A Blue Horse, the students could hardly wait to create something equally as creative and interesting themselves at the Eric Carle-inspired art easel! Take a look at the students’ creativity!
During the afternoon on both Wednesday and Thursday, the students participated in Spanish class where they continued to review and expand upon their Numeros (numbers) vocabulary. To help keep the creative juices flowing, the students began Friday morning by reading Eric Carle’s story, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. In the story, the Brown Bear is asked what it sees which leads to the colorful exploration of various animals. After hearing the story, the students were asked the same question by the teachers, “Student, Student, What Do You See?” Here is what they came up with!
Friday afternoon wrapped with a final Eric Carle-inspired technology presentation for the week which included interviews with Eric Carle and also animations of some of his other amazing stories! Watch below to see, sing and move along to Eric Carle’s, Head to Toe. Enjoy!
Wow! What an incredible author/illustrator Eric Carle is and what an amazing week “Letter E is for Eric Carle Week” turned out to be! As always, thank you for reading and have a wonderful and safe weekend! We will see you next week!
-PPA
REMINDERS:
SCHOOL IS CLOSED MONDAY
Observation of Veterans Day
Parent-Teacher Conferences continue throughout next week.
Please check your email or the school calendar board to confirm your scheduled time-slot.
Theme for Next Week:
