Past projects 200
Inspired Kids Target(ing) Smoothies for Health and Fitness
Funded Oct 4, 2016Dear education supporters,
My fourth grade students live in a very diverse community and come to me with varied experiences. I believe that it is my responsibility to provide them with as many tools as possible to level the playing field so that they can compete in this world. All of them are eligible for free breakfast and lunch but less than half actually drink the white milk that is provided with the meals. That is why your donation and support are so important. My kids need to drink that milk so they have a "full meal".
The two blenders, mini refrigerator, protein powder, cookbooks for smoothies and composition books have arrived. My kids, even the "non readers" are pouring over the recipe books and trying to find tasty recipes to try out. After we find the recipes, we vote on what we want to try. I buy a few extra ingredients, we put it in the blender and we taste! If kids like it, they write the recipe in their composition book to keep.
So far, we have made three different smoothies. The milk just keeps on coming—every morning after breakfast we get 30 cartons. Some days we just drink the milk with a small snack but on other days, we make the smoothies. The kids all agree that those are the best days.
Thanks for donating and giving my kids their best days ever. One kid said that PE used to be the reason he came to school but now it is the smoothies.”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
This classroom project was brought to life by Target and 3 other donors.Avoiding Those Back-to-School-Blues by Knowing the Rules
Funded Sep 22, 2016Dear Donors,
Of all the areas in schools, libraries are often the most neglected. Your generous donation and support of our project enabled me to put over forty wonderful books into the hands of my kindergarten students. They now can begin their journey toward an understanding of school rules, libraries and reading.
The books are colorful, thought provoking and fun to read. They include Manners with a Library Book; Manners on the Playground; Voices are Not for Yelling; and my personal favorite, Splat the Cat and the Late Library Book. We have read and discussed the books during library time. Students have checked out the books to take home and re-read. Now, other teachers at other grade levels are asking to borrow the books.
Your donation has had a big impact on my library classroom and on our school community.
Thank you for your support.”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
Running for Picture Book President With Help From Target
Funded Aug 18, 2016Dear friends,
Somehow words cannot really convey how grateful I am to each of you for your support of my Running for Picture Book President With Help From Target Project. I was so excited to learn that our project was funded and I could not wait to tell my students. They were equally thrilled.
The special pedometers/ MP3 players, chargers, headphones and the books have arrived. We read the books together and discussed the qualities of a good picture books president. Then as you can see from the pictures my first graders made posters for their specific candidate.
My students took turns checking out the pedometers for a day. They walked and recorded their step/data on candidate charts. I have to tell you that right now it is a tight race.
My kids are so excited about "voting" with their steps and they are a little concerned that on November 8 the election will be over but they are planning a new challenge for "best picture book".
Thank you so much for helping my kids. They are walking and learning--what could be better!”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
This classroom project was brought to life by Target and 2 other donors.Kid-Inspired Healthy Cooking
Funded Aug 10, 2016Dear friends,
The stove and cook books have arrived and my fifth graders are so excited to finally be able to start to learn how to cook. I made a tiny mistake and did not request measuring cups, bowls and some other essential things but we are working around that. Students are trying to figure out and problem solve what to do.
I brought a few things in and am shopping at a nearby thrift store. Kids wrote notes and put up posters in the building and now other teachers are getting into the act by cleaning their cupboards at home and bringing in things for us to use.
This support from the rest of the school is an unexpected consequence –it is helping to build a sense of community.
Thank you so much for making this possible for my kids.”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
This classroom project was brought to life by Target and one other donor.What Can Fourth Graders Do To Get Moving ?
Funded Sep 9, 2016The storage unit; basketballs, volleyballs and soccer balls; wonderful books about sports, getting fit and the Olympics; and the Amazon Echo have arrived. My fourth graders were so delighted when the boxes arrived. It was almost like a birthday party in the library. We borrowed a pump to inflate the balls. We have shared some of the books and kids checked out others.
We are learning how to use the Echo. We have established rules and have managed to get it working. We are using it to provide music when we do Tai Chi in the library during lunch.
