Mrs. Casey's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 7

• Cruising the Community

  Funded Dec 1, 2021

  Thank you so much for supporting my classroom project, "Cruising the Community". I did have to alter my original vision just a bit due to items being unavailable from the vendor. However, the replacement items are working wonderfully to support learning in our classroom.

  Having vehicles that are representative of various jobs in the community has not only stimulated talking and vocabulary, but imaginations as well. The children enjoy pretending to be various community helpers that drive around helping out the people (toys) that live in our various houses. Pretending to scoop ice cream has also been a delight for the children. Authentic, rich vocabulary, along with spontaneous reciprocal conversations have emerged between the boys and girls which is wonderful to behold. Finally, the Stretch and Connect Builders are always popular with the boys and girls. Once their newest creations are finished, the children cannot wait to show off their designs. Thanks again for your generous support!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Casey

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 9 other donors.

• A, B, C, 1, 2, 3! Blast Off With Learning!

  Funded Sep 7, 2021

  Thanks you so much for the new materials that are helping us to "blast off" with our learning! We've used all of the new materials and the children absolutely love them.

  The spaceship was definitely a favorite of the children. They loved exploring the spaceship and having it take off into space. Spontaneous counting began as the boys and girls counted down to lift-off. Sharing and cooperating were also lessons learned while playing with this toy.

  Rocket alphabet and number matching were also adored by the children. They loved building with the rockets and attempting to match numerals to numbers. The alphabet rockets proved to be a bit more challenging to the students, as they had to match the letter to the sound. Students were naming and talking about the pictures on the rocket pieces which is wonderful because for many students this year vocabulary is really a struggle. The rockets will be used repeatedly as we continue to work on alphabet and sound recognition. We truly appreciate your thoughtfulness and generosity as we continue to learn and grow!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Casey

  This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 5 other donors.

• We Can Only Imagine!

  Funded May 4, 2021

  Thank you so much for donating the imaginary castle and tree house building set to my classroom. The toys have been unpacked and used multiple times in my classroom. They are always the first toys selected at play time and the children are truly enjoying them. When I first introduced them to the classroom, there were smiles galore and excitement in the air.

  The first thing the children noticed were the boxes. The pictures on the boxes caused a stir before the toys were even put out. Once the toys were unpacked, the children were even more excited to play with them. Lots of laughter, vocabulary and language development, trial and error and cooperative play were heard and seen in the classroom. They loved the challenge of building the tree houses and working together to make new and different designs. In the castle, the wizard and guards were in pursuit of the dragon. It was amazing to hear the spontaneous conversations and experimenting that were occurring while the children played. Your generosity has truly made a difference in our classroom!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Casey

  This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 3 other donors.

• Kindergarten Creations

  Funded May 7, 2020

  When I initially conceived the idea for this project, I never thought we would be engaged in virtual learning. The assortment of tag board paper that you so generously provided for my classroom was to be used for classroom projects used to support the themes we cover over the course of our year. However, now that our situation has changed, so has my strategy of how to use the materials you helped to provide.

  Hands-on learning is so essential for our youngest learners. It stimulates creativity, experimentation, builds confidence and develops eye-hand coordination. Instruction delivered via computer is not necessarily conducive to this type of learning. However, I decided to try and get the materials in the hands of my students so they can engage with art materials while at home with their families.

  Projects were planned for September-December. Materials were provided and put in bags for families to pick-up. Students and families were so excited to come to school and pick up the materials. Our first virtual project, decorating our names was a success! Families were engaged and the children loved the materials that you helped to provide.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Casey

  This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 5 other donors.

• Let's Write Right

  Funded Aug 28, 2019

  Thank you so much for your generous contributions to our K4 classroom. As we are starting to use the new materials the children are eager, engaged and feeling successful as they are learning to "write right".

  When I first introduced the magnetic picture pockets, the boys and girls couldn't believe their pictures were in them! This has helped build community in our classroom. Classmates are now able to "read" each others names by looking at the picture (which they love doing!). It is also helping the boys and girls understand what letter their name starts with. Right now we are using the picture pockets primarily as a daily check-in. However, they will also do double-duty as students begin to write the names of their classmates.

