Past projects 125
First Grade Needs to Read, Sing and Learn!
Funded Aug 18, 2010Thank you so much for your kind generosity! As you can see from the photos, we began using all of the items immediately! The children love the song bank! They are learning such things as days of the week, months of the year, and counting.
The posters are used in our morning meeting. I call students up to point as the class reads along! We've already read and listened to poems about September and Autumn. The children are singing and having fun, while learning at the same time!
The cd player is a lifesaver! It is used for our Listening Center to read books, such as When Sophie Gets Angry, which you also donated to the class. It is a wonderful resource to have with twenty seven students in a classroom. They can work independently on this from day one!
With the budget cuts to education, these terrific resources would not have been available without you. Please know that these items will be used by my first graders for years to come!
Thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sullivan
Have TV, Need to Travel!
Funded Apr 22, 2010Thank you so much for your generous donation! As you can see from the photographs, the television cart was a necessity for our television and DVD player. The children are able to watch educational videos including about books that we've read, animals and holidays. It is an amazing tool for my visual learners!
The cart allows the class to see the television because it's mounted on the sturdy stand. The students are also able to move the cart for storage and safety.
The cart that you donated will be used in my classroom for years to come! In this current economic climate, a cart of this caliber would not be possible if not for your kindness. You enabled my students to utilize the television and DVD player that were also donated by donorschoose.org. I'm so grateful!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sullivan
This classroom project was brought to life by Pershing Square and one other donor.Technology for the Twenty-First Century!
Funded Feb 13, 2010Thank you so much for your generosity! You can see from the smiles on the faces of the children that they're thrilled with the flat screen television. The class has been able to watch such videos as Swimmy, Knuffle Bunny, Diary of a Worm, and Tar Beach . These are books which we read and then were able to compare and contrast with the videos.
The children have also been able to see videos about animals and holidays, such as Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day and the history of voting.
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words and in this case it certainly is! Many of my students are visual learners and the television has given them a whole new modality to learn a concept! Ocean animals truly come to life on a 32" flat screen television!
This television will be used for years to come! I cannot express how grateful I am that you funded this for my classroom. With the current economic state, an item like this would not be available without your largess. ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sullivan
This classroom project was brought to life by Korein Foundation and one other donor.First Grade Wants to "Spring" into Science
Funded Feb 13, 2010I am thrilled to write this thank you. The caterpillars for the Deluxe Butterfly Kit arrived on April 16. The students were able to watch the caterpillars eat, grow larger, and turn into chrysalis. Soon, our painted lady butterflies emerged! The Kit included plants that the butterflies like to lay their eggs on, and they children observed the small blue eggs.
This was amazing to witness. We had students (and teachers) from other classes coming in to see the butterfly eggs. Eventually, out of the eggs, new caterpillars emerged! We are still watching the life cycle. You provided my class (and many other students) the opportunity to observe the life cycle go full circle. We are now watching as these caterpillars eat holes in the plant leaves and grow bigger.
I'm grateful that you provided our class (and school) with this amazing Butterfly Kit. I myself had never seen butterfly eggs. You can be certain that thanks to your generosity, the children will never forget the experience that that had observing the caterpillars. They will certainly always remember the life cycle! The students are using words such as "probiscus" and "metamorphosis" and they are in the first grade. This was the hands-on project of a lifetime! Thank you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sullivan
This classroom project was brought to life by Korein Foundation and 3 other donors.We Need the "Write" Stuff
Funded Feb 11, 2010I'm thrilled to let you know that the children are writing in their journals every day! I waited until a little later in the school year to give the children the journals. Their writing is flourishing. A lot of it is inspired by the beautiful writing journals that you so generously bestowed upon them. Thank you so much. The journals have lines that are "just right" for first graders. There is also room for illustrations and they are improving in their drawings as well.
Rather than it being "just another assignment", writing has become something that the children look forward to. The journals have a list of the most commonly written words on the back cover, which helps improve spelling. The students are writing so much more now in there journals than in their old composition notebooks that they've had since September. They are going to give the journal to their parents in June as a gift so that their parents can treasure their first grade writing.
The pencil sharpener is a necessity to keep us all writing! Thank you so much for your kind generosity. These wonderful items would not have been possible without your donation!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sullivan
This classroom project was brought to life by Korein Foundation and one other donor.Literacy and Art Go Hand in Hand!
Funded Dec 1, 2009Thank you so much for your generosity. The children having been having such a great time using the glitter. As you can see from the photos, we used gold glitter on our creative writing bulletin board, "If I were the size of a leprechaun, I would...". We used black glitter to outline our writing for Dr. Seuss' birthday. We also used glitter our spring flower pots. The students wrote about their favorite things about spring. Even my most reluctant writers are motivated to complete their work when they know that they get to "glitter" their project at the end.
The children also learn about the importance of conserving materials. We always use paper underneath the glitter and the children are taught how to keep the glitter on the paper and pour it back into the glitter jar. "Waste not, want not" is an important lesson!
We'll be using the Eric Carle paper this spring when we do an author study about him. The students will write and create collages in the style of Eric Carle.
Without your kindness, these extra motivators would otherwise be unavailable in this current economic climate. Thank you for helping me keep my first graders motivated! ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sullivan
Panasonic Technology Needed!
Funded Dec 10, 2009Thank you so much for your kindness! Thanks to your generosity, the first grade classes will be able to watch educational videos. We just received out television which was funded through donorschoose as well. (We're working on a television stand!)
As soon as we can get the television set up, we can begin to use the DVD VCR player as we need it. The children were thrilled when the box arrived. They are already talking about going to the library to borrow DVD's about animals. One of the first things that they want to do is compare the book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs to the movie version!
This is a wonderful tool for my visual learners! The exciting thing is that they're not talking about watching regular shows. They're truly looking forward to watching educational movies! One of the first ones that we're going to watch is about Pablo Picasso.
You have made it possible for my class to watch movies that dovetail with the curriculum! We will be able to access the equipment when we need it. I cannot thank you enough!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sullivan
This classroom project was brought to life by Panasonic Corporation of North America and one other donor.Panasonic Brings Music to Life!
Funded Dec 18, 2009Thank you for the awesome audio system. As you can see from the photographs, the children were thrilled when the box arrived! They're so excited so start listening to music such as: classical after recess; children's favorites; and party music.
We are still in the process of getting the system installed. As soon as it is in, it will be used every day. Studies show that people who listen to classical music are calmer and do better on tests. I'm so excited to see (and hear!) this in action.
Your generosity is so appreciated. This audio system will be used by students for years to come. Thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sullivan
This classroom project was brought to life by Panasonic Corporation of North America and 9 other donors.Smile! You're on Camera!
Funded Dec 8, 2009As you can see from the photographs, the children were thrilled when the camera arrived! We have already started to photograph our pet turtle. Throughout the year, we're going to continue to photograph the turtle and observe her for changes. We also photographed an experiment with a volcano.
In the spring, we'll be watching the metamorphosis of larva into butterflies and the camera will enable us to use the photographs to document what we see. We'll also be able to take pictures on class trips. The camera allows me to take photos of the children for bulletin boards. I'll also take pictures of the children and use them (along with frames that they create) as Mother's Day gifts.
Of course, the camera will continue to be used to thank the donors that fund classroom projects! Thank you so much for your kind generosity. It is truly appreciated!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sullivan
This classroom project was brought to life by Panasonic Corporation of North America and one other donor.The Glue that Binds!
Funded Jan 22, 2010Thank you for your generosity. We used the glue sticks, Elmer's glue and the electric stapler the day that we received the package!
As you can see from the photographs, the children have already made some projects that required glue, including penguins and a snowman scene. These projects help the children with sequencing skills and following directions. They use glue in so many subject areas including science, math and writing. Often in math, there are patterns to create by cutting and gluing.
Your package of supplies arrived just as we were running completely out of glue. You can see that the children wrote about winter books. It's so motivating for them when they can write on something like a paper mitten and glue it to construction paper. They were also able to glue on some sprinkled glitter with the Elmer's glue.
The electric sharpener is such a time saver when we staple our papers. It helps to keep the classroom organized.
Thank you again for your kindness.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sullivan
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Donor and 5 other donors.