Hello all,
Letter Q week was Quite a Quintessential week! Much to the relief of the teachers, letter Q yielded a lot of great and rather impressive words! With all of the Princess and Prince talk during letter P week, Queen shares were to be expected. The share box this week contained such Q items as quails, Q-Tips, “quicksand”, and even a queen! Speaking of queen, the most famous race car of all – Lightning McQueen – made his way into the share box this week! What was not necessarily expected was the Central/South American bird, Quetzal! Naturally, the thought of a bird with a name so similar to a popular snack food (pretzel) was HILARIOUS for the students. Well, “Letter Q is for Quarters (coins/money) Week” has come and gone. Read on below to discover the learning that took place and fun that was had throughout the week!
On Tuesday and Wednesday morning, the students worked one on one with the teachers to complete their Letter Q identification/fine motor activity pages. The older students worked diligently while some of the younger students worked Quickly. Either way, the students did a great job. In the afternoon, the students created the seventeenth letter list of the year! As a whole group, the students took turns brainstorming and contributing words that begin with the letter Q. They also hunted around the classroom for letter Q items!
Do you see any Q items?
Answer: Quilt, Quarter, and Q!
To begin Thursday, the teachers showed the students some quarters and asked, “Who is this man?” The teachers explained that he, George Washington, was the first president of the United States and a very important man to our country. For this reason, it was decided that his face would go on the money that everyone in the country would use to buy things like food, clothes, and more. The students excitement grew even greater once they saw the George Washington wig! The students each took a turn trying on the fluffy white Colonial style wig and posing for their own profile portrait. While some students were having their photos snapped, others were busy painting the backside of a paper plate gray and sprinkling it with some silver glitter. With a little help from the teachers, their photos were then applied to the gray plate to create a larger than life quarter! The faces on these quarters were definitely more exciting than good old George!
After Spanish class on Thursday (and Friday) afternoon, the teachers lead a discussion about the different types of coins we use in the United States and why we use them. Quarter, dime, and nickel proved to be a bit tricky but penny was the easiest to recognize. The students practiced identifying these coins by taking turns coming up and choosing coins from a bag. What a fun activity it was!
For their morning work on Friday, the students used crayons to decorate some quarters to put “in” their piggy banks. Here is what the Quarter collections looked like.
Friday afternoon wrapped up with a technology presentation all about the letter Q and coins! After spending the week learning all about quarters and coins, the students sure were excited to play the different types of coins game! In the game, the teachers provided the students with clues. For instance,
This coin is made of copper.
This coin is tiny.
This coin is worth one cent.
What is the name of this coin?
Answer: PENNY!
The “Guess the Coin Game” ended with an interesting and unfamiliar group of coins – the teachers asked the students if they had seen these coins before.
The students noted they had not. The teachers explained that they probably had not seen the coins above because these are the coins people who live in the United Kingdom use. The students were fascinated to learn, see, and compare what coins look like in different parts of the world. They also particularly enjoyed listening to the following catchy and informative clip below to help learn all about the various coins in the United States!
Well, that is all for Letter Q week. It sure went by quickly! As always, thanks for reading and we’ll see you next week!
-PPA
Reminders:
Ten and Three Installment Tuition Plan Users:
Tuition is due on Monday – 3 Dayers
Tuition is due on Tuesday – 2 and 5 Dayers
Theme for Next Week:
