Past projects 5
Winter Shoes For Preschoolers
Funded Jan 9, 2024Thank you so, so much for providing the funding for this DonorsChoose project that helped our preschoolers get much-needed shoes!
For all children, shoes are - of course - a necessary staple for school. Your generosity has helped so many of our young learners get new shoes that they can learn and grow in. Our school is in a socioeconomic diverse area of New Jersey, so being able to help our students' families provide this much-needed item is a huge help for many. So thank you again, for your generous support and funding with this project!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Steph
This classroom project was brought to life by The Tepper Foundation.Drawing & Writing For Preschoolers
Funded Nov 7, 2023Thank you so, so much for helping bring these AMAZING drawing materials to my students!
In preschool, we do so many activities to help students build fine motor, drawing, and writing skills. And these LCD drawing boards are a great tool to help in their learning. And they are quickly becoming a favorite way to write and draw in my classroom! Now it is so much easier for my students to draw and write in all areas of our classroom, and during multiple parts of the day. For example, many of my preschoolers now love to draw on the drawing boards during story time - so not only are they getting book knowledge skills while listening to the story time book, but they are also practicing those book skills while supporting their fine motor development.
Thank you again for your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Steph
Preschool Communication: Translating Language To Support Student And Staff Interactions
Funded Sep 11, 2023Thank you so, so much for helping bring the PocketTalk technology device into my preschool classroom!
The PocketTalk has been an invaluable tool to help me communicate with my students whose home language is not English. This school year, I have nine 3-4 year old students whose primary language is not English, with five different languages being used. The PocketTalk allows me to translate lessons, conversations, and directions seemlessly for all of these dual language learners! And my preschoolers can even use it to translate their speech into English for other students and class staff. I have also used the PocketTalk to communite with students' families and during Parent-Teacher Conferences, helping me better build a home-school connection with all families.
Thank you again for your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Steph
This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares.Giving the Gift of Books, Storytelling, and Language to Preschool
Funded May 29, 2022Thank you so, so much for donating to my students' literacy materials project! Because of your generosity, we were able to provide each of my preschool students with books, story props, and toys related to the book. These books and props are going such a long way into encouraging a love of reading with these little learners, and the additional learning toys are supporting their language and literacy development and fine motor skills.
So thank you, thank you, thank you for giving the gift of books, storytelling, and language to my preschoolers!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Steph
Preschool Remote Learning Materials - Materials For Success
Funded Dec 20, 2020From both myself and my preschoolers I want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU so very much for your generosity in donating to my class's Remote Learning Materials project! Because of your donations, my students were able to receive SO many supplies that have been a huge help in their virtual learning. They have all received much needed learning necessities - like construction paper, doodle pads, crayons, markers, and blocks - and exciting hands-on materials - including pattern block sets, playdoh cutters, geoboards, shape links, and toy counters!
Of course, my preschoolers have been extremely excited and eager to use these materials continually during our virtual learning. And my students' families have been very thankful for all the new supplies, and they have done amazing about using these materials with their children to support their learning.
As a whole, the materials that you were able to provide my students by donating to this DonorsChoose project have made a HUGE impact on my virtual classroom. And individually, these materials have become some of my students' favorites to use during our daily lessons. My classroom assistant and I have incorporated these learning materials into our daily lessons regularly - both in our daily lessons and during live virtual meetings with students. (And we know our little learners love using these materials at home as well - even when it is not for a specific lesson. After all, preschoolers learn through play!) Because of all of this, my students have been able to engage in meaningful, hands-on learning in multiple content areas.
Some examples of how we have used these materials include:
-Using the letter cutters to create letters and build words with playdoh, which allows students to practice skills related to letter identification, phonological awareness, print concepts, writing, and fine motor development.
-Practicing math and art skills with foam shapes. Some examples of how we have used these foam shapes: as 'sprinkles' on paper cookies where students needed to sort, describe, and count the shapes as they decorated their cookies; in conjunction with recycled art projects during Week Of The Young Child; creating 'pattern paths' with the shapes.
-Creating patterns with the shape links, which allows them to work on fine motor skills, sorting, patterning, shape recognition, and counting.
-Sorting and counting with the toy counters - an essential activity in developing math skills.
-Building with wooden blocks, which support students' spatial awareness, hand-eye coordination, math skills (including comparisons and measurement), problem-solving skills, and creativity.
-Examining blocks and shape cutters to find, examine, and discuss 2D and 3D shapes.
-Creating 'shape pictures' with the pattern blocks in many ways - including with the picture cards purchased through this project, independent shape pictures based on students' interests and current learning themes, and to build 'characters' during Read Across America Week.
-Making 'Letter Soup' with the letter cutters so that students have additional opportunities to practice letter knowledge and explore 3D letter toys
-The letter cutters have also been a virtual resource for me and my students at story time, where we use them as 3D props to go along with books we are reading.
-Building shapes with geoboards to extend fine motor skills, shape knowledge, spatial awareness, and connecting verbal expression to math skill building.
-Writing and drawing for sign in, small group times, large group times, and story times using their paper, crayons, chalk, and markers - which of course is an essential and daily task for our preschoolers so that they can express their ideas, representations, and creativity while growing in multiple content areas.
....and these are just some of the ways we have been using the materials purchased through this project!!
As you can see, your donation to this project of Virtual Learning Materials has made a massive impact on my virtual classroom and my students - we now have so many educationally valuable and interactive materials to use in our daily lessons and virtual meetings! Without you and your generosity, this project could not have been funded. So again - thank you so, so much for providing these materials to my preschoolers!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Steph
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 18 other donors.