Past projects 81
Milkweed, a Book We Love to Read.
Funded Mar 28, 2017It was just too thrilling to get the email from Donors Choose to tell me that our books had be funded. It came just a week before spring break. When the books came in the shout outs were deafening, but then middle schoolers tend to be that way.
Sorry I didn't get them to address them to you, I was too excited to see all the new books and sadly, but I needed to recycle the books that had missing pages. The kids were thrilled, but sad that they didn't come in in time for them, but some of the kids took the old much loved books home to pass on and maybe read again.
The thing that is so important to me is that the kids learn that others, who may not know them or even understand where they live, think about them and their education. I have a dream that at least one, but hopefully more when then can, will remember and do the same for others.
Thank you for supporting Public Education, my classes and our future. The impact you have made can never been really known.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Permar
Counting And Listening As We Learn
Funded Mar 10, 2016Thank you for you most thoughtful gift to my group of special needs students. They were thrilled to have new headphones the old ones were so messed up they hated to use them, they hurt their ears.
The cubes were a big hit, they love doing math with them and playing with them to make robots during free time.
To my surprise the counting frames were the biggest hit, we had been using paper ones and the markers slid off! For the younger kids that was frustrating and kept "messing up my frame!" They were so thrilled to have one that the markers stayed in place and they could slide it around the table to show me what they had made.
It is a true, true statement to say it takes a village to raise a child, and that includes educating them!
Thank you for your support and consideration.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Permar
This classroom project was brought to life by #BestSchoolDay and one other donor.Calculating Our Way to Understanding Math.
Funded Nov 17, 2015It is so hard to truly convey the thrill and excitement that my students demonstrated when I shared with them your gift of calculators for our classroom. We had been sharing some tiny ones that the kids with poor fine motor development struggled with and the students with vision impairments could just not see the screen!
These much larger screens and keys make it something of a pleasure for the kids to enter the numbers!, now if only I wouldn't ask them to do those pesky word problems!
In all seriousness, it is from folks like yourselves, in this time of funding cuts, that we public school teacher must rely on to help us to offer our students all the opportunities to learn and grow.
Now if only they could remember to use the decimal point when adding money, especially with our calculators, they could master how much money they have earned in their classroom accounts. It was quite a thrill for me to hear one of my students complain that he couldn't get the answer and when he watched me do it on his calculator, his first comment was, "Oh! I forgot the decimal point!"
Ah, as we lean.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Permar
Calculating Our Future
Funded Nov 17, 2015" You guys are way too awesome for words!" That is a direct quote, that I was told I had to tell you by some of the students today. They ADORE the calculators and not just because it makes doing their math easier. They just think that it is too cool that people who don't know them, and who are part of such a huge thing as Google, would think of a bunch of kids in the "middle of nowhere N.C." again a quote.
Actually the addition of calculators to some of the classes that are not all math has stopped the groans when I announce were going to do math, to questions "Can we do math, and can we check our work with the calculators?"
The straight math classes are just thrilled to have calculators that work and that they can use.
I am still just blown away that you all would think of our kids and their futures.
It is truly awesome, (to copy my student), and we are most grateful. Your impact if far greater than I could ever tell you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Permar
Writing Our Way to Learning
Funded Oct 15, 2015I truly do not know how to express the excitement and thrill I felt when I saw that my project had been funded. I had been using old, scarred boards for years, and the kids were complaining that it was hard to write on and hard to read.
Then the day I received notice that some really great folks had funded my request I was about at the end of my rope, the kids had just said, "You need to get some new ones!" I was feeling really frustrated!
The kids were quite confused that people who they did not know would send them something, they were hoping for games or toys, but the new boards are a hit. My class has a smart board, and to bet that up they covered my black board. I prefer using the small boards because it allows the kids to participate and have some control over what we do. They are also practicing handwriting and erasing a board is easier than a paper. Sometimes I think they erase just because it is so much easier!
I have just begun a new group of kindergarten students and we are working on letters and numbers, they find the boards the most amazing thing to use, and know right where they are! They tell me that they really love writing on them, it will be interesting to see how they react in the spring when we go to all paper and pencil!
