Past projects 13
Seat Sacks to the Rescue!
Funded May 9, 2022Wow! Prior to the end of the previous school year I was so amazed and grateful to our generous donors for supporting my Seat Sack Project! I had seen in another kinder class how a colleague had used these wonderful seat sacks to organize her students. After seeing how her students were able to use this wonderful organizational tool, I knew I had found the answer to keeping my students organized!
It was so refreshing to set up my class room with these seat sacks! My students were thrilled and have found these to be very easy to use! Many had seen these seat sacks in their Big Buddy classes and now they too were just like their Big Buddies!
My students rotate throughout the day from centers to small group activities so they often go back to their "home base" to switch out their materials. These seat sacks are large enough to hold all their materials too! No more mashed up papers or lost books!
Also, they now have plenty of room to work on their tables!
Thank you for your generous donation”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Burgess
This classroom project was brought to life by Chevron and 6 other donors.Kindergarteners Going the Distance With Their Learning Kits!
Funded Oct 23, 2020I would like to thank our generous donors for donating to my project " Kindergarteners Going the Distance." I would have never imagined that when I left my classroom on March 13th, 2020 that a year later I would be continuing to teach in a virtual environment! I must say without the support of Donors Choose my students would not be receiving a high quality and engaging education! There is simply no way that our school, nor myself would have been able to provide all these wonderful learning tools (ranging from timers to build their fluency, cards and dice for math games, plastic sleeves and journals for writing activities) to sustain my students' learning as they go the distance!
Every three weeks I do a "Packet/Supply Pick Up" Day and my students cannot wait to drive through to pick up their work and goodies! Then each day in our virtual class they do an incredible job getting out any of the materials that we need to use.
My own teaching skills have grown tenfold through this virtual learning situation! I never thought I would be able to offer such creative, hands on and engaging activities virtually!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Burgess
This classroom project was brought to life by Chevron and one other donor.Collaboration Table Will Enable Learning in Kindergarten Part 2
Funded Oct 26, 2020Thank you to our generous donors for donating to my "Collaboration Tables" Project.
I was in dire need of appropriate furniture for my kinders. When we were in "regular" school, my students would sit at these large desks with their legs dangling! I would often just see their eyes over their desks! I was in need of 5 flower petal shaped tables so my students would be able to work and play together. Now this will become a reality when we eventually return to school!
In addition to having these unique tables, my students will be able to work on their reading readiness skills by using these Matching Beginning Phonics Games and Magnetic Short Vowel Word Boards. These hands on activities will really promote a sense of fun while learning together while my students learn to interact in person with one another!
Although they are doing a wonderful job with Distance Learning, they cannot wait to come to school! When we return they will be walking into a unique learning space filled with engaging activities!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Burgess
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In.Collaboration Tables Will Enable Learning in Kindergarten Part 3.
Funded Oct 19, 2020I would like to thank our generous donors for contributing to my "Collaborations Tables" Project. Prior to Distance Learning, my classroom was filled with a "mixed matched" assortment of furniture that was not kinder age appropriate, but my students did the best they could do-often sitting on their knees to reach the table tops! Also, I had spent many years teaching in upper primary, I did not have many hands on kinder activities to engage my students so I was very excited to receive the complete set of Matching Beginning Phonics Games and the Magnetic Short Vowel Word Boards.
When we return, my students will be so happy to sit together (with sneeze shields on the tables)to work, chat and engage around these unique flower petal shaped tables while engaging in these fun learning activities!
Right now my young students are doing a great job with Distance Learning, but so often they remark that they want to get together to "make friends!" Even though they get lots of opportunities to chat in our virtual class, it's just not the same! These tables and activities will greatly enhance their ability to develop their social and academic skills while working in an appropriate setting.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Burgess
This classroom project was brought to life by Chevron and one other donor.Collaboration Tables Will Enable Learning in Kindergarten Part 1
Funded Oct 16, 2020I would like to thank the generous donors for contributing to my "Collaboration Tables" Project. When I started at my school last year, my classroom was filled with an odd assortment of furniture that was not suited for kindergarten. I spent a great deal of time rebuilding and painting furniture that was salvageable. When I saw these unique flower petal shaped tables in another class, I decided to create this project. We have not been able to return to school this year, but when we do return, I am so excited for my students to be able to work and play sitting around these unique flower petal shaped tables. Also, these tables will be able to accommodate the required "sneeze shields" so my students can sit around the tables to work. These tables really make my room feel like a kinder room and not a storage room!
