Past projects 18
4K Readers Love My Big World With Clifford!
Funded Apr 8, 2025Thank you for your kind and generous support of my project for Scholastic Readers with Clifford! Your donation makes a big impact in my classroom. My students love to read these magazines and share them at home with their families. Thank you for your interest in my classroom and for your support of early childhood education!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Howard
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 4 other donors.4K Fine Motor Essentials
Funded Aug 15, 2024Thank you so much for your generosity in providing fine motor materials for my preschool classroom! The students were thrilled to receive the Play-Doh, crayons, glue sticks, hole punchers, kinetic sand and watercolor paint trays! We dove right in the boxes and began using these supplies immediately!
Most of my preschoolers were unfamiliar with using paint and paint brushes so it was pure joy for them to discover how to mix the water and paint and then swoosh it across the page! There were many exclamations of "Wow! Look what I did!". I know that as the year progresses we will continue to use the paint trays in other projects as we keep developing eye-hand coordination.
The Play-Doh and kinetic sand have really been useful this year in helping this group of children build their fine motor strength. As they play they are gaining strength in their hands to help build endurance for using other tools such as scissors, glue and crayons. The hole punchers were a challenge to use at first but they have been very diligent in learning to master this tool!
Facilitating their learning and witnessing their enthusiasm and growth are the best parts of being an early childhood teacher! Thank you so much for helping me to provide activities that are engaging and purposeful for my students!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Howard
Kids Love Scholastic My Big World Readers
Funded Apr 11, 2024Thank you for your generous donation to fund my project "Kids Love Scholastic My Big World Readers". Your kindness makes a big impact in my classroom! We receive 2 monthly readers on a variety of topics. The pictures and print in these magazines are so engaging to my students. They have the opportunity to learn about and discuss so many informational topics that they often would not encounter otherwise. We use the online resources with every issue then, we share these with the families to extend literacy opportunities at home! We appreciate your support for the success of our early learners! You are the best!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Howard
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and one other donor.Little Hands and Noses Need Help to Stay Healthy!
Funded Apr 17, 2024Thank you for funding my project, Little Hands and Noses Need Help to Stay Healthy! The germs are numerous in a preschool classroom! Sometimes it seems more challenging to keep infections from spreading than it is to keep my students engaged in learning! Each year my preschoolers go through boxes and boxes of tissues as well as many bottles of hand sanitizer and soap galore! Your donation helps me to provide the necessary materials to teach my students good hygiene and responsibility when it comes to keeping clean and preventing infection. The Lysol wipes help me to keep our tabletops and spaces clean and tidy throughout the day! Thank you for helping me to set a good foundation for healthy learning in my classroom!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Howard
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and one other donor.Capturing 4K Memories!
Funded Aug 19, 2023Our class is really becoming a colorful and inviting space with the use of the new color printer! I have been able to print so many things such as a color schedule, shapes anchor charts, center signs and activity signs to make the classroom more user friendly and engaging for my preschoolers. I am currently printing labels to go in the pockets of manipulative trays and bins so that my students are independent in using materials. I have also printed name and picture labels for their cubbies and tables. They love to see their photographs! These picture name cards have definitely boosted recognition of their names and of their friends names! We have used these picture cards for many getting to know you activities!
At the beginning of the year Teacher Meet and Greet I took family pictures for each of my students. Using the photo printer I have created a family display where students have a picture of their family along with a drawing they made of their family. Having actual photos of their family for each student made this activity engaging and purposeful for my students. This went so well with our curriculum theme on Families. It also had an added bonus of helping some students with separation anxiety!
We have so many more fun ways to use the printer in the future: a procedures photo book, memory keepsake photos for holiday events, the list goes on and on! I can't thank you enough for your generous donation to my printer project!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Howard
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 4 other donors.Storage Containers for 4k Independence!
Funded May 18, 2023I truly appreciate the storage containers for my classroom organization and independence project! It has been so beneficial to have the clear containers with lids to store the materials for the various learning centers in the classroom. My previous containers were no longer in usable condition. Having new containers makes the room feel clean and fresh and ready for a new school year!
I am diligently working to create picture labels to go with each container and corresponding shelf so that students have the ability to work and play in centers independently. Currently we are using the larger clear containers to hold the foam blocks, Legos and large toy animals in the block center and toy food in the home living center! We are using the smaller containers to hold many types of manipulatives such as sorting bears, apples, snap cubes, and number bots. There are many more manipulatives currently in plastic bags to go into these containers so having the picture label pockets will make switching items as needed easier and time saving! The laundry baskets have worked out very well to hold the big books and cushions in the library center! This has made the library center more open and user friendly!
