Classroom Science Around The Clock

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I just wanted to take the time to thank you for your generous donation to our classroom. Without your help, I would not be able to bring nature and science into the classroom. Science is a very important part of a students education, but without help like yours it is not possible to teach science through exploration.

My students have enjoyed exploring the sink and float station, and they love catching lady bugs and watching them in their habitat.

Again thank you for taking the time to make a child's education more beneficial and positive. ”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Fraas

Thank you very much for your generous donations. My students have had so much fun with science this quarter. They ask me everyday if we are going to be doing science. Matter is a hard subject to teach using a textbook. Thanks to you my students were able to see solid, liquids, and gases in action. They understand their differences and similarities and how they can be mixed. I can't wait to teach this unit again next year using the matter kit.

I wish you could have seen my student's faces when I brought in the live tadpole and preying mantis. Many of them had never seen a preying mantis or a tadpole up close. They run into our classroom every morning to check on them. They even named the tadpole "Michael"! We are all very excited to see them transform. Life cycles has been so much fun to teach this year! I will definitely be using the habitats next year!

Thanks again for making science fun to learn and teach this year! ”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Cornelison

I just want to take the time to thank you very very much for your generous donation to this project for my students. Without the help like yours it would not be possible to get items to help the students in my classroom to work on their math skills.

I try very hard to get my students away from the everyday, paper and pencil tasks that they are required to do so much of. These type of tasks don't generally stay stuck in the students minds. It is the games that they play that help them make what they are learning more concrete.

When I was younger, we used to play all kinds of board games that enhanced math skills without us knowing it. Today, I don't think children play enough games, so with these games they are practicing math skills without realizing they are learning. Again thank you for helping the children of tomorrow enhance their skills.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Fraas

    I cannot thank you enough for your special donation to our classroom.  When I opened up the science kit I had requested it was almost like Christmas for my students and I!  The excitement in their eyes was amazing and it soon turned into questions of "When can we use it?"  

    With this donation of science materials we were able to more deeply investigate the concept of matter and how it can change.  We had amazing literature that we were able to read together and enjoy.  The kids really enjoyed the books on science experiments and we did many activities together.  Their favorite experiment was putting raisins into a glass of Sprite and watching the raisins do a little dance!

    Again I want to thank you for contributing to my classroom to help make learning hands-on and exciting.  I know my 17 students now have a concrete science background to help them as they continue to become all that they can be!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Mikesell

Thank you so much for your help in funding our project, "How Clean Are Your Hands". The students enjoy hands-on activities so much and your contribution allowed us to receive the materials needed for this lab. It was exciting for the students to be able to explore the spread of germs in this way. Too often students are lectured and don't get the opportunity to do labs in their science classes. I believe that the hands-on lab we were able to complete is a much more memorable experience, thanks to your generosity. Thank you again for your help and support, I know my students greatly appreciate it!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Baker

I am more than grateful for the items we received out of your generosity. Our Kinder-Garden is coming along beautifully. We started by tilling the soil about a month again, and this week we planted corn. The children in my school rarely get proper nutrition and do not understand where basic foods come from. This garden is going to give them a great opportunity to understand foods better. My hope is that this knowledge will make them far less likely to become obese, which is more frequent in their neighborhoods than in more affluent areas. It is people like you that help my students pick themselves up out of their situation. You have my fervent gratitude. ”

With gratitude,

Ms. Efird

You would not believe the incredible response to the science materials you provided! The students in my class were ecstatic about the owl pellets and were anxious to get their hands on them on and check them out. It was wonderful when they literally cheered the second day when we said it was time to get them out!!! Have you ever tried to learn science out of a book? Give me a break! That is no way to learn. There is just no way to make it meaningful to students. But the owl pellets were just so cool! When they found whole skulls and other recognizable parts, they were thrilled and could hardly contain themselves! Your donation allowed us to do hands on experiments and learn about the fascinating real world out there. They really got excited about having a chance to try it out. Now, as we continue learning about animals for science, they mention things we learned and use vocabulary that is amazing. They have also developed a real fascination with owls!

I have been researching and learning through experience in order to know what works and how to help students learn science. Sadly, I really feel that we have been failing low-income students in science. They are being cheated out of what they need. This is a very complicated situation and their parents often can not explain or help them understand fourth grade science. They can't afford the trips required from our isolated area, or the admission costs to do the museums, aquariums, etc. offered to students in larger cities and with more income. Not only do these students fail to get assistance, they are even given the model that shows them that science does not matter. Sometimes folklore becomes the "facts" they repeat. Science becomes the tales repeated each year and misinformation is rampant. Imagine how the perspective of these students changes when they know that people who never met them, who don't even know their names, actually care, actually think that science matters and are even willing to give money for materials to support that! It is such a huge support and motivator for our students. Thank you so very much for making a difference for these children. For them, an education is a way to break the cycle of poverty that this area is experiencing. You don't know what it meant to me that you were willing to do this. I have always wanted to do owl pellets but did not have the funds for such a "luxury." We are just starting to use these and benefit from them so I don't know what the outcome may be, but I can see that it is going to be positive and you can give yourselves a pat on the back for that!

You are wonderful and we truly appreciate your kindness to our students. It means more than you will ever know! ”

With gratitude,

Mrs. P.

I would like to take this time to thank you again for your generosity. My students have been so interested in gardening as well as learning about different types of soil because of this project. We were able to view worm eggs from our worm bin under a digital microscope. They even saw it move inside of the eggs. The expressions on their faces and the excitement it created was priceless.

Some have even brought their own soil in to plant seeds. We are still waiting on our harvest but the students have not lost their enthusiasm about this project. Every day they check their plants as if they were their babies. It is a joy to see so much excitement. It has even peaked their interest in reading about plants and seeds. Several of my students are reading an above grade level book on the use of worm bins. They come in the classroom ready to burst. They can't wait to share what new exciting things they learned from their books.

Anything they eat with seeds in them, they are anxious to plant them. Some have even planted seeds at home. This is exactly one of the goals I wanted to achieve with this project. It is all because of your kindness that this has been possible.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Mixon

I cannot thank you all enough for the wonderful math manipulatives and math easy readers that were purchased for this proposal.

Most of the math manipulatives are geometry-related, and as we enter our geometry unit, I'm so excited when I remember that I have many manipulatives to help teach this unit. Just today I took some brightly colored shapes out of their bag to demonstrate the concepts I was teaching.

My students have been allowed to use these manipulatives in center-time for the past month, so that they have become familiar with them. Now as they learn all that geometry encompasses, these manipulatives will have even greater value to them and will make learning even easier.

Thanks again for all that you do.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Zinn