Past projects 2
STEM in Pre-K 4 Dual Language Classroom
Funded Dec 14, 2022Over the last couple of months, my students have had a great time exploring the materials donated through the Donors Choose gift. Our science center lacked the materials to promote inquisitive and exploratory learning, but the Donors Choose gift changed this.
With our Donors Choose materials, for the unit on Transportation, students created boats and 3 dimensional vehicles from an engineering kit. During our water unit, students explored how water travels and manipulated waterways to control the path which the water took.
The best part about this project has been to see how the students allow their creativity to go beyond the intended purpose of the materials. One example would be the bridge building kit. During our unit on water, the students were able to create bridges modeled after the image cards included in the item. When we transitioned into the unit of study for plants, the students used the same materials to create flower gardens without any prompting or guidance from me. It was student led exploration!
I can't wait to see how my students continue to use the materials for the remainder of the school year.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Mendez
Little Bodies, Creative Minds
Funded Nov 16, 2022Over the last few months, we've had the opportunity to use the art supplies granted to us through DoorsChoose in a multitude of ways. We used the finger paint for our 100 Days of School Project, the chalk for sidewalk drawing when the Winter weather permitted it, foam sticker shapes to both create decoration for art and for math activities regarding shapes and color.
In order to truly see progress in children, it's vital we provide them with ample opportunities to practice their skills. It's been wonderful to draw and paint without fear of running out of stock or having to prioritize one planned activity over another one.
Currently, we are preparing ourselves for kindergarten and so that means practicing beginning sound and labeling our drawings. Our classroom already had letter stamps, but we were missing ink pads. The act of pulling out a letter stamp from the case and pressing it into the pad in preparation to label their work is a thousand times more engaging and thrilling to the students than simply writing the letter with a marker.
In the future we have plans to use the wiki-stix to create representations of Spring and to use the finger paint for our Mother's Day project!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Mendez
This classroom project was brought to life by The Walt Disney Company and 8 other donors.