Past projects 10
Students With Autism in Need of a Sensory Area
Funded Feb 6, 2025I want to express my sincere gratitude for the generous donation of materials to my classroom. The materials have been incredibly beneficial, especially for my autistic students, and have made a significant impact on their learning and development.
The Soft Color Giant Blocks, while not specifically ordered for my autistic students, have proven to be valuable for all students in the class, including those with autism. My intention was to add them to the existing set, as we often found that there weren't enough blocks for all students to build structures together. These soft blocks have enhanced my students' creativity and motor skills development, fostering both cooperative play and individual exploration. They encourage my students to stack, build, and describe their creations, thereby helping them to develop their language skills as well. Importantly, the blocks are safe and lightweight, which ensures that my autistic students can engage in play without the risk of breaking anything or causing accidents.
The Peanut Ball has become a favorite in my classroom, with every student eager to play with it, including my autistic students. It's not only fun, but it also helps with balance, coordination, and sensory regulation. To make sure each child gets a chance to use it, I've set up a schedule, and every day a different student, including my autistic learners, has the opportunity to enjoy it. It has become a highly anticipated activity, and I can already see how it boosts my students' confidence and motor development.
The Rainbow Stack Ball has also been very popular among my students, but it seems to have had an especially positive effect on my autistic students. They enjoy dropping the three balls that come with it, and often match colors with other manipulatives, which helps reinforce their color recognition skills. The Maze Cube, while not as universally loved as the Rainbow Stack Ball, has been especially engaging for my autistic students. They focus intently on guiding the ball through the different mazes, which is not only stimulating but also great for improving their fine motor skills and concentration.
I plan to introduce the smaller materials, like the Sensory Beads, Metallic Tangle Fidgets, and Fidget Monsters, once my students reach the age of four, as I believe they will be even more beneficial at that stage of their development.
Thanks to your donation, I am able to better engage and support my autistic students. These materials not only keep them entertained and focused but also aid in their social, emotional, and cognitive growth. You have truly made a difference in my teaching, allowing me to devote more attention to other groups of students while my autistic learners remain engaged and motivated.
On behalf of my students and myself, I cannot thank you enough for your thoughtful and impactful donation. We are all deeply grateful for the opportunity to use these educational materials.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. J.A.
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 8 other donors.Inspire My Kids to Be Creative and Build Their Dreams
Funded Oct 10, 2024The Soft Color Giant Blocks were not ordered to be part of a project. This was one single item the Early Childhood Department required us to have in each classroom. The Bright Color Set I have in my classroom is old and incomplete. This year I will have an Observation called ECERS-3 and this item is a fundamental part of the classroom. The observation is scored, and If I don't have this item in my classroom, I will lose points.
Before I introduced them to each of the classes and gave them a surprise, I sat with the bright old color set there is in the class in front of them at Large Group. I encouraged them to tell me how they see the blocks. The first thing one of the students said was, "old." Other students said, "this, look bumped his head!" (was cut in one corner). One last student said, "this one has a stain." I kept on asking them, "so, what would you recommend me to do with them?" One student, said, "clean." The student that had said "old," added now, "garbage." Then, I said, "the blocks were washed last few months ago, but the stains don't go with water and soap. Even though they are old and have few stains, I can't throw them because they are still good to build with. However, I have a surprise, look." I presented the new set and said, "Somebody donated this new set to our class!" The students screamed, "Yeah!" They were so happy and asked me to unzipper the bag to start to play. I said, "First tell me at least one difference between the old set had and this new one." A student said, "these are beautiful. I like them. They are light!" Because everyone wanted to play with them, I had to break the 15 students in 3 groups of 5 each and gave them time. However, when the first group completed their 15 minutes, they didn't want to let go. They wanted to stay playing with the blocks. Therefore, I told them I was going to make a second round after the third group finished playing.
My two classes, (30 students) benefited of the Lakeshore Calming Colors Giant Soft Blocks for the following reasons:
• They foster creativity and motor skills development. They motivated my students to explore and learn through stacking and building.