My students want to make healthy choices and thanks to your support they are learning how to do so.
Thank you so very much, this is going to be an awesome year.”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
This classroom project was brought to life by Target and one other donor.Just the Right Height: Stools for Computer Stations
Funded Aug 24, 2016Wow! The stools have arrived and my students and I agree—they are perfect!
Now my small "class" of five English as a Second Language Learners who come to the library to work with me on the computers are able to sit and work in comfort.
My other students who use the library computers for quick facts or to look for a title are able to get on and off the computers in a timely fashion. The stools have made the computers accessible for all my students. They are exactly the right height.
Thanks for your help and support.”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
This classroom project was brought to life by Quill.com and 4 other donors.Take a Pick: Who Is Your Author Favorite?
Funded Aug 25, 2016The new, clean copies of the 15 wonderful picture books and three lovable book characters have arrived and have been adopted my first grade library students. The books I selected for this project are a variety of classics that team a simple, straightforward plot structure with colorful vocabulary, a strong storytelling sense and well-developed characters. My students love Tomie DePaola's Strega Nona; Willie, the dog from Keats' Whistle for Willie; and Peter from Snowy Day.
The books and characters that you helped to fund are helping me create interest and excitement in reading. We are reading the books by Caldecott Award winning authors and illustrators. We are studying the use of color, the choice of words and the construction of setting/atmosphere. My students are learning how to draw the characters and soon they will be making their own stories.
Thank you so very much for helping to fund my project.”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 4 other donors.From Silly to Serious: Fourth Graders Want to Learn Programming
Funded Aug 25, 2016Awesome! This is so cool! Where can I get one? I want to tell my dad about it so maybe I can get one for my birthday! These are just a few of the comments from my kids.
My fourth graders were so excited when we opened the boxes and saw the Wonder Workshop Dash and Dot Robot Pack and the Osmo coding set. The next day the book about coding games arrived. Then on Friday, the Ricky Ricotta books were delivered. My kids were hooked.
We are reading about Ricky and slowly learning how to code. I say slowly because I have to do a little bit of pre-coding so I do not look too foolish. Actually, the kids are delighted to teach me how to code and i am happy to have them take center stage in the room.
I am so delighted to see them work together that I have been inspired to sing up for Girls Code so that we can have a club for girls during lunch. I have some folks from the university who are going to come and help.
I have to say—I think my students had it right when they said it was awesome! Thank you so much for supporting this project. You made our year a whole lot brighter.”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 5 other donors.Battle of the Books Alaskan Style
Funded Jul 9, 2016Dear donors,
You cannot see it but I have a huge smile on my face. I know that you cannot see it but my students have even bigger smiles on their faces. We are smiling because the books for this project have arrived.
We opened the boxes and drooled over all the books. There are 30 wonderful books like Dory Fantasmagory, A Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans, and my new favorite, The Year of the Book. All the books look great but we voted and selected The Worm Whisperer as our first lunch read aloud. We just learned that all our students are eligible for free breakfast and lunch so I expect to see lots of kids bringing their lunch to the library.
I can report that Battle of the Books is off to a great start. My students are eager to participate. They all have lunches. It doesn't get much better than this.
Thank you for helping my kids.”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
InfyMaker: We are Makers and Creators of Tomorrow!
Funded May 12, 2016Dear folks,
My creative group of 4th and 5th grade ELL (English Language Learner) students are so excited. They have started creating animated math movies to teach basic math concepts to other kids.
The HUE Animation Studio, Zing StikBot action figures sets, Stopmotion Explosion kits with cameras and books, a Stikbot starter kit, and the studio-3 kits are perfect. My kids "read" the direction and then assembled the equipment and began to use it to make short animated movies.
Your donation helped them learn storyboarding, digital storytelling, stop action animation, and green screen techniques. And yes, they are learning more math concepts.
Thank you for helping kids who do not have much access to technology outside of school.
One of my kids told me that this is a "perfect" project.”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.