Past projects 6
Calming Carpet Time
Funded Mar 27, 2018Thank you very much for the beautiful rug that you allowed us to have in our classroom. Our room is small, but very cozy now that we have a rug to sit on for our class meetings and work cycle time.
The leaf design allows my prek students to easily find a spot to sit so we can get started on our agenda. They love to sit on the leaves like lady bugs and caterpillars. We use the carpet all day long. If my students aren't sitting on it for a class meeting, welcome, or daily wrap-up they are working on it with their work mats during their work cycles.
The rug has been an incredible addition to our classroom and one that I appreciate greatly! If we hadn't received the rug my students would have been sitting on the tile floor for the year.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Black
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple.Fishing for Knowledge
Funded Mar 27, 2018The easy-view fish tank was a complete success! My students were so excited as I pulled everything out of the box when we received it. The orb shape was amazing and the children's imagination was immediately captured.
We got to talk about how filtration systems work and how we filter different things in life from drinking water to our sewage systems. We discussed how fish breathe under water and how that is different from humans. We talked about how humans have to wear special clothes and have air tanks on our backs to swim like fish do. We discussed what fish need to survive and how important clean water is for them both in our orb tank and in the seas and oceans around the world, as well.
The fish tank was even more important than what I had at first planned in my lessons. Through the fish tank we were able to learn about careers, environmental clean-up and maintenance, species of fish, weather and how that affects water temperatures and in return the life in the water. The list just goes on and on into infinity. We were truly blessed by receiving the easy-view fish tank you made possible!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Black
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple.Puzzles for Littlest Scholars!
Funded Oct 2, 2017You made a difference! My students were jumping up and down with huge smiles on their faces when they came into our room and saw the puzzles on our shelves. They clamored around for the first peek from the puzzle rack as I pulled one at a time out to examine. They each started naming which puzzle was their favorite.
Everyday, when we do our free choice work cycle, there is someone in the puzzle area and someone waiting to get into it. Everyday there are huge smiles and heavy concentration on my students faces as they first struggle, try different pieces and then succeed in getting their puzzles complete. Hands down the favorite work area is the puzzles!
We are participating in a postcard exchange with students from all over the United States and in other countries so we have talked a lot about how people are different yet the same. We received a floor puzzle with children from different countries standing in a circle holding hands. It was a challenge for my students and it took them several days to figure it out, but they persevered and after many attempts they succeeded in getting it all together. I posted a picture of the finished product for you to see. They were so proud of themselves and felt like they could do anything after completing the puzzle. The puzzles have been such a great addition to our resources and we couldn't feel more blessed.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Black
This classroom project was brought to life by Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and 3 other donors.Literature for a Lifetime!
Funded Sep 21, 2016My class was so excited to receive the listening center. They are four and five years-old and love to listen to stories. For most of them English is a second language. Having the listening center allows them to hear stories in their own language first and then the English versions second. The happiness on their faces when they get to hear a story at school n their native language is priceless.
One of our goals each year is to increase our students vocabulary. Having the listening center has allowed us to expose our students to three times as many vocabulary words as we would have been able without it. Being a title one school many times our students come to us with language deficits and being able to record special activities and then play them back to small groups is an invaluable resource for us.
We feel so grateful to you for helping us with such an important part of our learning experience. The listening center helps us in so many ways on a daily basis! Thank you for caring and being willing to make a difference for our children!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Black
This classroom project was brought to life by Impact Tulsa and 2 other donors.Easily Learning
Funded Oct 9, 2014My students were so thrilled with the new easel you made possible for us! The students felt it was the perfect size and height for our room and that it had just the right amount of storage boxes to provide us with our leveled library space. One of their favorite things about the easel is the book markers that have magnets. They love reading their "Big Books" now because they can hold their place in the books with the fun magnet page markers!
The easel has provided me, as a teacher, with many new teaching activities. The color-coded boxes that fit on the back have provided a mobile leveled library for my students. The easel can easily be rolled anywhere in the school providing accessibility to the leveled books at any time. We use the sides as places to hang informational text or charts that we create for specific lessons. We use the front white board as a place to read our Big Books. I hang my charts from the back hooks to do pocket chart stations, as well as, using the white board during both large and small group discussion. I am still finding ways to utilize the easel each week. It truly is a versatile piece of equipment that has added true value to my class lessons!
The ability to be mobile with my teaching has had such an impact on my students engagement during lessons. I could not be happier with your gift to my class! It has been such a great addition to my teaching resources and I confident that as the weeks pass I will find many new ways to utilize your gift.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Black
This classroom project was brought to life by Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and 2 other donors.Clubhouse Circle
Funded May 30, 2014My students were so excited when the carpet arrived several of them were shaking. They had been awaiting the arrival for several weeks and had been talking about what it would look like in anticipation. The carpet's arrival did not disappoint! They were in love with it's many different colors and they liked that it had both the alphabet and the numbers on it in a fun pattern. The bonus was the color splotches through-out it's center. They kept saying how much they loved it as they helped roll it out of it's packaging.
The carpet is an intrical part of our everyday classroom routine. We use the alphabet to sit in assigned spaces and we use the colored corners of the alphabet lines and the color splotches as perimeters for our math centers. We use the center of the number circle for one of our reading stations. I have noticed some of my students have used the alphabet lines for spelling words in their daily journals and the math circle during math activities.
The overall, management of the classroom has improved dramatically since the arrival of the carpet. The carpet is an anchor for everyone through-out the day. There are far less discipline problems now that there are defined areas for different activities. Students are able to transition seamlessly from table to large group with little congestion or issue. We have gained substantial learning time by cutting down on questions about where to go for what at what time.
I just can't say enough about the positive impact having the carpet has had on my class!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Black
This classroom project was brought to life by George Kaiser Family Foundation and 8 other donors.