We have only been in school a week but the students are already getting the hang of sorting materials into the respective containers! They are able to access and clean up materials as needed on their own! The children really do feel a sense of accomplishment doing things for themselves. They are eager helpers and learning to feel proud when they take care of their classroom! Thank you for your generosity and funding for this project!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Howard
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 3 other donors.Pretend Play for 4k!
Funded May 11, 2023It was like Christmas morning opening the boxes that contained the Pretend Play toys! I'm not sure who was more excited, my students or me! The first items to go into our dramatic play area were the baby doll accessories as part of the home living center. My whole class loves to pretend to be mommies and daddies caring for the dolls with the bottles and pretend baby food! It's a great pretend play center for the beginning of the year as the children learn to separate from home and transition to the school environment.
These materials have made home living a top center choice in my room! They have stimulated a lot of conversation and some problem solving between the students as they play and learn to share the toys! I know they will love all the pretend play materials through out the school year as we transform the dramatic play area into a doctor or veterinarian office, a bakery and coffee shop and even a campsite! I am looking forward to seeing their excitement and to hear how their conversations grow with each new play setting!
The materials from this project will have a lasting impact on the emotional, social and language development of my students for years to come! I am so thrilled to receive them and so grateful for your kind and generous donations!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Howard
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and one other donor.4K Readers Need Just One Subscription!
Funded Mar 16, 2023Thank you for your generosity in providing the Scholastic My Big World Readers! My students benefit in so many ways from these informative magazines. I can create many lessons especially for literacy and vocabulary development along with building student knowledge of science and social studies topics.
One of the primary ways I use these readers is to teach my students concepts about print such as front and back cover, title, and directionality in reading text. I begin with small groups of students. I have a larger teacher version of the magazine to use for modeling and the students each have their own copy. It's important to have "hands-on" text that students can use to practice these skills. We practice identifying the front and back cover and the title. Then we practice tracking the print and echo reading the text. We also search for familiar letters and words we have learned. The kids are very enthusiastic to show what they know!
Other skills I focus on in a lesson involve the content of the text. As we read, I guide the students to develop their comprehension and vocabulary on the topic. I do this by encouraging the students to ask and answer questions and to recall details. I encourage them to notice details in the pictures that can provide more information. These readers provide excellent non-fiction information on topics that are relevant to preschoolers. The magazines are engaging and colorful. The kids are always excited to read the magazine and discuss the content. We conclude our small group by completing the fun activity on the back cover. These activities often add an element of math and writing skills that are always good to practice.
We follow up our small group reading by viewing the magazine online. We do this whole group on our community carpet. The online content allows us to review the magazine that we have read, see a video with more information about the topic, as well as play a game and have a dance break to finish up. The videos help to bring the topic to life! Particularly ones such as watching a shark swim in the ocean! When we are finished with the magazine in class the students take them home to share with their families! Parents are also able to access the online content with their child!
The Scholastic My World Reader is a valuable resource that provides great content for a variety of lessons. They are quality "hands-on" text for my students to use in learning. Plus they are a perfect way to connect the parents to what their child is learning at school. Your support of my project has an incredibly positive impact on my student's learning and success in school. We can't thank you enough for your kindness!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Howard
Fidgety Fun for 4K
Funded Aug 9, 2022Thank you for your generosity in donating to my "Fidgety Fun for 4K" project! I greatly appreciate your support! My students continue to enjoy working with the many sensory and fidget items that your support has provided.
The students are building their fine motor muscles by using the kinetic sand and play foam while building shapes, letters and numbers. The sensory bins with squeezy and pop toys are exciting for them to explore while helping students to build their focus and time on task. The bubbler tubes have been a big help especially with some of my students who are experiencing anxiety when separating from family and learning to cope with a longer school day.
Your support for my project has had a huge impact in my classroom and my students are so fortunate to benefit from your kindness!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Howard
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 3 other donors.Creative 4K Crafters Learning and Building Confidence!
Funded Apr 26, 2022Thank you for so generously supporting my classroom with the many fun, crafty supplies like paint, feathers, glitter, chenille stems and craft paper! My students are really enjoying using these materials. They are very engaged and excited to participate in the lessons and activities that include them! Many of my students come from low income homes where they have limited exposure to craft materials and paints. It is so rewarding to watch them discover how creative they can be all while developing fine motor skills and confidence in their abilities. Thank you for helping me to provide these materials to my students.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Howard
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and one other donor.