Past projects 13
Smile for the Camera!
Funded Mar 9, 2016I seriously cannot thank everyone enough for the amazing materials that you have voluntarily donated to our humble little classroom. We are forever thankful for all of the time, energy and (let's be honest) money that strangers and classroom parents alike feel compelled to share and donate with and to us for the sake of bettering our students' experiences in kindergarten. You are to be commended and thanked ten fold.
This technology, this beautiful camera, has made learning in my classroom fun. It has made research projects fun. It has ignited within my students a desire to explore, inquire, test and illustrate. We used it to take pictures of our desert and rainforest projects as well as the vines hanging in our classroom and the desert hanging up on our cubbies. What a thrill it has been to watch them get excited and take initiative and control!
Several students in particular have taken it upon themselves to chronicle our projects (with a few ill-advised attempts to take a selfie) and they cannot wait to get their hands on our camera. It has given them, and everyone else, the opportunity to share with me and the class exactly what it is that thrills them about learning. It has sparked new interests, helped develop already existing interests and has allowed them to be who they are without judgment or strings attached.
This technology has done far more than help teach the curriculum. It has led to beautiful learning and excited interests.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Williams
Ahora Vamos a Contar
Funded Dec 22, 2014Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the mathematics materials for our quaint kindergarten class. We all were incredibly excited about receiving these materials and couldn't wait to take them out of the box and use them!
We love math in kindergarten and use these resources as part of our centers. They make math engaging because now we have tactile materials to help us understand it. And not only are they tactile, but we can manipulate them and explore!
Making my teaching more hands on is always a bonus. It makes it engaging, fun, and helps me address those learners who do not learn through worksheets, whiteboards and workbooks. Thank you for helping me accomplish this!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Williams
Somos Estrellas
Funded Dec 17, 2014Thank you so much for the wonderful reading materials! My students were so excited to receive the fun reading games.
We use these resources during guided reading groups as both a direct instruction lesson, a reinforcement and independent practice. We use them to learn our letter sounds, to learn how to read through syllables and how to blend syllables together to form words. Those words are then used to create sentences! And what do you know, we're readers!
These materials have made learning how to read fun and exciting. Hands on is the way to learn, especially when you are in kindergarten!
Thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Williams
Easy as 1,2,3
Funded Aug 25, 2014These math resources have made quite a big difference in our mathematics instruction in class. Having such great hands on materials has really helped solidify our understanding of basic math concepts.
These materials have been especially useful in our math centers, allowing for small groups to really use and manipulate the materials to better understand the concepts. My students enjoy the materials and relish the time that they get to spend using them often asking me if they can pull out the tens frames, play with the geometric shapes and use the number counting kits to help them solve math problems. What a huge boost in confidence and independence in their learning!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Williams
This classroom project was brought to life by Gates Foundation Back To School and 2 other donors.Spanish Writers
Funded Aug 22, 2014My students and I are incredibly grateful for the contributions you made to make it possible for my students to receive the materials that we needed to make writing a fun experience for us all. The white board is an incredible asset to our classroom, allowing plenty of opportunities for us to pass the pen and practice writing paragraphs together. The table-top easels provide many opportunities for us to blend and segment words, identify sight words and construct sentences on sentence-strips.
I have watched my students go from being shy about their writing to taking chances and being willing to make mistakes. As we all know, making mistakes is the best way to learn!
Again, thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Williams
This classroom project was brought to life by Gates Foundation Back To School and 5 other donors.Juego del Abecedario
Funded May 25, 2014It honestly is incredible to me each and every time to see how generous people are when it comes to classrooms and learning. It blows my mind that so many of you would give so much to a group of kids (and a teacher!) that you've never met. Just, wow.
My students love the resources that your generosity purchased us - the alphabet tubs and the table-top easel. They are wonderful materials that we have the pleasure to use every day. We practice our beginning letter sounds and use the pocket charts to help us with our reading, letter sounds, syllables, blending, segmenting and even building sentences. They have helped us grow in incredible ways, and many of us are already reading and writing! Not only that, but your donations have helped make it more fun for us. Remember, we're only 5 years old and hands on, colorful materials make ALL the difference.
Thank you again, from all of us in our classroom!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Williams
All the "Write" Stuff
Funded Aug 23, 2014It is incredible to me the amazing generosity that is displayed by donors every time I put a project up on DonorsChoose. My favorite part about it is being able to explain to my students that all of these incredible people had no obligation to to be so generous with us; they did it out of the kindness of their hearts. My students were excited to receive these materials and enjoy working in them every week. We use them as our language arts and phonics journals, practicing sight words, letter sounds and sentence formation. They are fantastic resources!
I see the progress my students are making as a result of having access to these notebooks. Writing is invaluable to reading progress and confidence as a student. They are doing a fantastic job thanks to the journals your generosity has provided us.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Williams
This classroom project was brought to life by Gates Foundation Back To School and one other donor.Listen to the Story
Funded Mar 26, 2014"Maestra, vamos a escuchar cuentos hoy dia?"
I get this question every morning because you have made listening to stories fun and intriguing for everyone. Oh, AND comfortable! We have stories to listen to, a comfy place to listen to them and alphabet books to help us remember what sounds each letter makes. What fun!
My students are so thankful this year for the great materials that you have graciously donated to our classroom. Honestly, we couldn't do it without the generosity and kindness of all those involved with Donors Choose.
We are excited to listen to stories and even more incredible, listening to native Spanish speakers read a story while following along with your magic reading finger helps my students understand what fluency sounds like in Spanish. They have great references to help them develop their Spanish speaking skills.
And like I've already said before, and can't stress enough, we are excited to listen to stories and love to read!
Again, you are incredible. Thank you from all of us!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Williams
We Play to Learn and Learn to Play
Funded Jan 29, 2014Our classroom has become a lot livelier. Because of you. My students, the next generation of learners and professionals, have become more inquisitive. Because of you. Our future has a deep understanding and appreciation for community helper roles. Because of you. My students know how to play and learn cooperatively together. Because of you.
It goes without saying that my students, a group of 24 wild and creative five and six year olds love the play costumes and the play food. They look forward to the days we get to use them more than anything (even recess and snack, and that's saying something!). They are learning to share, to work together and to respect each other because of it. They are curious and eager to learn about community helpers in our little community here at school. And to top it all off, they understand that the jobs we have here at school resonate and lend themselves to the jobs and requirements in the real world.
All because they have these materials to actively practice what they learn.
All because you, out of the kindness and love in your hearts made this possible for us.
Thank you a million times.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Williams
Let's Explore!
Funded Sep 15, 2013The Scholastic Magazines that we have received, thanks to your incredible generosity , have made an incredible impact in our classroom. We are excited to read and are incredible proud of ourselves that we are now capable of reading informational text! When I pass out the magazines, my students often comment that they feel like big kids being able to read magazines all by themselves! Not only do my students feel like big kids, the magazines are pertinent to our curriculum content and engaging.
We are using these resources as a whole group reading lesson in our classroom that they then get to take home. It is a fantastic way to bridge the home-school connection in a Spanish Immersion classroom!
This project helped bring my teaching to life in a real-world context, allowing me to show them that the information we are learning is indeed pertinent to their daily life. Not to mention, it's common core! Our classroom will forever be grateful for your generosity. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Williams