“Letter L is for Library Week” is next!

Hello all,

The students kicked off “Letter K is for Key Week” by bringing in some great K shares. The share box was the heaviest it has ever been. From kazoos to key chains, Kermit to kaleidoscopes, the kids did not hold back. One student even brought in real car keys – much to the surprise of his parents! Speaking of keys, the students had a blast learning all about various types of keys as well as creating artwork using keys! Read on below to learn about what these KooKy Kids were up to all week!

On Monday and Tuesday morning, the students completed their letter K tracing and identification activity sheets. Some of the K words included: keys, kangaroos, koalas, kids, kitchen and more! The kitchen picture proved to be quite puzzling as some students identified the picture as “cooking” or “baking”. Since both words contain the letter K the teachers deemed these guesses close enough. Things only got more interesting when it came time to create the Letter K list. As was the case with Letter C week, there was some confusion as to exactly which words begin with letter K. The students rattled off one letter C word after another – “Kuh Kuh Cookie starts with K!” Since the students have encountered the issue of tricky letters in the past (J week – “Giraffe starts with J because it says juh”), they were a little more accepting of this idea and kept building the list. All things considered, they still came up with a pretty extensive list.

The students were thrilled to learn that a PPA Mommy was visiting on Tuesday afternoon to read a story to the students. The Mommy featured below read the students a classroom favorite, David Shannon’s, Pirates Don’t Change Diapers. What an exciting day it was! Thank you to the Mommy below for spending the afternoon with us!

After seeing so many key chains in the share box, the teachers decided to let the students create their own. Taking a hint from Miss Justine’s key ring, the students laced colorful assorted beads on elastic rope and then added their own key. Judging by the smiles on their faces, it was clear that Wednesday’s morning work was a big hit!

On Wednesday afternoon, the students had Spanish class where they reviewed and expanded the vocabulary from the Mi Cuerpo (My Body) unit. To help practice, the students were called up in small groups and asked to locate and move various parts of their cuerpo! Let’s see how you do! 🙂

Tap your CABEZA (head)

Touch your NARIZ (nose

Wiggle your BRAZOS (arms)

Bend your PIERNAS (legs)

On Thursday morning, the students used keys of various shapes and sizes to create a beautiful piece of artwork. Each key was dipped into a different color of paint and then used as a stamp. The students’ key art turned out so beautiful, it was hard to believe that they had created it using only keys! It was evident that this project truly unlocked their creative sides.

The Spanish fun continued on Thursday afternoon, take a look below!

Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Photo Printing

To “close the door” on “Letter K is for Key Week”, the teachers presented a PowerPoint game to assess the students’ knowledge of different types of keys and their uses. “What is this Key for?” proved to be an informative and silly game! The various keys that were discussed included: a car key, a traditional door key, a hotel room key, piano keys, a map with a key, a key fob/electronic key, but silliest of all was the last key! Do you know what type of key this is?

It is a COMPUTER KEY! The students had spent most of the week thinking about keys that open doors – not other types of keys like computer keys! They were extremely excited to learn that they would be making their very own laptop computer with a full set of these different keys! See how they did it below!

As if Friday was not exciting enough, the students were delighted to learn that they would have a second special visitor during K week! Another PPA Mommy visited the students but this time it was for a Letter K activity – a Korean lesson! The Mommy and her daughter photographed below are of Korean descent and came in to discuss Korean culture with the students. Topics covered included traditional Korean outfits such as a hanbok, the Korean alphabet, as well as delicious Korean food! Watch the video below to see the students trying to guess the Korean letter by listening to the sound!

Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Photo Printing

The Mommy below prepared a particularly tasty noodle dish known as japchae (pronounced chop-cae) for all the students to enjoy! Judging by how quickly the students gobbled up the japchae, it is safe to say they enjoyed it! A big Park Prep “Thank You” to the PPA Mommy for spending the afternoon with us and teaching us about Korean culture! What a special day it was!

Well, that is all for Letter K Week. We hope you enjoyed this week’s blog entry. As always, thanks for reading and we’ll see you next week!

-PPA

AMAZING UPDATE:

Park Prep Academy received a very special piece of mail towards the end of “Letter K is for Keys Week”. Back in December, during “Letter H is for Helping Week”, the students of Park Prep Academy worked with Operation Goody Bag to stuff and mail over 500 goody bags to show support to the brave U.S. servicemen and servicewomen stationed away around the world while serving the United States of America (see Letter H link below). Of the 500 goody bags the students stuffed, 150 were shipped to the USS JOHN C STENNIS – a naval ship with a PPA student’s uncle aboard! Late Thursday evening, the PPA mail lady delivered an envelope which when opened, blew the teachers and students away! The envelope contained several large photographs and a THANK YOU note from the entire crew of the USS JOHN C STENNIS! The note, in its entirety, can be found below. To highlight …

“It is very moving for each of us who serve when someone goes out of their way to do things for you out of the goodness of their heart, especially when it comes from the hard work and kindness of children… So thank you for not only helping to make our day a little better, but for also teaching the future men and women of this country how important acts of kindness are and that a little bit can go a long way. We are all proud to serve this wonderful country of ours… Thank you again for your support!”

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? The servicemen and servicewomen are thanking US!?! What an amazing experience to be a part of! The students were beaming with pride as the teachers read the letter aloud and shared the photographs from the ship. If you look closely, you can actually see the smiles on the crew’s faces as they are opening the goody bags that the students made for them! A special thank you to the PPA student’s uncle, MMC(SW) J. Kulani, for organizing such a wonderful “thank you” for the students! We look forward to your speedy and safe return home as well as a visit to PPA soon! 🙂

Photograph of the USS JOHN C. STENNIS