Ms. Duarte's Classroom Edit display name

Current requests

Past projects 8

• A Sensory Oasis For Super Students!

  Funded Sep 20, 2024

  Thank you so much for making this project possible for my fantastic student!

  We received our project materials last month and my students have been using the supplies daily. For instance, they have enjoyed the half-balance ball to work their core muscle and challenge their bodies while playing tossing games during an obstacle course. The swivel sensory spinning chair and fidgets have been a hit! They have been using these items to help them feel more relaxed and prepare their bodies before engaging in academic work. Finally, the maze toys, sensory bottles, and liquid motion bubblers have been a great addition to the self-regulation and emotional regulation center. The students explored the various items and engaged in discussions about feelings. The liquid motion bubblers in particular have been popular items. The kids think they are very cool and mesmerizing!

  Thanks again for your kindness and support.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Duarte

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation and 4 other donors.

• Build, Play, and Write!

  Funded May 8, 2024

  It is with my deepest gratitude that I submit this impact letter. Your kindness and willingness to give towards the "Buil, Play, and Write!" project have made a significant difference to my students. For instance, the Tetra tower stack game, Wooden peg board beads, and colorful wooden stacking game has help my students improve their fine motor control, finger strength, and visual skills to support their ability to engage in writing activities. These games have been helpful to teach problem-solving skills, color and size concepts. Likewise, the Wooden spelling game has been a hit! My students have enjoyed completing each word challenge card while increasing their vocabulary and visual skills.

  Thank you again for your kind and generous donations. We are very appreciative!!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Duarte

  This classroom project was brought to life by Valhalla Foundation.

• Building Writing and Problem-solving Skills While Having Fun!

  Funded Jan 17, 2024

  It is with my deepest gratitude that I submit this impact letter. Your kindness and willingness to give towards the "Building Writing and Problem-solving Skills While having fun!" project have made a significant difference to my students. For instance, the Montessori Slide Puzzle Colors & Shapes and I Spy Dig in Game have helped my students improve their fine motor control, finger strength, and visual skills to support their ability to engage in writing activities. Similarly, the Montessori Stacking Toys Burger Puzzle and the LiKee Wooden Pattern Blocks Jigsaw Puzzle Montessori Toy Sorting have been a hit! My students have enjoyed completing each challenge card and take pride in their work. Some of their comments were, "I like this game", "This is a cool game"

  Thank you again for your kind and generous donations. We are very appreciative!!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Duarte

  This classroom project was brought to life by Someone who cares about New York City and one other donor.

• Puzzles and Games to Stimulate Little Brains: Part 1

  Funded Jan 27, 2024

  It is with my deepest gratitude that I submit this impact letter. Your kindness and willingness to give towards the "Puzzles and Games to Stimulate Little Brains: Part 1" project have made a significant difference to my students. Before we engage in writing activities, my students have had the opportunity to engage in games using the donated supplies. For instance, the wooden color shape sorting toy and the Montessori screwdriver set have helped my students improve their fine motor control and finger strength to support their ability to hold writing tools adequately. Similarly, the Future Coders game and the Picasso Tiles have been a hit! My students have enjoyed completing each challenge card and take pride in their work. Some of their comments were, "Ms. Duarte I like this game", "I am good at this game"

  Thank you again for your kind and generous donations. We are very appreciative!!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Duarte

• Help my Students Build Strength, Endurance, and Coordination

  Funded Aug 2, 2023

  It is with my deepest gratitude that I submit this impact letter. Your kindness and willingness to give towards the "Help my students build strength, endurance, and coordination" project have made a significant difference to my students. Before we engage in writing or fine motor activities, my students have had the opportunity to engage in games using the donated supplies. For instance, the trampoline has helped students who need to calm their bodies down and sit to complete the activities provided. Also, the Alphabet magnet puzzle is helping my kindergarten student identify letters and place them in a correct sequence. This has been an activity they enjoy as they can also see words that start with a particular letter when using other mats. Finally, the wooden puzzles were a hit! My students were able to build each puzzle with just the right challenge!! These puzzles progressed from easy to hard so my students were very happy to see their own progress after completing each one. Some of their comments were, "Ms. Duarte I like this game", "I am good at this game"

  Thank you again for your kind and generous donations. We are very appreciative!!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Duarte

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and one other donor.

• Home learning supplies

  Funded Dec 29, 2020

  The COVID-19 pandemic has brought some challenges and opportunities as well, pushing my creativity and resourcefulness to another level. Since March 2020, I have been able to support caregivers and students from my school in various ways. I have been using household items (e.g., rolls of toilet paper, egg cartons, cotton balls, etc.) along with limited supplies (e.g., pencil, paper, colors/markers/crayons), which have restricted learning to some extent.

  The home learning supplies provided to my students have been overwhelming and amazing. My students were very excited when they received the bags of supplies. The tactile letters and numbers have been very helpful in increasing letter identification and formation, particularly for the students who struggle with reversals. The students have been very engaged and enthusiastic when they are asked to build words using the letter tiles and writing sentences using the magic board. The impact of having supplies that spark curiosity and promote engagement while having fun has been remarkable!

  From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your generosity!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Duarte

  This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and one other donor.

• Enhanced Teletherapy Environment For My Students

  Funded Dec 18, 2020

  The technology devices provided to my students are owned by the NYC DOE and most features are locked impacting the students' ability to interact during the occupational therapy sessions through activities such as virtual games. In an attempt to make the sessions more therapeutic, I had used my cellphone to join the google meet again and be able to demonstrate activities that I could not otherwise if using the internal camera from my Chromebook. This temporary solution was not the most ideal since it often impacted the internet quality due to the number of devices being connected simultaneously.

  The impact of having the external camera, headset, ring light, and laminator has been amazing. My students have had better visual demonstrations of various activities (e.g., letter formation, cutting, drawing, etc.) by being able to have a better view of the different movements required to accomplish each task through the use of the external camera. Additionally, since many of my students are remote learners, this means they may learning alongside siblings and parents who are also working remotely impacting the quality of the sound during the sessions and making it difficult to communicate. Well, this is no longer an issue. Since the headset has a noise cancellation feature, it helps block unrelated background noise improving the quality of our communication. The light ring has been also very helpful in supporting visual attention to areas I want the students to focus on during educational instructions. Low lighting significantly impacts the level of arousal of the students.

  From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your generosity!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Duarte

• Interactive Occupational Teletherapy for My Students

  Funded Aug 13, 2020

  I have been using the iPad to upload worksheets and digital handwriting books into the GoodNotes App I purchased. Along with the stylus, they have allowed me to explain and demonstrate good handwriting habits (e.g., spacing, alignment, letter formation) in a more meaningful way, as I have been able to upload samples of paper from composition notebooks and sheet they usually utilize in the classroom.

  Additionally, my students have been able to participate in activities to strengthen their visual skills, eye hand coordination, and cognition. For instance, we have used word sheets to identify similarities and differences in pictures, demonstrate drawings, relationships amongst objects, etc. in a more efficient manner. In the past, I had to instruct my students to count the pictures and point at items in PDF files I presented using my Chromebook, in order to let me know which item they were referring to when making a selection. Now, I am able to use the stylus in GoodNotes to label pictures, write numbers, make edits, and draw pictures while using different colors and/or highlighting sections to call attention to specific areas to improve their performance during occupational therapy sessions.

  Overall, these devices have been making a big difference in my sessions!! I can't thank you enough for your generosity.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Duarte

  This classroom project was brought to life by Kleenex Brand and 2 other donors.