Thank you for thinking of our public schools and education, in this time of tight budgets, your help is truly invaluable.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Permar
This classroom project was brought to life by NEA Foundation and 6 other donors.Reading to the Little Kids.
Funded Sep 30, 2014I wish you could have seen the look on the autistic child's face when he saw one of the books that you gave us. I just didn't have the camera ready. I hope you will be able to see our developmentally delayed child, who NEVER sits down or stops moving, she actually sat on the sofa to look at one of the books!
I am slowly allowing the kids access to the books, new ones are fun, and they are loving the new books. I am not real sure how much they understand that you are mostly folks who don't know us, (thank you to Sallie, Matt and Bruce, my family) but are kind enough to think of us.
As I will be adding an older student with emotional concerns next week his job will be to share the new books with the kids. He's pretty pumped about being the first to read them!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Permar
This classroom project was brought to life by NEA Foundation and 3 other donors.Tuck Everlasting Could Be Our Favorite Book.
Funded Oct 2, 2013Your most kind and generous gift has allowed myself and my co-teacher to open the world of Tuck, to our 6th grade students. Without your thoughtfulness they would have had to share, (perish the thought for 11 and 12 year olds) books and we would have had to mark pages as each class moves at a different pace. Now each child can have their own book and the better readers will read ahead as they enjoy the book. They are so enjoying the book. It has opened to them a world they never thought of before, or at least expressed thoughts to us about.
It is through your kindness that public schools can offer more than what is just required, yes this book is on the list, but with your gift we can offer the kids books to hold and feel that they have ownership. We are hoping to give each child a book for Dr. Seuss's birthday this year.
Thank you for thinking of us, we certainly think of you each day we read. You will be thought of often in the years to come. Best of run to your friend on Broadway! I do wish I could see the show!
Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Permar
Hearing the Music As We Travel the World
Funded Dec 17, 2012These letters are always the toughest thing to do I can't type fast enough to tell you what an impact your gift has had on my class. The small storage cabinet has been a blessing as I can put things away, but close at hand, that curious hands don't need to be dealing with with.
The tape player has been the best! Actually it's a cd player, I just call it a tape player and the kids remind me of the change. But, the cool thing is my multihandicapped student, who is 14 and has been in a wheel chair all of his life is now walking with assistance! How does a tape(CD) player help with that? He will walk to it to choose a tape (cd) to listen to! It is sooooooooo exciting to see him do this, and he is so proud of himself! It is light enough that he can carry it with his good hand and lean on me to walk back to the table then enjoy the music or story.
Donors, with out you I know he would have walked with out it, but I do believe that it helped him to want to and to make those steps a little sooner.
Thank you so, so much for your thinking of public education.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Permar
Books On Tape, What A Neat Way To Learn
Funded Sep 15, 2012Dear Caroline Holt, Gayle and Kaplan Early Learning Co.
Thank you for thinking of my special needs students. They love to listen to books on tape! They are really enjoying the books and C.D.'s you sent them.
We are learning to read, and they are slowly putting to together that the words they hear match up with the words on the page.
We use the books on tape to supplement our scripted reading programs, but the kids really enjoy the listening aspect.
I can never really share how great of an impact your thoughtfulness and generosity has had on my class. Because of donor's like yourselves, all of my students learn about saying thank you and thinking of others. Thank you for helping me teach those lessons as well.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Permar
This classroom project was brought to life by Kaplan Early Learning Company and 3 other donors.Looking Up Our Words
Funded Sep 16, 2012Dear Jami,Frank and Carol,
"Thank you for the books with not so many words" as one of my students put it. They were "thrilled" to have dictionaries with less words to look at. I use the word "thrilled" as my meaning not theirs.
Truly they were happy to not to have to try and find words with the small print and lots of words to try and find what they are looking for. Looking up words is still not met with cheers, but I don't get the arguments that there are too many words to look at anymore!
It is only with help from the generous and kind folks like you all that I can begin to come close to meeting my students needs. Thank you for thinking of my special students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Permar