Hello all,
“Letter R is for Rainbow Week” was really riveting, radical, and naturally – really rainbowed! 🙂 There was a lot of letter R excitement throughout the week! The share box was so heavy with assorted letter R shares including: rainbows, race cars, rocketships, rice, rain makers and more! The student pictured below reminded Miss Jocelyn of her favorite letter R word – Rutgers (her alma mater).
On Monday and Tuesday morning, the students worked on their letter R tracing and identification activity pages. The students who are usually very attentive and focused while working on their morning work had a bit of a tough time paying attention on those bright mornings. This was because while they were working, the classroom rainbow maker that is adhered to the window was projecting tiny rainbows all around the classroom walls and ceiling, and every once in a while – on the morning work tables! Even despite the rainbow excitement, the students got back to work and did a great job! Morning work was not the only place where rainbows popped up this week – check out what these students created in the block area!
During the afternoon on Monday and Tuesday, the students created their letter R word list which was Really long! Also on Tuesday afternoon, the students were visited by a PPA Mommy and a PPA big brother/PPA alum! The big brother, photographed below, visited PPA to read a the story, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, to the students in honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday which was last Saturday. After enjoying the story, the students learned that their classmate (along with his Mommy and brother) had prepared a tasty snack for them to enjoy – a jello ocean with two red fish, just like the story! What a phenomenal day it was! Thank you to the PPA student below for sharing his Mommy and his excellent-reader of a brother with us!
Wednesday began the art exploration of rainbows! First up was a really radical rainbow two-part art project! The students spent the morning completing part one of the project by covering a large cardstock paper with patches of color! Next, the teachers mixed black tempera paint and some liquid dish soap together and the students spread a thin layer of paint over the waxy crayon colorings. The teachers put the papers to the side so the paint could dry and the students headed back to their morning stations.
On Thursday morning, the students’ fine motor abilities were challenged as they worked to create their rainbow. Using skinny paintbrushes and assorted colored paint, the students brushed thin colored lines to create their own rainbow. The students worked diligently to complete the activity and really impressed the teachers. Once the painting was complete, the students used cotton to create puffy clouds at the base of their rainbow. Here is what the final result looked like.
In the afternoon on both Wednesday and Thursday, the students had Spanish class where they continued expanding their Los Animales (Animals) vocabulary! Here are some of the new animales that they added this week!
Conejo – Rabbit
Jirafa – Giraffe
Elefante – Elephant
Tortuga – Turtle
Mono – Monkey
Also on Thursday, the students were paid a visit by a muscial PPA Daddy! The Daddy below came in to play several musical instruments popular in Greek music including the oud (ud, aoud, outi), the bouzouki (boo-ZOO-kee), and the baglamas (bagh-la-MAS). Click below to listen to the sound of the Greek baglamas!
Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Photo Printing
The students had a chance to see for themselves that even children can play instruments too! Watch as this PPA student plays the baglamas!
Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Photo Printing
Speaking of children, watch below to see the students adding some more music during the playing of the oud!
Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Photo Printing
A special PPA Thank You to this talented PPA Daddy for coming in and performing for us!
Friday morning began with a read aloud of Crockett Johnson’s hit, Harold and the Purple Crayon. In the story, Harold, a little boy who gets sent to his room, decides to go on an adventure. With the help of his purple crayon, Harold draws various scenes that lead to exciting travels and adventures far beyond his bedroom walls. Much like Harold, the students of Park Prep had an opportunity to use their own magic writing implement to complete the second part of their Wednesday “Magic Rainbow Scratch Art” project. Using the opposite end of some magic paintbrushes/pens, the students pressed firmly to create a rainbow design on the magic paper. When the paint was scratched away, the colors beneath were revealed – or as the students thought, magic happened! The students had a blast creating their magic Rainbow art. F.Y.I. – This scratch art project is a fun and easy craft to repeat at home! Just keep in mind the advance planning necessary!
In the afternoon, the teachers compiled photos of rainbows in the sky to show the students. They also reviewed the fact that a rainbow can only be seen after rain. One student was overcome with excitement as he shouted, “It’s snowing and raining today! We will see a rainbow!” Unfortunately, the key ingredient missing was the sun. The teachers assured the students that with Spring just around the corner, there will be plenty of rainy and sunny rainbow hunting days to look forward to!
Well, that’s all for Letter R week. As always, we hope you enjoyed Reading this week’s post. See you next week!
-PPA
REMINDERS:
Parent-Teacher Conference will take place next month!
Next School Closing:
Spring Recess
Friday, 3/29- Friday, 4/5 School Resumes Monday, March 8th
THEME FOR NEXT WEEK:
