Past projects 18
Celebrating Our Differences
Funded May 16, 2018I cannot begin to tell you how excited my students were to open our box of books on the very first day of school! I had the big box sitting in the middle of the carpet where we meet and they were dying to know what was inside. To keep up the suspense, I made the students wait a few hours into the day before they could not wait any longer! The students were cheering when I opened the box because they were so happy to see all of the new books.
After the initial excitement died down I heard a lot of conversation happening between my students. The comment that I kept hearing was how cool it was for a lot of my kids to see characters on the front covers of these books that looked just like them. Some of my students had never seen a book like this before. I also had several ask me if they could take one of the books home to show their family!
Anything that helps spark the excitement of reading in kids is great and I am so appreciative to the kind people that donated to this project! I know that these books will make a huge difference for a lot my students and will expose all of my class to different cultures.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Farhatt
Bringing History Alive!
Funded Oct 18, 2017Ever since my students found out we were getting new books they were very excited! The day the box arrived we had to stop what we were doing to open it because they could not concentrate on on anything else. We looked at each book as a class and then I let them look at the books individually. The entire class couldn't wait to get their hands on these books!
I have several students that are not very excited about reading and these books have sparked their interest! I have students asking all throughout the day if they can read. These are the same students that I couldn't even get to pick up a book before. Many of my students are asking to take these books home at night and then returning the next day with the book finished. These books came right at the start of our non-fiction unit which was perfect timing. We are able to have great discussions and then the students can immediately apply their learning to their books.
I cannot thank everyone enough who donated to my project. To see my entire class excited about reading has been amazing. A lot of our other books were outdated and did not hold the interest of even my strong readers. My students are really enjoying that they know the people they are reading about and cannot wait to share new facts everyday. Thank you so much for your kindness which has allowed my students to grow as readers!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Farhatt
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 4 other donors.Choice Seating in Our Learning!
Funded Jun 25, 2017I want to thank you so much for your donations to this project! We have received all of the wobble stools and the students were eager to use them immediately! When I started opening the packages the whole class was gasping with excitement. I wish everyone could have seen the looks on their faces! Luckily they were easy to put together because my whole class could not wait to try them out!
We have already been putting the stools to good use. I have several students that love the stools because they allow them to sit and move without distracting anyone. They don't like to move away from these stools! A lot of my students still can't believe that they can sit on these while doing their work. It is so funny to listen to them ask if it is okay to sit on a stool and work on an assignment!
We are all very excited to continue to use these throughout the year. I have already noticed that some of my students are able to work for longer periods of time since they do not have to sit in a hard chair at a traditional desk. I am anxious to see how much more we can get finished now that there are different choices for learning. We cannot thank you enough for your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Farhatt
Wiggling Our Way to Freedom
Funded Jun 1, 2017I want to thank you so much for your donations to this project! We have received all of the materials and the students were eager to use them immediately! When I started opening the packages the whole class was gasping with excitement. I wish everyone could have seen the looks on their faces!
We have already been putting the stools, yoga mats, and yoga balls to good use. I have several students that love the yoga balls because it allows them to bounce and wiggle without being disruptive to the rest of the class. They don't like to move away from these! The yoga mats are also a popular item with the class. A lot of my students still can't believe that they can lay on the floor while doing their work. It is so funny to listen to them ask if it is okay to use something comfy while working on an assignment! I have set up the stools at my reading table and it is amazing how many students and teachers have noticed them! My kids like to sit on them because they are not restricted like they are what they call normal chairs.
We are all very excited to continue to use these throughout the year. I have already noticed that some of my students are able to work for longer periods of time since they do not have to sit in a hard chair at a traditional desk. I am anxious to see how much more we can get finished now that there are different choices for learning. We cannot thank you enough for your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Farhatt
Comfy Spots to Be Creative!
Funded May 27, 2017I want to thank you so much for your donations to this project! We have received all of the materials and the students were eager to use them immediately! When I started opening the packages the whole class was gasping with excitement. I wish everyone could have seen the looks on their faces!
We have already been putting the pillows and comfy chairs to good use. I have several students that love the comfy chairs because it allows them to sit on the floor but still have a back to prop them up. They don't like to move away from these chairs! The pillows are also a popular item with the class. A lot of my students still can't believe that they can lay on the floor while doing their work. It is so funny to listen to them ask if it is okay to go lay on a comfy pillow and work on an assignment!
We are all very excited to continue to use these throughout the year. I have already noticed that some of my students are able to work for longer periods of time since they do not have to sit in a hard chair at a traditional desk. I am anxious to see how much more we can get finished now that there are different choices for learning. We cannot thank you enough for your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Farhatt
Bouncing For Focus
Funded Dec 4, 2014Thank you all so much for your generous donations to help my class get yoga balls! The day that the packages arrived at school my class could hardly sit still they were so excited! The students couldn't stop talking about how great they were going to be, and they made sure to tell everyone they saw that some nice people around the country gave money for us to have these. It has been fun to discuss the whole process with the class, and they still think it's amazing that all of you wanted to help our class!
My students are now using their yoga balls in place of their chairs. They have the option to use their regular chairs but everyone loves having the yoga ball. Not only do these help the students focus throughout the lessons it is also giving them a chance to get out extra energy since we have been stuck having indoor recess because of the temperatures! It truly is amazing to see how making a small change such as chairs to yoga balls has improved everything including the attitudes of several students.
Getting the yoga balls has helped many of my students focus for longer periods of time and all throughout the day! This is something that I have struggled with for the entire year. A few of the students also tapped their feet/hands or made different sounds. Sitting on the yoga balls has quieted all of the extra noise which in turn helps everyone stay focused.
Even though you cannot be in my classroom please know that you have helped every child in my room along with every future child that will be in this class. Being able to reach all of my students is always a challenge and you all have helped make that a reality!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Farhatt
Real World Math
Funded Mar 3, 2013Thank you so much for your generous donation to help my students get real world practice in Math. We have been able to use these activities as a Math Center almost daily. As soon as we finish Math, the students are already asking if we can use the menus and cards for the following day! I have never seen such excitement in my class and this is all thanks to you!
So often we get stuck in a routine of lecturing and doing practice problems from the book. The materials you donated to my class allow me to give the class a different way to learn. The best part is that I know all of these materials go directly with concepts we are required to teach!
Thank you for helping me find the drive and desire in my students again! These materials couldn't have come at a better time.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Farhatt
Fun In Fourth Grade!
Funded Sep 6, 2012Thank you so much for the Dynamath magazines! I will never be able to thank you enough for the opportunity you have given my students. As soon as I told my class what we were going to be able to do with Dynamath they could not stop talking about how excited they were. My students even told our principal about the cool magazine! You have helped get my class excited about Math again and I very thankful for that!
The first time we used these was a huge success. All of the students were on task (which is quite amazing!) and they have already asked when we will get to do the next Dynamath!
Without donors like you, many classrooms would not have as many opportunities to have fun in school!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Farhatt