I can only imagine how my students will react when they see these wonderful tables! When we return from Distance Learning, this will be the first "regular" school experience for my students so I hope to create that extra special, memorable room environment for them.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Burgess
This classroom project was brought to life by Chevron and 3 other donors.Kindergarten Room Makeover for Activity and Reading Time
Funded Oct 5, 2020I would like to thank the generous donors for supporting my Kindergarten Room Makeover Project. When I arrived last year at my school, the classroom contained an odd assortment of leftover furniture that was not conducive to a kindergarten class. Gradually I was able to sort out and discard some furniture while rolling up my sleeves to rebuild, sand and paint other pieces. The petal shaped table is perfect for small group and will allow my students to work together. Also, this table is just the right size so my students will not be needing to sit on their knees to boost themselves up enough to the table top to work. Also, the bookcase will be perfect to house lots of engaging books and learning center games for my students to use. Finally, the two sets of folders will allow my student to organize their work.
Since we have not be able to return to school this year, I can only imagine how my students will react to their new work table, bookcase and own folders! They will feel just like the "big kids!" I can just picture them chatting, sharing and working together! I truly miss this interaction with my students! They are doing a wonderful job with Distance Learning, but we are counting the days til we are able to return! Returning to a fresh, renewed classroom will really allow us to start anew after this most challenging time!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Burgess
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In.Keep Kindergartners Learning During Distance Learning Time
Funded Jul 15, 2020Through your generous donations my kindergarten students were able to start their
Distance Learning 2020 School Year on a positive note! For most of my students this is their first experience with formal school and to have to start the year by being online was a huge let down for them. For many this would have been the first time to go to school with their older siblings and to have their very own desk and school supplies. However, with these materials, my students were able to create their own "work from home" office space. Not only were they able to create their own work space with their supplies, they are able to be always "work ready" to complete any of our academic or art tasks online.
To get the materials into my students hands, I had made special "school" bags filled with these items. Then right before school started, I had my students drive through our school main lot on the first day of school to get their materials. This was so exciting since many families decorated their cars and I got to seem students in person! We even took some quick masked back to school student teacher photos! They were so thrilled
to receive their supplies which made them feel so "grown up" just like their older siblings and friends!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Burgess
This classroom project was brought to life by Kleenex® Brand and 3 other donors.Building with Picasso Magnet Tiles and Marble Run Set
Funded May 6, 2020I am very excited about receiving this project donation! The Picasso Tiles and the Marble Run will be a wonderful addition to my Kindergarten Choice Time. In the past, my students have enjoyed creating and building with these unique magnetic tiles. Not
only is the magnetic aspect fun to create with, but the various vibrant colors are engag-
ing too! The Marble Run is a fun addition to any STEM based classroom! The students
will enjoy building, readjusting and making predictions through the use of this activity.
Unfortunately our classroom is in the Distance Learning mode and my new kinder
students have not had the opportunity to see and play with these unique items. This will
be a wonderful treat for them when we do eventually get to return to our classroom!
I love to use these items for STEM based learning opportunities. It is fun to see
how they use the tiles to create and test out their ideas with the Marble Run! Many
of my students do not have access at home to basic learning tools, including crayons,
play dough and blocks which are very basic items that help to promote creativity and build fine motor skills, as well as increasing language skills as they socially interact.
Thank you again for your generous donation!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Burgess
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 5 other donors.Let's Celebrate! Read Across America in Our Kindergarten Room!
Funded Mar 2, 2020I would like to thank you for your generous donation to my class. I teach 25 lively, eager kindergarteners who love being read to. Throughout the day I read an average of 3 -4 books a day aloud to them. I use a variety of fiction and non fiction books to tie into our daily or weekly themes in language arts, science and social studies. I believe it is essential for my students to be exposed to a wide variety of genres and types of text to build their vocabulary and understanding.
Besides, using some of the selected books as teacher read alouds, my students are reading on their own many of the Dr. Seuss books. These books are perfect for my students to practice reading various consonant vowel consonant words, as well as developing their awareness to the rhythm and rhyming patterns found in these fun stories. They love reading them over and over to build their fluency and expression.
It's fun to see my students during quiet reading time stretch out on the carpet and share reading these stories to their friends!
Finally, as my students are becoming confident readers, they read weekly with their sixth grade Big Buddies and complete comprehension related activities.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Burgess
This classroom project was brought to life by A group of anonymous donors and 2 other donors.Fabulous Books for Kindergarten Readers!
Funded Oct 21, 2019You have given the gift of reading to my Kinders! For many of my students this is their first real "reading" experience since I teach in a high poverty area where my students do not readily have reading materials available to them in their home and community. I have selected a variety of books to be read aloud to the whole class which have wonderful pictures, fun and easy to understand story lines with rich vocabulary. Also, I have chosen some old favorites that are great decodable books for those emergent readers to be able to read independently.
We have daily story time where my students eagerly gather to listen to our stories. As I read I enjoy asking questions to develop their oral comprehension. They love to predict what will come next!
My students have enjoyed reading the Miss Nelson series and the If You Give A Mouse A... series by Laura Numeroff. They have fun retelling and predicting what will happen next. Then they try to "read" the repetitive story frames over and over and they are so proud to read to the class!
Again thank you for allowing me to build my kinder class library.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Burgess
This classroom project was brought to life by Montgomery Family Foundation and 2 other donors.