Hello all,
“Letter U is for Underground Animals Week” was utterly unbelievable, unimaginably unique and uber-uplifting! Read on below to learn about the fun that was had and learning that took place!
Although the letter U is not the most common letter in the alphabet, the students managed to fill the share-box each day throughout the week! Only a few of the shares actually started with U’s, however, many shares related to the Underground theme! It seemed like every single species of underground creature was brought in! Ants, moles, worms and more to name a few. Equally as popular was the under the sea creatures shares! Despite the confusion early on with word suggestions like “You starts with U”, the students were able to come up with a lot of great U words for their U list on Monday and Tuesday afternoons! In fact, these city kids even added a new letter U word to the list – Uber, the ride-sharing car service! 🙂
Can you name any U shares in the photo above?
Answer: Ukulele, Umbrella, Unicorn and U!
On Wednesday, the students began their exploration of the theme of the week – UNDERGROUND ANIMALS ! The teachers asked the students which animals made their homes under the ground. They created a list of animals including: worms, ants, moles, meerkats and more! When asked how they get beneath the ground, the students said many of the animals dig their way underground. They were right! Through their investigation, the students learned that some Underground animals (such as moles and earthworms) spend their entire lives underground while other underground animals (such as meerkats and prairie dogs) spend some time below ground and some time above! The teachers asked why these animals might want to live underground? The students learned that living/going underground has many advantages, including protection from some predators, from extreme temperatures (both hot and cold), and from overly dry climates. How interesting! To help them remember these fascinating facts, the students created the follow Underground U art project!
Well, with all the talk about underground animals digging in dirt throughout the week, one might think that an edible activity was out of the question this week. Thankfully, that was not the case for morning work on Thursday as the students made (and enjoyed) eating worms and dirt! Here’s how we did it!
During the afternoon, the students had music class followed by Spanish class where they concluded reviewing their vocabulary unit Mi Cuerpo (My Body). They even combined music class and Spanish class at one point during “Cabeza, Hombros, Rodillas, y Pies” or “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”. Click below to try it yourself at home!
The students also welcomed a special big brother/former PPA Student on Friday afternoon! The Mommy and brother photographed below came in to lead the students in a special story reading to help the students end the day! A huge PPA Thank You to this Mommy and sibling/PPA Graduate for visiting us on Friday!
Well, that’s all for “Letter U is for Underground Animals” Week. As always, thank you for reading and have a wonderful (and safe) Spring Recess!
-PPA
Reminders:
SPRING RECESS HAS BEGUN!
Friday, March 30th – Friday, April 6th
Parent-Teacher Conferences will take place between April 23rdand May 4th
Theme for Next Week: