It all started with this incredible book in which the history of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade is beautifully illustrated through text and pictures.  It ended with an all school viewing of the balloon parade on Friday afternoon right before break.  What happened in...

The instructions were simple...or so it seemed.  Students were supposed to sort their animal cards into groups.  Each partnership set off to work... ...and quickly realized that this activity wasn't as easy as it first appeared.  Some animals fit into several...

A long standing tradition at PNA is that of "Parent Lunches".  These gatherings of students and family happen in every grade at PNA four times a year.  Over the years, they have evolved from just lunches and have branched out into breakfasts and afternoon snacks.  The...

At PNA, we highly value the skills of critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity.  While called different names over the last few years - 21st century skills, soft skills, etc. - one thing remains constant.  These are the skills that employers are...

What a wonderful thing to be able to extend our learning beyond the traditional walls of the classroom.  Students at PNA are able to venture out into the community and beyond to further enhance their studies with field trips to various places. The second grader's...

The second graders rocked this project last week as they presented to dozens of people who came through our wax museum during the "Night at the Space Museum".  This wax museum presentation is an annual event for second graders at PNA and has evolved over the years to...

Wikipedia defines lifelong learning as the "ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated" pursuit of knowledge for either personal or professional reasons." The picture of learning and learners has evolved over the last fifty years or so from a prescription of age, time and...

Here at PNA we utilize the learning and teaching method of Project Based Learning, or PBL for short.  The actual definition of PBL is "a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to...

Our first PBL project of the year is our Postcard Project.  There are many different elements that go into a PBL project. Projects are introduced to students with an entry event.  Our entry event was receiving our first postcard in the mail.  Students were curious and...

"Mr. Robot guy was doing his normal clean up one day when he found some mysterious spare parts.  Outside the base, there was a fish looking for his spare pieces.  It was a secret base deep underwater.  Another robot looked out the window.  He saw something that...