• They enhance cognitive development. My students learned to recognized other soft colors: khaki, turquoise, light blue, and lime. Moreover, they compared these soft color Giant Blocks with the few old bright color ones we have.
• These Giant Soft Color blocks stimulate my students' minds, developing language skills as they describe their creations.
• Even though the blocks' description is "Giant", they are not giant blocks. They are big and the perfect size for my student's little hands to grab them or catch them. I read the measurements before ordering them.
• My students can play safely because these giant blocks are soft and light. My students squish and play catching them.
• The Foam Giant blocks were a hit in my two classes. They can't break anything. They are fun to play with and lay on. The students like to stack them and run through them. They are super cushiony, safe to throw and thick enough to jump on. Students love to stack them, build towers that they throw later, and build small seats they use to sit in.
• Finally, these blocks have become the favorite thing to play for my autistic student. He has endless hours of fun by sorting them, knocking down towers taller than himself, and building creative castles. He also knows how to separate these soft color set from the old bright color set we have in the class.
My students and I are grateful we were donated to such educative material for our class.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. J.A.
This classroom project was brought to life by United Airlines and 2 other donors.3 and 4 Years Olds in Need of STEM Area
Funded Apr 17, 2024Thank you so much for providing the materials needed to conduct my classroom. The children and I are forever grateful for the materials provided. The students were ecstatic to see their new sand and water table. They were incredibly creative and curious building tall towers with their brand-new magnetic foam blocks. The girls especially are enjoying the use of their brand-new wooden abacus. It is always a joy to inspire children in the STEM field and especially girls who are often overlooked. Thank you for supporting the youth who are tomorrow's future STEM leaders.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. J.A.
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 4 other donors.Please Help Me Renovate the Science and Math Area
Funded May 8, 2024Thank you so much for providing the materials needed to conduct my classroom. The children and I are forever grateful for the materials provided. The students were ecstatic to see their new sand and water table. They were incredibly creative and curious building tall towers with their brand-new magnetic foam blocks. The girls especially are enjoying the use of their brand-new wooden abacus. It is always a joy to inspire children in the STEM field and especially girls who are often overlooked. Thank you for supporting the youth who are tomorrow's future STEM leaders.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. J.A.
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and one other donor.Pre-K Students In Need Of A Writing Area
Funded Jan 18, 2024Thank you for your generous contribution to our brand-new easel. We, the teachers truly appreciate your generosity. The children are thrilled to have a new easel to draw and paint on. Thank you for your generous donation. We are forever grateful to anyone willing to give to our cause. Our children are extremely important to us, and we always want to give them what they need. In this case it's a new classroom easel. Thanks to donors like you, we are able to provide the necessary materials for learning.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. J.A.
3- and 4-Year-Olds in Need of Writing Supplies.
Funded Dec 17, 2023Thank you for the wonderful contribution to our classroom. Due to your donation, our students are able to have brand new much needed materials. They are thrilled to have received a new cart for their books and alphabet robots. In the future we are planning to have more alphabet robots as they are a very popular educational toy among our students. More carts would also be useful to transport our supplies from the classroom to the playground. Overall, we are very thankful to have received your aid.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. J.A.
Help Me Give my Kids a Comfy Area to Sit.
Funded Dec 26, 2023Most of all, thank you for your contribution to our classroom. The students have been using the couch to read and relax during downtime. Initially the students were surprised to see new materials since we are rarely able to afford materials in our classroom. They now love the couch and we have made it a habit to rotate students constantly to be able to have everyone enjoy the couch. It has become one of the most important areas during work time.
We are incredibly grateful for those who donated to provide us with new materials for our tiny classroom.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. J.A.
Level Up!
