Past projects 17
Let's Play Ball!
Funded Apr 14, 2025My students are really really excited to hear that they will soon receive new play equipment!!!
Many of them have been asking for new volleyballs for some time now.
Thank you for your generous support. It means a lot to our whole class that they will be able to play some of their favorite games this season!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. W
Measure Up for Math and Art
Funded Mar 25, 2025WOW! I have never had a project funded so fast!
I can't tell you how much this will mean to my class to have new tools that work!
I truly appreciate your amazing generosity and that you care for students in our community.
Wishing you all the best, always!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. W
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and one other donor.Books are the Best!
Funded Oct 3, 2024Our class is really getting into their new books! The nonfiction lovers are happy with the new "Who was / What was" and "Magic Treehouse: Fact Checker" books. The fantasy lovers are glad to have more copies of books like "Percy Jackson."
I'm thrilled to be able to have replacement copies of the books I used to have "in stock" on our shelves again! As you likely already know, I could not afford to purchase so many replacements - especially the hardcovers (much better for a lending library!).
My students are expected to read an hour a day at home and complete a reading log. When we have more books available, kids are more likely to find something they like and actually do the reading. Also, for Winter Break, they will have a book report to do, and will need a fresh novel for their work.
I'm also very grateful that we were able to purchase a good number of books for student birthdays, prizes, and giveaways. My special book choice cupboard is PACKED!
Thank you very much for your caring, thoughtfulness, and generosity.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. W
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Foundation and 11 other donors.Pretty Pencils, Please!
Funded May 7, 2024Thank you very much for supporting my students with a large supply of mechanical pencils and lead refills, in 4 sizes! Students have a difficult time completing work when they aren't happy with their writing tools, or when their tools are failing. Being able to choose a pencil lead size that works best for them might seem like a really small thing, but it is really important.
When we are all working hard through note-taking, lessons, and practice work, a broken pencil or a mechanical pencil that runs out of lead, can put the serious brakes on making progress. Now, students will not need to worry if they have another pencil or the right size of refill lead. Instead, we can get them what they need and they can get right back to work.
Keeping mechanical pencils and lead refills "in stock" gets quite prohibitive in terms of costs, so your support is even more crucial to keeping our class writing and working this year. We appreciate you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. W
Our Library Shelves are Falling Down!
Funded Dec 28, 2023I really want you to know just how grateful I am for your support of my classroom project, "Our Library Shelves are Falling Down!"
I have spent my entire 19-year career purchasing books and collecting donations to build my classroom library. It spans all the literary genres and includes a lot of nonfiction as well – especially earth science, biology, history, and biographies. There are so many books I cannot even count them all – there must be a couple thousand at least, across 11 shelving units (and many also have book-bins on the top).
I lend books to students in my own homeroom, as well as any other student in my Math or ELA class, or other kids on campus who come to visit. I was getting very sad and worried about the need to "pare down" my collection so that I could remove the old, dangerous shelves. The thought of taking away book choices from my students was just depressing, because even though I would be giving them away to families, they would no longer be available to lend to future classes of students.
All the shelves have arrived and I have found time to build three of the five units so far, removing three damaged and decrepit pieces of furniture from the classroom. As well as saving our books, it also allowed me a chance to reorganize and make better use of some space to better accommodate certain genres. I am very excited to get the chance to build the other two and finish refurbishing our library!
The students are already enjoying the difference in the library organization and layout, as well as the way that the new shelves match and look much nicer. They already seem to be feeling more proud of our room and our books. It's amazing what a little bit of "newness" can add!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. W
This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares and 15 other donors.Art Matters!
Funded Aug 9, 2023Our class has been having so much fun planning, designing, sculpting and painting our "Clay Creations" this month!!! Most of the students had never had a chance to work with real clay before. It was a real learning experience for them all, about how to work with the material, how your visualizations can become reality, and how it takes perseverance to make something work - even if it's fun!
Moreover, we are also well stocked on glue sticks and should be able to get through the rest of the year with our basic interactive notebooks and paper-art projects. The stickers are com,ing in handy for decorating our "Student of the Week" books and for student rewards.
Thank you again for supporting arts education for our students. They really have the opportunity to develop and refine more of their talents when we have access to high-quality art materials! We hope you enjoy the pictures of the students' projects and our class would like to wish you all the best! THANK YOU!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. W
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 6 other donors.Social Skills for Student Success
Funded May 9, 2023We are so thrilled to have been given the gift of supplemental learning materials to support our students in becoming better learners, classmates, and people! We've had time to create some wonderful posters together in class, with input from all our students. We've had great discussions that sparked real honesty and revealed true insights in their conversations.
We were surprised to learn how many students were never really taught manners at home and needed some real guidance on the subject. Once we were able to really get into what manners are and why they matter, more students started paying attention to the way they spoke to each other on a daily basis. Furthermore, the students really enjoy the humor in the manners book and it made talking about the topic much more relatable and enjoyable overall.
The "Bucket" books have been another great way to teach the students how to care about each other, look out for each other, and build each other up. It gives us something to anchor on each day as we coach the students to use more positive words and actions, with every interaction.
We hope you will enjoy seeing some of the work products that have come out of these lessons and discussions and we truly appreciate the support you have given us. We never could have purchased these great resources without your help. THANK YOU!
From the 6th Grade Teaching Team at Franklin School”
With gratitude,
Mrs. W
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Foundation and 18 other donors.Art Therapy: Creative Hands, Artistic Minds
Funded Feb 4, 2022My entire class has had so much fun with their art project! Many of them had never worked with real clay before and I was very happy to get the chance to share new skills and techinques with them as they worked on their creations. Some of them simply enjoyed kneading and pounding the clay, while others got down to work on tiny details with the sculpting tools.
Students created a variety of artistic items, from animals and fantasy creatures to food models to functional trays and pots. They seemed particularly excited to use the paints and the many sizes and shapes of paintbrushes. They were given the three primary colors, as well as black, brown and white. They also had mixing palettes for creating many other shades on their own. Students had a lot of fun experimenting with the color-blending process.
Many students said this was their favorite art project of the entire year! I hope you will enjoy the photo-collages showcasing their work!
Thank you all for supporting this experience for our class!!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. W
This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares and 14 other donors.Keep Reading All Winter Long!
Funded Nov 30, 2021My class and I cannot thank you enough for your generosity in helping get more books into their hands.
Despite my high hopes, there were some hiccups with availability of certain titles from the vendor, combined with extended shipping delays. We finally had received enough books for every student to choose 2 books around "Lunar New Year." The rest of the books finally arrived last week, and students were each able to select their 3rd book.
I can tell you that they were all very excited with the wide variety of genres and they enjoyed getting to "shop" for free.
Some students have already finished reading one or two of their books and are ready for those 2nd or 3rd choices.
We are approaching the "testing" season and I have "banned" my students from reading any more graphic novels until after all the state tests are finished (because they don't help expand their vocabulary). Having new nonfiction titles and novels to read is going to be very helpful for all the children at this time.
I really could not have gotten this many books for my class without your support and I hope you know how much you are appreciated! Please enjoy the photos!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. W
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 9 other donors.Every Response Matters!
Funded Aug 12, 2021I cannot tell you enough how much the "answer paddles" have improved learning and assessment in our classroom this year! The plastic partitions at each student's desk have made visibility even worse than I thought it would be. If I am sitting at my desk / presentation station, I can't clearly see the faces of the students beyond the first 3. When students raise their hands, sometimes I can't see those either. With the paddles, I can ask every student to share their answers and/or ideas and hold them high. Up above the plastic barriers, I can clearly see all their responses and quickly assess for understanding.
Students were excited to receive their own paddles and dry erase supplies. They also get excited every time we take them out during lessons. An unexpected benefit is that the shy students are not afraid to share with this method. It might take a few students a little longer to respond than others, but eventually, I get a response from 100% of the class.
I'm also noticing that many students are still having challenges readjusting to learning in the classroom. They are reluctant to participate and often do not want to take an active role in their lessons. With the use of the paddles, students are more likely to stay focused and think on their own during the lesson, because they know that everyone is expected to respond.
Without your support, none of this would have been possible. We are all very appreciative! My students wanted to thank you as well - so please be sure see the photos I shared.
Wishing you Happy Holidays!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. W
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 2 other donors.