Past projects 9
Sturdy Art Easel
Funded Nov 19, 2023My students were thrilled with the new easel. Our old easel had broken and we had no easy vertical surface to paint or draw on. One of my students had been able to flip our old plastic easel, so a solid wooden easel was ideal in my preschool classroom. The solid wood construction also means my students do not try to push it all around the classroom or climb under it!
Our new easel has a whiteboard surface so they can use dry erase markers or paper to paint on. Having vertical surfaces to write/draw on is very helpful for preschool students learning to write! Thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Doyle
Easy to See Book Storage
Funded Apr 3, 2023This library cart has made ALL of my books more accessible to my students. I have always had a smaller bookshelf with seasonally appropriate books available, but most of my children's books were shoved on a large bookshelf. Having this library cart enables the students to see cover art instead of spines. It is also easier for them to pull one book (instead of pulling one book and having an avalanche of books follow.) I assembled this last school year, but did not put into use until this year. My new class started Monday and the students have already utilized the shelf independently multiple times.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Doyle
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great®.Books and Puzzles
Funded Apr 7, 2021Early in this school year, I did a different project for books and materials for virtual learning. I anticipated a faster return to normality than we got. My students came back in person, but we were not able to share materials as we once did and I needed thematic books for the rest of the school year. This project provided each of my students with their own copy of books as well as individual puzzles.
My students were thrilled when our books arrived and they love following along and turning the pages in their own books while I read a master copy. The students also loved having a greater variety of materials to use when playing in our classroom. Thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Doyle
Safer Play Spaces
Funded Apr 7, 2021Thank you so much for your generous donations. I was able to create a special basketball corner for a student who is learning to walk unassisted for longer periods of time. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and half his body has some form of muscle paralysis. He currently uses a wheel chair and other mobility devices (walker and stander) to assist with longer distance travel in our school building. Basketball is his free time, he has a sincere love for shooting baskets even if he is not always steady on his feet.
Using the fence and foam tiles, we were able to create a corner of the gym where he can shoot hoops in a space where bikes and other more mobile students cannot knock him down, and if he falls while shooting hoops he has foam tiles rather than hard tile beneath him.
Because he has suffered a traumatic brain injury in the past, we want to do our very best to safeguard him from simple head trauma caused by hitting his head on hard tile when he looses his balance. Basketball is his love, and I am so pleased we were able to make it safer. We also often have students with mobility issues at our school, so this space will be able to be utilized by others in the future.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Doyle
Adaptive Skills
Funded Apr 19, 2021The materials purchased with this project directly impacted one of my students who has a diagnosis of a traumatic brain injury. He has poor eye hand coordination which impacts his daily life and the games purchased are already helping him to increase his fine motor skills.
The adapted feeding materials have made an enormous impact on feeding times. All of his food must be cut into small pieces and having a deep divided dish with special utensils that can be adapted for lefties has greatly improved his independence in self feeding. We eat breakfast and lunch at school daily, so increasing independence is important!
The special cups are also amazing. He was unable to use an open cup and he is not really a fan of drinking anyways. These cups look just like normal cups and he has increased his water and drink intake since we got them. We even sent one home so he can practice using the cup when he is not in school!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Doyle
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and one other donor.Thematic Books for All!
Funded Oct 29, 2020This project made my students so happy! Our district mandates a thematic book for each month of the year. As a teacher, I was given one copy of each book which was fine for in person situations but less than ideal in a virtual classroom. My students did not have physical copies of the books that the district chose so they had to rely on looking at a screen for a book. As a lifelong reader, I know that there is nothing quite as awesome as having a physical book in your hands. My students were so delighted to receive these beautiful picture books so that they can follow along as I read on the computer.
One of my students has a cortical visual impairment, so having a book to manipulate and examine closely is amazing. He also recently learned a new word! He says, "Read." and he he means that he wants to hold the book himself while I read the story. Stories on the screen just are not as easy for him.
Another of my students is in a foster care situation, so having things that are just for him is also an important step. Thank you so much! I need to order more, our district is still virtual and I only got thematic books through February! Your generosity has made a direct impact on my students lives.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Doyle
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Donor and 6 other donors.Virtual Learning & Classroom Storage
Funded Oct 15, 2020I happily received storage bins for my classroom. I was able to utilize the larger bins to store materials which freed up bins to use for students to have private bins for play materials. We are still virtual, so the bins are not in full use yet. I was able to immediately utilize smaller storage bins for manipulatives that I sent home in December.
I am most excited for the Starfall membership. We use Starfall.com daily in our virtual lessons, and the membership gives me access to the full website. The membership also allows my students to use Starfall at home without me. One of my students tells me every day that he has Starfall on his kindle too. He also has learned some favorite games that we will play together in one on virtual sessions. He is not always a fan of whole group sessions, but his mom told me he was ready a full 30 minutes before our last session. He was ready to play a game!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Doyle
Help Give my Students Access to Printed Visuals.
Funded Sep 16, 2020Because of your kind and generous donation, I have been able to deliver 2 sets of choice visuals as well as a visual schedule for a student who required more personalized assistance. I am working on the 3rd batch now that includes an interactive Wh-question book for each student to use at home. I am very grateful my package included ink refills, as I am already out of black ink!
My students have learned how to make a choice from a field of at least 6, pull the picture, and turn it to face the camera to show me their choice. This is invaluable because many of my students are non-verbal or speak with such quiet utterances that a microphone cannot truly convey their thoughts.
I have also been able to help create visuals for a fellow teacher to assist her with her students making choices. I could not have done this without your assistance!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Doyle
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose 20th Anniversary Fund and 2 other donors.Mini-Scientists at Work
Funded Aug 23, 2019Our class truly loved the materials that you helped to purchase. In the past we have used taped together TP rolls as binoculars, and now we have REAL binoculars to explore our classroom and the world outside our classroom door. We already regularly fed birds, but now we have stuffed birds that are just like the ones we see in our area regularly. Having an actual lab coat in kid size is also awesome. The science center has always been a favorite, and having extra materials so that more than one student can use the microscope or binoculars is awesome.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Doyle
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 3 other donors.