  The write and wipe center has become a popular choice for writing practice. This center supports my young writers by helping them to build muscle, hand control, spatial awareness and left-right progression. Pictures that students make are becoming more detailed and some students are even demonstrating beginning concepts of print such as putting a period at the end of their writing.

  Finally, the boys and girls really enjoy using the magic boards. While using the boards, students are working at their current stage of writing. Some students are scribbling, some students are refining their grasps, some students are practicing making shapes, while some students are making letter strings or even writing their names, numbers or letters. Wherever they are at, they are feeling successful and have big smiles on their faces!

  Thanks again for your contributing as my students learn to "write right".”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Casey

  This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 8 other donors.

• Sensory Play Makes Sense!

  Funded Sep 18, 2018

  Thank you so much for supporting hands-on, sensory learning opportunities for my K4 students. Using the materials that you have provided, students are engaged in their learning. They are actively predicting, experimenting, forming ideas and developing vocabulary. Students remember the activities we have done and ask to do them again and again. The play sand was put to great use as a dinosaur excavation site. I buried eggs, dinosaurs, bones and shells and the students had to "unearth" the fossils they had found. They were brimming with excitement! The sand will be used many times over throughout the year as we learn about movement, weight and machines to name a few other areas.

  The students are always excited to use the materials that you donated. Float and find alphabet letters are always a cause for cheers in our classroom. Getting to play in water and learn our alphabet letters is a great time for all! It is amazing how many letters my students can now name, as well as the pictures that go along with each letter. In one photo, a student is showing me the letter V and saying, "v is for volcano". The students are having so much fun, they don't realize how much they are learning while using these materials.

  Using the water beads for the first time had a couple of students a bit apprehensive (especially students that are sensitive to unusual textures), but once they used them, they loved them! For some of my non-English speaking students this provided lots of opportunities for them to practice their language skills. We predicted first what would happen to the beads when water was added to them. The students came up with great ideas such as they would sink, float, turn the water into a rainbow and grow. After having the opportunity to use the beads, the students confirmed predictions and also came up with some fun words to describe the beads (cool, squishy, slippery, colorful, soft and wet) were a few of the many words they came up with.

  Our next steps involve continuing to use the materials throughout the year with other themes we will be covering. The great thing about these materials is that they are designed to be used over and over again, which will bring smiles to the children over and over again.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Casey

  This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 4 other donors.

• We Build! We Create!

  Funded Sep 18, 2018

  Thank you so much for supporting our classroom as we are learning to build and create. Because of your generosity the students are developing their imaginations, creativity, critical thinking and problem solving skills. With the materials that you helped to provide my students are engaged, working together and building vocabulary and social skills.

  When playing with the magnetic builders, the boys and girls are always eager to show off what they've built and want to explain what they've created, boosting not only their self confidence but their vocabulary as well. We've already had an obstacle course, motorcycle and helicopter built, rebuilt and refined to make changes in the original design of the item. The animal builders were also a hit. For some students, these toys provided opportunities to learn the real names of the animals. For other students, they came up with their own names for the animal combinations they created (hippo-phant!). The building tubes and water blocks are also favorites of the class and are used and asked for on a regular basis.

  The students are always so excited when I bring out a new item that you provided. When I'm introducing the materials to the students for the first time, I hear lots of "oohs", "aahs" and "wows". We take turns using the materials and rotate through using them. The group that goes first is always called the "lucky" bunch because they get to use the new materials first. After using the new materials, students always ask to use them again and again. They are quickly becoming favorites at play time!

  Thanks to your giving, we are able to use these materials throughout the year and integrate them with not only our building theme, but with animals, movement and science to name a few other areas. My students are eager to learn, engaged in what they are doing and enjoy coming and being at school where they are having opportunities for hands-on, developmentally appropriate activities to support their learning.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Casey

  This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and one other donor.