Hello all,
Letter “Q is for things that go Quickly” Week went by – well, Quickly! Read on below to learn about all the learning that took place and fun that was had!
Compared to Letter P last week, Letter Q’s share box was definitely not that full. The letter Q share box contained quails, Q-Tips, “quicksand”, and of course many non-letter Q items that move Quickly! These items included motorcycles, planes, trains, race cars, tigers, and more! While many of the transportation vehicles did not start with Q, there was one that stood out, the most famous race car of all – Lightning McQueen!
Throughout the mornings at the beginning of the week, the students worked on their letter Q identification activities. The students worked diligently while some of the younger students worked Quickly. Either way, the students did a great job. The hard work continued into the afternoons where the students created a surprisingly long letter Q list. Some words were “inventive” like the word Quencil (a letter Q pencil) while others were just silly like the word Quetzal! The students all chuckled when someone suggested “Quetzal” for the list, thinking that the student was mispronouncing the word pretzel. Fortunately, the teachers were there to affirm the student’s addition to the list and show a picture of a Quetzal! Here is the letter Q bird known as a Quetzal!
Here is their list for letter Q week!
On Wednesday, the students crafted their first art project of the week. After creating a list of Things that go “Quickly” the students created their very own Quick train! First, the train needed a track!
All trains need a conductor too! The students drew their conductor into the train car. Next, the students added the additional train cars to their tracks (and of course, wheels too). Once the train had been assembled, the students asked, “What about the passengers?” The teachers took out some tissue paper and informed the students that these were not passenger trains but rather cargo trains with colorful loads to lug!
Here is the finalized project.
Wednesday afternoon began with a very important question. What do Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!, all have in common? The students hands raised up quite quickly to answer the question! The answer of course was that all of these books were written by the sensational author, Dr. Seuss! The students were so excited to learn that Wednesday, March 2nd was the famous author’s birthday! Never one to ignore a birthday, the students of Park Prep Academy thought they must honor this special day in some way! The teachers put together a Dr. Seuss themed technology presentation and the celebration began! Book titles and character names were shouted out as different iconic Dr. Seuss characters flashed up on the screen! The students had a blast watching the riveting story of Green Eggs and Ham come to life before their eyes. See for yourself below!
Another amazing Dr. Seuss story that was too long for the students to hear during the presentation is called The Sneetches. Below is an animation of this amazing story about friendship and values for those of you interested! Enjoy!
On Thursday, the students discussed something that moves Quickly but it was not a vehicle – it was an animal! Can you guess what animal this student transformed into?
If you said, “Cheetah” then you are correct! The students even used a non-traditional letter Q painting tool to create the spots on their cheetah mask! Look closely at the picture below to see what they used!
Painting with Q-tips – How Quirky?
During both Thursday and Friday afternoon, the students had Spanish class led by Miss Beverly where they wrapped up their El Cuerpo (Body) vocabulary unit. The students culminated this unit with a silly game of Simon Dice (Says). Let’s see how you do at home!
Simon Dice, “Wiggle your BRAZOS!”
(arms)
Simon Dice, “Shake your CABEZA!”
(head)
Simon Dice, “Stomp your PIES!”
(feet)
Simon Dice, “Kick your PIERNAS!”
(legs)
Touch your NARIZ!
(nose)
Uh-Oh! Simon didn’t Dice! 🙂 How did you do?
On Friday morning, the students began their last Quick craft of the week and boy, was it super! All week long, the students brought in various superhero action figures, all that fly quickly! Having originally intended on making jet airplanes on Friday, the teachers reassessed their plans when it was clear that the students were more interested in superheroes going quickly. The day began by the teachers reading a superhero story and asking what were some features of all superheroes. Contributions to the list of “Features of a Superhero” included mask, outfit, assorted tools like a hammer or claws, and of course, a cape! As a final clue to hint at what the students would be making that day, the teachers then asked which feature helps the superheroes go quickly, to which the students replied with great excitement, “THE CAPE!” They could hardly believe the news and were beyond eager to get started!
Using special fabric paint to decorate their capes, the students transformed old t-shirts into authentic and Quick superhero capes – each with an original super hero name!
Some of the superheroes that were present at Park Prep on Friday included Firefly Girl, Dragonman, Sharkgirl, Volcano Boy, ABC Man, WonderCrab, Hulk, Ironlady, Waterwoman, Super Izzy and more! Once the capes had been given titles and were painted, they were set aside to dry.
Much to the suprise of the teachers, the capes dried Super Quickly so Friday concluded with a Superhero Caping Ceremony! Now, everyone knows that the Park Prep Academy kids are phenominal but on Friday afternoon there was no denying that they are SUPER kids!
Well, that is all for Letter Q is for things that go Quickly Week! As always, thank you for reading. Have a fun and safe weekend. See you next week!
-PPA
Reminders:
Parent Teacher Conferences will continue to take place throughout next week. Please check your email and the school’s calendar board for your scheduled time slot.
Park Prep Academy 2011 Summer Camp Deposit ($100) due by Wednesday, March 16th.
Theme and Letter for Next Week:
