Past projects 4
We've Worked All Day, Now Let Us Play!
Funded Aug 9, 2022Our students were able to see the playgroun d equipment for the first time today. It was a special surprise for them as they were unaware of the equipment that was coming. As the students came running out of the classroom doors onto the playground, they stopped in their tracks. Several students turned around and said that someone had left their playthings on the playground, and we should find out who they belong to and bring them back.
When I was able to tell them the kitchen playhouse, the construction scoop, the parachute and balls were all for them, shrieks of excitement filled the air. Instead of running to play, many students ran to me with huge hugs, asking what they did to deserve this playground equipment. The sweet students asked if the equipment was all safe to play on, and they again cheered and jumped around when I explained it was safe to play with all of it.
The students showed such creativity in the first day as they built roads, dug foundations and tunnels with the digger. They learned quickly to use the digger for a short time and then let the next person have a chance to use it. Students piled in the playhouse to serve food as lines waited outside to be served. It was the busiest restaurant in town! The teachers all commented that this space was starting to look like a kindergarten playground and all of us could not have been happier--and we could not have had all of this without you! We are so grateful for your generosity and thoughtfulness! You have changed afternoons for many young students by giving them a place to be creative and release energy after a long, hard-working morning!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gayhart
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 2 other donors.A Place to Sit and Learn Together
Funded Dec 1, 2021We are so thankful for your generosity. Our new tables have made such a positive impact in our learning community this year! We have used our tables in so many ways. We have put our tables together to create community art projects together, and work in reading groups together. We have been able to split our reading groups into smaller groups to work on more focused needs throughout the week. This has allowed us to learn so much more and progress in our reading, and especially phonemic awareness 15 % faster than previous years. This has been a difficult year due to Covid and we were not sure how we would have space for all of us to fit, and have a good working space. These two tables have given us space to work in small math groups to use manipulatives. With the two tables we have also been able to bring into our classroom a reading specialist to help with intervention without taking students out of the classroom. This has been less interruption and much more comforting to the students. Our class have felt a bigger sense of community being able to sit at these picnic tables that are their size, that are meant for a group and not to seclude or keep them independent, and allow them to share! We have shared ideas, materials, discussions, successes and challenges with the space these tables have created in our learning environment. Thank you again for making our classroom a better place!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gayhart
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 4 other donors.Learning through Purposeful Play- Bridging our Learning in Kindergarten
Funded May 26, 2021We are so incredibly excited to use our items to create learning experiences through play!!! Although we only have a week left in this academic year, the students have already had an opportunity to use these new items! We have seen their achievements and academic successes as they play/work in these wonderful stations.
The students were ecstatic to see the new materials!Our students have worked on counting items, identifying coins and their value, reading recipes, making patterns, comparing weight and volume, demonstrating equal and unequal parts and much, much more! Our class has retold stories using our puppets and have made meals for their pretend customers. It is wonderful to see their confidence in skills as they play!
Our students have loved this work and are ready to continue their learning by scaffolding this learning with Drama-Based Pedagogy work. We are working on coupling the Play Based learning with Drama Based activities that promote reflection on what they are using, what role they are playing and what that means in the world around them.
We cannot say thank you enough for the opportunity to bring this play to our classroom, and show how learning can be fun! We look forward to our continued work in our play based learning stations!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gayhart
Robot Reflections: Technology with a Twist
Funded Sep 4, 2020We are so incredibly grateful for our ladybug coding bugs! Although we have been virtual through most of the school year, we did a lot of preparation in "unplugged" coding activities to engage our students. As we have returned to in-person learning, we brought out the ladybug coding robots to show them how all of their work "unplugged" leads to communicating with computers and technology. The students were beyond excited when they saw the robots! They have been so engaged in our many learning activities we have done with our robots. We spent the first two weeks in-person in a Fairy Tales unit. At the end of our unit, students had a "robot museum" where they went to each fairy tale robot and coded it to retell the fairy tale using pictorial events. Once they coded the robot to the events of the story, the robot followed the program created by the student to go from one picture to the next. The students simultaneously recording their own retelling of the story as their robot went from picture to picture. Students were excited to go to each of the stories and began retelling the stories without hesitation! Each students WANTED to code the robot and tell their story. Our students have coded the lifecycle of plants and ladybugs with the robots most recently. It can be quite a struggle working with 5 and 6 year olds in retelling stories that you have read aloud. We have used the robots to retell the events of a story, and our students are 100% engaged. We now have students who listen to a story and then ask to retell the story on their own using the robots. We work with a high percentage of ELL students in our classes. The robots have been a wonderful resource for practicing vocabulary with our language learners. We only have a short time back in the classroom with our classes this year, but we have many activities planned with our robots to finish our year building student confidence and energy for learning! We have a lot to review in these last days and will use the robots to have students decomposing numbers, describing 2D shapes, exploring characteristics of insects, and taking a "robot trip" around the zoo as we are unable to go on field trips. We are so incredibly grateful for our robots, and especially your generosity and support in our project endeavor. From the bottom of our hearts...Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gayhart
This classroom project was brought to life by Marks Family Foundation and 6 other donors.