The 4-Hour Chef & Donors Choose

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I just want to thank everyone again for their wonderful donation for the rubber chickens. We have only been able to use the chickens twice so far in random cooperative games, but the kids really enjoy them. The kids love holding and throwing them around. I have used the chickens to challenge the students to work together by passing the chicken to a teammate using only their legs. It was very fun for me to watch the students communicate and try to maneuver the chickens with their legs. The chickens have enabled my students to be silly kids and have fun while working with others. I am truly grateful for your support. I am looking forward to playing more rubber chicken games in the spring when we can go outside and enjoy the nice weather.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Laut

Thank you so much for your very generous donation of jump ropes and a parachute for my classroom. The students get 30 minutes of extra exercise time twice a week, outside of our PE time. With the big push to get students moving and work on being active, I really wanted to make sure we had the resources to provide the teaching moments and skills the students need to gain at this young age both physically and socially. When I brought out the parachute the kids went crazy! They were so excited. We didn't even have this in our PE class and they were so happy to learn how to use it, work on doing team activities, and have lots of fun! They learned how to work together to bounce balls around, we made a tent and all sat under it telling jokes, and enjoyed our time together as a class. They have been working on building social skills to relay ideas of games to play, working together and communicating the best way to do things, and handling issues when things don't go their way.

We have been using the jump ropes in a similar way where the students used them during our extra active time, the kids love to sing and jump together. I have also incorporated our addition doubles facts into a rhyme for when we play with the jump ropes. The kids love to sing our doubles rap and order of the planets song while they jump rope together. We have competitions to see who can jump through the whole song. They love using these supplies and I can not say thank you enough. We appreciate all the support you have given our class and are so grateful for thoughtful people like you!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Morgan

The day I brought out the goals, the students were so excited! Some yelled out, "That's like the ones my coach uses!" Others were asking, "Can we keep these?" For me it was great for them to see they deserve some quality equipment, like balls and goals.

We bring out the set during our soccer unit for PE. Until now, we have used orange cones, which work, but not for accuracy. Now they have to keep their shots down lower, and the goal keeper sees more accurately the area to keep the ball out of. Since we can use the goals in the middle of the field, our balls are not going over the fences and into the streets or parking lots. This means more playing time and less chasing.

During our reflection time of our PE period, we are more interested in using the correct terms for equipment, movement, defense, offense, etc..”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Buck

I would like to personally thank you for your donation to our program. My students were so excited to have PE equipment to play with. When our giant balls showed up on the play ground it was like Christmas! We had the interest of every single child. Having these large balls helped up build on teamwork and gets the kids moving. The next day all our playground balls and jump ropes arrived and the excitement began again. The students were so happy to finally have equipment to play PE games and be active during recess.

My students use some of all of this equipment every day. We have students that have taken on a leadership roll of making sure all the equipment is being taken care of correctly. As a teacher it is so nice to see my students being active.

Studies show that physical movement and exercise helps in the learning process as well. My students are more alert during class and are not as tired at the end of the day.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Horrocks

I would like to begin by thanking you all from the bottom of my heart for your kind and generous donations to my project, Smarties Keeping It Clean. With the budget cuts, it has been very difficult to get simple cleaning products, like paper towels, in our classrooms.

It is so wonderful for my students to come in to a clean classroom every day. They are also able to help keep the room clean themselves, thanks to you. They love to sweep and dust every week with our new equipment. The counters and desks have never been as shiny as they are now!

We are so grateful to you for making this project become a reality. Thank you for your generosity and for giving my Smarties a clean and healthy place to learn every day.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Bolyard

Our students greatly appreciate your generosity! Thank you so much for your contribution to us! I cannot begin to explain how much of an impact this will make on our goals for the students. When our students received the new equipment, they all get excited and are immediately eager to begin using it.

We have used the cones and balls daily during our practices. Students are improving skill and performance. One way that we like to use the cones is to set them up and have the students dribble aroung the cones with a ball. We definitely see their ball control improving.

With the new resources, I was able to teach the students without stressing about a lack of equipment. Students were able to learn skills at a quicker rate due to the fact that they were not limited and sharing soccer balls. Thank you so much for ensuring that each student has the same opportuintiy to improve!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Santiago

I truly cannot thank you all enough for your donations to my project! My enthusiasm and joy is beyond describable, but I know it will not compare to the excitement my scholars will experience when they begin diving into all the new activities that you all have now made possible!

The equipment that you have funded will allow team sports, outdoor activities and lifelong fitness practice to come alive in all of my scholars' lives. The fun they will learn from physical activity will prepare them for success academically and physically for an overall healthy lifestyle.

I wish I could put into words how appreciative I am of all of you who share my passion to help children become more physically active in order to lead long healthy lives. I cannot wait to begin this school year with a running start! Thank you all so much!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Stanton

The students were surprised and excited to have received new equipment for our basketball unit. They were eager to play with the balls, especially the ones with the hands in the middle and on both sides. Everyday they looked forward to using the equipment to help them develop more as a basketball player. Some students have started practicing basketball outside of school more often than what they had done before the basket unit. Parents are excited to see their child show so much interest in the game of basketball, with some expressing how surprised they are about their child skill development.

This summer I held the second annual Tay Spells Youth Fundamental Basketball Camp (TSYFBC) for two weeks at KIPP Ascend Charter School for children ages 5-14. Participants learned and practice the fundamental of dribbling, basic dribbles such dribble with each finger one at a time. This activity built strength in participants fingers and helped the maintain a controlled dribble, no matter how high or low the ball bounced. Participants learned and practiced and abundance of left and right hand dribble drills, figure 8, spider, dribbling at different paces, cross-over, behind the back, between the legs, and the V-dribble (both hands). Participants learned how to shoot using the L figure, they would make an L with their arm and place the ball on top of the bicep and behind the forearm and bend their hand back to rest on to of the ball. This would assure them the correct shooting arm form. They would then remove the ball and place it in the palm of their relaxed widely spread hand. Once they were ready to shoot they would check to see if their feet were shoulder length apart with the shooting hand side foot slightly ahead of the opposite foot, knees slightly bend, back straight, eyes and elbow pointed in the direction of the target. They would then release at the high extension point and follow through by flicking the wrist so that their hand looks as if they're reaching inside of a cookie jar on a high shelf. Lastly, participants learned and practice chest passes, bounce passes and overhead passes. They would use these skill in combination with the understand of double dribbling and traveling to perform game situations.

The equipment helped boost my teaching and student learning because all participants were able to participate at the same time. By reducing the wait time for equipment they were able to learn and practice more skills, while I was able to assist those who may have needed extra assistance. The activities and skills that would have taken months grasp were developed in two weeks. I had fun teaching and they had fun learning. Thank you all for your generous donation.”

With gratitude,

Mr. Spells

I am pleased to thank all the donors who share my vision of the importance of fitness for children. Today's child spend an average of 4 hours a day in front to the TV and may not live in an area where playing outside is safe.

Our boot camp project will incorporate fitness daily during school time. If it is rainy or hot outside we will be able to easily set up our stations in the classroom. My vision of students using the fit balls for sit-ups and the agility ladder for cardiovascular conditioning will be incredible to see come to life.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Walsh