A is for the alphabet, which we learn every which way.

B is for building campsites, castles, “Bad Guy Alarms”, and whatever else our imaginations want to build. It’s also for birds enjoying our feeders in the Outdoor Classroom.

C is for counting everything. And caterpillars, in the classroom.

D is for dressing up, decoding words and drawing at our desks.

E is for eyes, and how earnestly we lock ours with yours as we tell you what we’re doing.

F is for our fish Gill and Goldy Antonio. It’s also for learning to be good friends.

G is for the magnifying glasses we use to look for bugs.

H is for our Handwriting Without Tears workbooks and exercises.

I is for initiative and imagination, developed through play. I is also for iPads, used every day.

J is for jewelry. We make friendship bracelets and necklaces as a way to teach patterns.

K is for kinesthetic learning – creating 3D shapes with Play Dough, building words out of letter tiles, making letters with pebbles, and tracing numbers in salt.

L is for listening to teachers and friends. It’s also for our older Learning Buddies.

M is for magic potions made at the water table, mystery readers, and math games. It’s also for learning from mistakes.

N is for noisy, because that’s how it should be when language learning happens all the time.

O is for our beloved new Outdoor Classroom.

P is for self-portraits, painting, and learning through play.

Q is for the Habit ‘Question and Be Curious’, so evident among young students. May it last forever.

R is for reading, and being read to. It’s also for resilience when times are tough, because sometimes they are.

S is for the slime made on Halloween, ‘Stinky Pig’, snack, and using all of our senses to learn.

T is for the Three School Rules, and trips to the farm, theatre and the symphony. It’s also for the team of ELP teachers who make this ABC story come true.

U is for upset tummies. Unfortunately anxiety is starting younger and younger, so we strive to create a warm and welcoming environment that encourages positive risk taking.

V is for visualizing numbers in different ways (dots on dice, ten frames, manipulatives, stones).

W is for ‘Whole Body Listening’, because listening with your ears isn’t enough.

X is for, you guessed it, the xylophone. Happily, that’s an instrument we play in the ELP.

Y is for young authors – exploring the foundations of storytelling by drawing 3-panel comics (beginning/middle/end)

Z is for zippers. “The bane of our existence.”

Andrea Fanjoy,
Assistant Head, Academics
You can follow Andrea on Twitter @afanjoy.