Past projects 4
Sensory Sensations
Funded Oct 2, 2015I have no way to fully describe how excited I was too find out that 3Mgives California had funded our grant for sensory supplies. The items that you have donated to our school have already helped multiple students on a daily basis in the classroom. We've used them not only in STEM based lessons to help our students focus, but across all settings of the school day across multiple grade levels.
Supplies such as those you have donated are often in short supply, because they are not the typical materials you might find in school. Every students learns a little differently though and every student may need different kinds of support which may include some atypical strategies and supplies! My students have particularly enjoyed the massage back pillows and the tactile sand that we received! We are so grateful for 3Mgives California recognizing that need to support ALL students in learning in whatever way they can be most successful.
We don't know what we would do without donors like you that are willing to support all of our students across the spectrum. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Nishimoto
Learning to WRITE the RIGHT Way
Funded Feb 27, 2015Thank you so much for purchasing the adapted pencils and crayons for our students at Santiago Hills Elementary! The students I work with are thrilled to have new materials and we use them daily in the classrooms. I've distributed the Pencils for Little Hands to the education specialists who work here with our lower grade students so that they have the materials to help promote hand strength and mature grasping patterns on their own! We use the Flip Crayons as often as possible and I am in the process of dividing them up amongst the teachers too.
I bought the first set of Pencils for Little Hands and Flip Crayons a couple years ago and ever since then, they have been a big hit with our students AND our teachers. I have students across all grade levels requesting the use of both in their classrooms. Now thanks to you, I can happily fulfill that request! As you can imagine, we go through supplies like pencils and crayons very quickly and you can't imagine how grateful we are that you are supplying us with additional adapted writing and coloring utensils, especially at this point in the year!
Access to adapted materials such as these pencils and crayons are a "simple" strategy that we often don't get to put into place with the consistency we want - I have a student that I have worked with specifically for about 4 years now and he had great difficulty writing. I wanted you to know that after we introduced these adapted pencils to him at the beginning of this year, he has made GREAT improvement and is now able to write legibly partially due to these pencils!
So again, thank you so much for being such a supportive parent - its because of people like you that we are able to do such a wonderful job at Santiago Hills Elementary!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Nishimoto
Fidgets Aren't Just For Fun!
Funded Nov 2, 2012Thank you so much for your generous funding of this project! My students and I were so excited to be able to use all these fun, new fidgets and to explore the scented theraputty that we also received!
We have already used more than a few in the classroom and the finger pinch fidgets are a hit with all the kids! I've already seen it help a couple students - when they were having difficulty finishing a worksheet, the students were given a break with the fidget, and after a few minutes, were able to continue working on the academic task! With the right materials like these fidgets, we can help foster independent work skills which are vital to educational success.
Programs like Chevron Fuel Your School allow us as teachers, the opportunity to provide some of the "extra" materials that some of our students need to reach their full potential in school. These little "extras" can make all the difference!
Thank you so much for this, and for continuing to support the education of all our children.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Nishimoto
Creative Cutting!
Funded Oct 22, 2012Thank you so much for your generous funding of this grant! My students and I were very excited when all the different kinds of scissors arrived and we have tried all of them! You can imagine how happy some of the students were to finally be able to do some of the cutting on their own thanks to adapted scissors like the Easi-Grip Scissors!
Cutting even simple shapes like squares on worksheets can be difficult for some students when using regular scissors. But with scissors like the School Smart training scissors, we are able to help facilitate the development of fine and visual motor skills and foster independent work skills. These materials will be very helpful for many students for many years to come!
The availability of programs like the Disneyland CREATE Grants are so important to school districts, especially for purchasing these "extra" materials. Every student has different abilities and skills, and these grants provide us the opportunity to make sure that we have the most appropriate materials to allow each student to engage to their full potential every day!
Thank you so much for your generosity and support of our students.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Nishimoto