Past projects 3
Engineering and Exploring in Enrichment!
Funded Aug 30, 2018I wanted to give an update on how our year has going! My kindergarten and 1st grade students have completed two investigations and multiple engineering design challenges so far. Students learned about gravity and motion by experimenting with force and they studied properties of rocks and soil. Students are currently studying water--both the water cycle and the way it changes states. During each investigating, students do a lot of hands on experiments and work in teams to complete challenges. My favorite challenge so far was when students had to work together to design and build a playground out of recycled materials using their knowledge of gravitational pull!
The materials you helped provide have been essential to making these investigations and design projects a reality. Rather than listen to me talk and filling out a worksheet, students are able to use tools to discover and explore concepts on their own. They loved using magnifying glasses to examine soil at the playground and were amazed by the power the magnet wands hand on paper clips and metal objects. The excitement and joy students have every time they come to enrichment is inspiring!
We will be continuing to work through different investigations throughout the rest of the year. Following winter break, students will study states of matter, light, sound, the sun, moon, and stars, and coding. We have a lot to look forward to! Thanks again for all of your help. My students and I appreciate you so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kraft
This classroom project was brought to life by Craig Newmark Philanthropies and 4 other donors.Bins, Buckets, And Baskets Oh My!
Funded Aug 21, 2017My student and I cannot thank you enough for your donations! Our organization tools have made our classroom a beautiful, welcoming place. One of my students' favorite places in our room is the library! The sturdy, bright colored bins have made navigating our library much easier. Students can find books they want to read and put them back in the right spots all by themselves!
When our boxes first arrived, my students were beaming with excitement! They couldn't wait to use the bins to make our classroom more organized. We set up our library, writing utensils, and folder bins together. They were amazed that people from all over the country were so generous to send things to our room. They were inspired to see that strangers cared so much them and their learning. My students are also very proud of the number of compliments we get from strangers about how well put together our room is! :)
As our year goes on, we plan to continue our focus on hands on learning. We will be adding a special STEM block to our daily schedule with a special focus on coding and robotics. I can't wait to continue getting my Kinder students excited to learn about the world around them!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kraft
Playing to Learn!
Funded Aug 21, 2017My student and I cannot thank you enough for your donations! Our blocks, games, MagnaTiles, PlayStix, and marble maze have allowed us to learn so much! One of our students, Jamal, has been especially fond of figuring out ways to use PlayStix to build trains and trucks. He studies pictures and visualizes how he can use the PlayStix to make each part of the structure. When he figures it out, he loves to share his knowledge by teaching others how to make things!
When our boxes first arrived, my students were beaming with excitement! They couldn't wait to try out all of the new toys and games. They were amazed that people from all over the country were so generous to send things to our room. They were inspired to see that strangers cared so much them and their learning. The materials from your donations have remained the most popular thing in our classroom to this day.
As our year goes on, we plan to continue our focus on hands on learning. We will be adding a special STEM block to our daily schedule with a special focus on coding and robotics. I can't wait to continue getting my Kinder students excited to learn about the world around them!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kraft