December 7-11, 2020

Pajama Day

Last Friday, we had a great time wearing our pajamas to school and raising funds for the children at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Write the Room

On Friday, the boys and girls were also introduced to a new lesson called "Write the Room." Hidden around the room are a variety of pictures, each labeled with the word that goes with them. The children are tasked to find the picture in the room, match it to the picture on their worksheet, and then record the correct spelling of each word onto their worksheet. THEY LOVE IT! Ever since the introduction, they have asked to do it everyday!

"Writing the Room" has so many benefits:

• It's not just another worksheet! Unlike a typical worksheet when students have to sit at their tables, this gives students the opportunity to move around the room to search for the words they need to record.
• It is a great activity to practice handwriting skills without making the children trace and write the same letter multiple times on a page.
• It develops beginning letter and sound recognition.
• It helps build vocabulary.
• And so much more!

Look at their concentration:

St. Nicholas Day

On Monday, we celebrated the feast of St. Nicholas. We left one of our shoes out for St. Nicholas - and were so excited when we discovered what he left us in our shoes!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Reindeer Directed Drawing

Christmas Nativity

The Pre-K angels have been doing a phenomenal job at all our practices for the Christmas Nativity. We will have the finished video to you next week. I am so proud of these angels!

Important news:

• We will have show and tell on Thursday, December 17. The topic will be "Christmas/Winter."
• Friday, December 18 is a half day. Dismissal is at 12:00 noon - there will be no lunch and no HCA Plus.
• Christmas break will be from December 21 through January 4. Classes will resume on Tuesday, January 5, 2021. It will be day 6 on January 5. 
• Looking ahead: school picture day will be on Wednesday, January 27. More information will be sent home in the new year.

Have a great weekend! 

November 9-13, 2020

In honor of Veterans Day, as part of Operation Gratitude, the Pre-K students participated in Operation Gratitude - a great organization that sends, cards, letters, artwork and care packages to troops and veterans. We included our address at school in hopes that some of the troops and veterans may write us back!

Thank you to all our veterans!

This week, we also started a unit on nursery rhymes. The benefits of learning nursery rhymes for young children are HUGE! Learning nursery rhymes can help with cognitive development, speech, reading skills, language skills, creativity, learning history, math concepts, physical development, and social/emotional development. Click here to read more about why nursery rhymes are so beneficial for young learners!

The first nursery rhyme we focused on was "Hey Diddle Diddle."

We practiced reading it using a rebus reader.

We practiced sequencing the nursery rhyme.

We reviewed beginning sounds using some of the animals and objects from "Hey Diddle Diddle."

We even counted quantities of dishes and matched them to the correct numerals.

Some reminders:

• Show and tell next week will be on Tuesday, November 18 and the topic will be something that begins with /r/.
• On Tuesday, November 24, we will be having a Thanksgiving Prayer Service at 10:00 am. A link to view the live stream will be sent home. Dismissal on that day will be at 12:00 noon. There will be no lunch and no HCA plus.
• School will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday from November 25th-29th.
• The new HCA spirit wear shop is open. Click here to shop now for 20% off until November 15.

• Please fill out Pick Up Patrol every day, even if your child is not attending school that day.

  
  

Have a great weekend!

November 2-6, 2020

The Halloween Mission Party on Friday was so much fun! A huge thank you to the Parents' Association for all they did to make the day so special!

The Pre-K students looked great in their costumes!

Charlie as Aladdin

Lexi as a pumpkin

Anthony as a Power Ranger

Connor as Batman

Ava as Batgirl

Justine as a witch

Greyson as a fireman

Luke as Luke Skywalker

Even the EC teachers got in on the fun!

Our very own HCA rainbow 🌈

After the parade, we had a dance party and played freeze dance with our friends in Nursery 3!

Monster Boogie dance party

Ghostbusters!

Miss Webb even taught us a dance to Thriller!

Thriller part 1

Thriller part 2

As part of our mission outreach, we made Halloween pictures for the Homebound Ministry at St. Denis Parish.

We even made Halloween necklaces!

It was a wonderful day! Hope you all had a safe and happy Halloween!

Some reminders:

• Our next show and tell will be on Monday, November 9, and the topic will be something that begins with /c/. Please send in something that begins with the hard /c/ sound (like in car, cat, carrot, etc.) not the soft /c/ sound (like in Cinderella, circle, cent, etc.)
• Order forms are due on Monday, November 9, for the HCA Linvilla Thanksgiving Pie Fundraiser. Help support our school and help the EC students win a pajama day! More information can be found here.
• Parents, please fill out Pick Up Patrol every morning, even if your child will not be attending school that day.
• Tuesday, November 24, will be a 12:00 dismissal and there will be no HCA Plus.
• School will closed for the Thanksgiving holiday from November 25-29. Classes will resume on Monday, November 30.
• November is All Religions month at HCA. If you or someone you know would be willing to share with a class, a division, or multiple groups either in person, via zoom, or through a pre- recorded clip, please email jmyers@holychildacademy.com and we will make it as easy as possible. 
• Looking forward, December is All Families month, and January is Native Heritage month. Please email jmyers@holychildacademy.com if you have any ideas.

Look at all the fun we had in STEAM class!

After listening to Jack and the Beanstalk, students were challenged to build their own beanstalks using blocks and shaving cream. Then, the next challenge was to build a castle. The students' imagination shone brightly while building their creations.

Have a great weekend!

October 26-30, 2020

This week was full of Halloween fun!

On Monday, we drew jack-o-lanterns.

On Tuesday, we used our senses to examine a pumpkin.

We felt the pumpkin and described
how it felt.

We looked inside and described what we
saw and smelled.

We touched the "guts" to see what
they felt like.

We took turns scooping out the inside.

We examined the seeds.

On Wednesday, we carved our pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern.

First, we drew a face on the pumpkin.

Then, we helped cut out each piece.

Finally. we put a candle inside to
see our jack-o-lantern all lit up!

On Thursday, we conducted an elephant toothpaste science experiment!

We mixed hydrogen peroxide, dish soap, food coloring, yeast, and water to make the magic happen! The foam that formed is a result of an exothermic reaction where energy was released in the form of heat.

Mr. Hartsock even joined in on the fun!

All of the early childhood students LOVED watching the foam form. You can try the experiment at home by following the directions here.

On Friday, we celebrated with all our friends at the Halloween Mission Party!

Pictures coming next week!

Some reminders:

• There will be no show and tell next week. Our next show and tell will be on Monday, November 9, and the topic will be something that begins with /c/. Please send in something that begins with the hard /c/ sound (like in car, cat, carrot, etc.) not the soft /c/ sound (like in Cinderella, circle, cent, etc.)
• November is All Religions month at HCA. If you or someone you know would be willing to share with a class, a division, or multiple groups either in person, via zoom, or through a pre- recorded clip, please email jmyers@holychildacademy.com and we will make it as easy as possible. 
• Looking forward, December is All Families month, and January is Native Heritage month. Please email jmyers@holychildacademy.com if you have any ideas. 

Linvilla Thanksgiving Pie Fundraiser

Order forms were sent home yesterday for the HCA Linvilla Thanksgiving Pie Fundraiser. Help support our school and help the EC students win a pajama day!

Have a safe and happy Halloween!