Funded Mar 25, 2022I appreciate very much your kindness by providing my new 3 years old students with the adequate materials that will help me teach math and the alphabet to my students. We started the school year with the materials from last school year and little by little I'm introducing one of the new materials you donated. I feel so happy when I open a new box and they all come to the table wanting to work with it. I'm letting them know that is a donation and we should take care of it. I have a lesson with each of the materials; so, all the students know how to work with it. They see how careful I'm when we clean up and put the materials in the correct place. My students are little, but they are learning fast and that makes me feel rewarding. Be certain my two pre-kindergarten classes will have the best use to all the materials you donated. Thank you so much for being a part of my students' growth.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. J.A.
This classroom project was brought to life by Optimum.Ancient Sofas Aren't Cutting It!
Funded Mar 25, 2022I can't believe my reading area has new chairs and my private have a new sofa that can be converted in a bed for a student that doesn't have a bed/cot. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to put it in used yet because my classroom was moved and I'm still unpacking. I know the place I will put it in but there is a wall that has to be painted before I place the sofa in there. Because of this inconvenience, I showed my students the sofa. They were so happy with it, that they sat on top of the box. I can't wait until the wall is painted so my students can use it! Last school year, I felt so bad each time they sat on the old and dirty sofa. Now, everybody will want to come to the private area. I will have to create a schedule; so, everybody can have a turn. Thank you for making this possible for my dear students! Thanks a MILLION!!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. J.A.
This classroom project was brought to life by Optimum.Let's Renovate Our Classroom with Engaging Materials!
Funded Aug 13, 2019My students and I are so grateful for the materials that were donated to us. For the past three years I've been trying to include them in the School Year Teacher's Supplies List. Unfortunately, the budget was never enough. I was amazed because I was able to receive all these materials in one donation. My students are mostly three years old. Some of them are two years old. my students are currently still adjusting to the classroom environment and rules. They are not being exposed to all the materials in the classroom because they are being taught how to play with each of them first. This is the reason why they have interacted with the materials donated, but they might not yet know how to use or play with some of them for their actual purpose.
- The Alphabet Linking Letter and Word Building Cubes: my students have recently learned the vowels. However, they don't recognize most letters or their sounds yet. My students are playing with these blocks sorting them by color or by picture. I expect that by the end of the two-year period, they will be able to form words, alliterate and/or rhyme using them.
- The Dinosaur Alphabet Matching: All my students are intelligent and capable of learning new things every day. There is one student in particular who picks up information and a quicker pace than my other students. He loves to match the upper and lowercase letters on the dinosaurs. The other students are completing the dinosaurs by matching the head with their body. I am positive that the students will soon start to recognize most of the upper- and lower-case letters and can match the dinosaurs.
- Ten Frame Magnetic Boards: My students are using these boards by counting the magnetic circles and writing the total. Once they get the hang of counting and can determine all the numbers, they will be using these magnetic boards to learn addition.
- Best Behavior Bilingual Books and Good Manners Elmo Books: These books are amazing! The illustrations are simple enough for students to understand how to use their hands to help and not to hit and use their feet to walk and not to run. They are a big help in my Spanish classroom. I read these books to the class during the "Week of Respect" in October. What I love about the Elmo books is that they are short, simple, and fun. One of the students already memorized the context of one of them and has attempted to read it to a group of other students.
- Lego Duplo with Letters: Right now, my students are trying to identify some of the letter in it by connecting the image in it with their symbol (each student have a symbol: Lucas - Lion)
- Wireless Headphones. They made my class run smooth. Before, they used their tablets with all the volume up and it became difficult for me to listen to other students or them to be focused in different areas. Now, each student using a tablet is focused and let the rest of the class work in different areas.
- I Hear a Pickle: and Smell, See, Touch and Taste Too! and The Bear Snores On: I haven't read these books to the class yet. However, I plan to read "I hear a Pickle .." in February when I teach them about the five senses. And "The Bear Snores On" in March close to start Spring. Before having these books, I used to borrow them from the public library.
All my gratitude on behalf of my 30 students to each of the donors to make the learning process easier for the kids and the teaching process easier for me as a teacher.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. J.A.
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and one other donor.