Dear Parents,

A is for Alphabet

This week we dive headfirst into a pool of 26 letters, beginning with our intensive focus on the building blocks (shallow end) of the alphabet: A, B C. We will read the board book, How I Eat My ABCs together as students work on letter identification and turning the pages of the book.   Everyone will practice handwriting in journals and use cardstock to craft and decorate their own letters.

We will sing a variety of alphabet songs (new and old) to get in the spirit, including this one to the tune of Found a Peanut:

A's for Alligator

A's for acorn

A's for apple in the tree

How I do love the letter A but I also love B!

If C is for Chicka Chicka....

Many of our activities this week are themed around the vibrant book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom that has the letters of the alphabet racing to the top of a coconut tree.

Chicka chicka boom boom!
Will there be enough room?
Here comes H
Up the coconut tree

After the lower case letters fall out of the tree, their upper case 'family members' come to dust them off so they can try again.  The book is used as a springboard to explore the idea of a 'family' and the many different forms it can take.  We all learn a little about each other as students are encouraged to share thoughts and feelings on their own families.  We also begin to identify different relationships within a family unit: two brothers, a grandpa and granddaughter or a mother and father with a little baby.

B is for Baby BOOM BOOM

Students are asked to explain the many ways their family helps them (mama helps me get dressed, daddy makes me breakfast) and from those discussions, instructors will craft a puppet show demonstrating family relationships in everyday situations.  After exploring human families, we branch out to compare them to families in the animal kingdom. 

In addition to reviewing a variety of animals and the special names for their babies (calf, cub, kitten), we look at how different animals care for their young: Kangaroos have a pouch, Emperor Penguin fathers sit on the eggs and sloth mothers keep their babies on their bellies. We also introduce the many facets of elephant families as they have aunts, uncles and grandpas just like us. 

Easy as 1-2-3

Our math lessons introduce basic addition and subtraction through Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Students will be challenged to add or remove a specific number of coconuts to the coconut tree in our classroom.  We will also practice writing and identifying numbers, as well as exploring patterns and sequencing with manipulatives.

It is exciting to witness this early stage of discovery for our students.  As we lay the developmental groundwork with these fundamentals, the world begins to open up for children as they build confidence and enthusiasm for learning.  We are proud to have your family with us this semester, and as always, please feel free to contact your instructors or myself with any questions you may have.