Past projects 16
Hoopin' it up at the Big P!
Funded Oct 31, 2024Happy Friday! We have been inside this week for PE and recess because of the cold and wet weather in Louisiana. Needless to say the equipment from this project came in handy this week!!
The basketball goals were a HUGE hit! We had so many kids saying "I made it" or "Watch me shoot it Mrs. Soprano"!! The look on their faces every time they made it made my heart melt!
The baskets to store all the balls made life easier for us!! And the microphone saved my voice!
It is truly the little things in life that can make not only kids, but adults so happy! Thank you both again for believing in me and supporting our school!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Soprano
Quack Quacking in PE!
Funded Nov 19, 2023Who would have thought that rubber ducks could be so much fun? To start it all off Max our school Elf on the Shelf was caught hiding in the ducks before the Christmas break!! As if that wasn't enough excitement when we were able to finally use them in a game inside the students went CRAZY!! And yes, at least 20 of them asked if Max was still in there!!
I printed out cards with pictures of the ducks and each team had to choose 5 cards and then in relay style go and find their ducks. This was hilarious and the kids loved it!! Then the next time we played they could go and collect any duck they wanted for a certain time period. Then I randomly chose pictures of ducks and awarded extra points to the team that had the specific duck. This was just as much fun!
I let them use them in stations on the 100th day of school where they could use them while building with 100 cups!
I am already brainstorming other ways to use them. To say thank you doesn't seem enough, but I will say it nonetheless...THANK YOU! Thank you for your unending support for my creative ways to get kids to move!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Soprano
Scan and Go
Funded Aug 25, 2016Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope this note finds you well. I am enjoying a little break from the busyness of school for a couple of weeks.
Our running program has always been a big deal at Prairie. But since this project was funded and we added technology, it has taken our program to a new level! The students thrive on using the iPads to record their laps.
Let me explain the program a little bit to help you understand it better. Each student is given their very own bar code and every time they complete a lap on the track they get it scanned at the iPad station. The program gives them a little verbal encouragement each time it is scanned. They patiently wait to see what it has to tell them each time! At the end of the day we sync the laps and we then have an accurate count of each students laps. It is amazing the amount of time we save by not having to calculate all the data by hand! And I personally think they run more laps just to hear the iPad talk to them! So all in all...it's a WIN WIN! Thank you again for supporting me and helping my students strive to be the best they can be!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Soprano
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and one other donor.A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That!!
Funded Dec 1, 2015Please know that as you are receiving this thank you note 3 months after I received my items that it by no means diminishes the joy I felt when I received it! The spring semester always seems to be a blur with so many things going on!
Now that I am done with my excuses, my students have been having a blast with our new equipment! We have used the beanbags for our target toss game, we were able to play the Halfpint skillastics game with both of our classes while inside for PE and we used the animal beanbags for our bingo game.
Thank you for your generosity! And thank you for being patient (and hopefully understanding) about the lateness of your thank you package. Best wishes to you both!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Soprano
Let's KEEP Them Moving!
Funded Sep 15, 2015Happy New Year to you both! As the cold, rainy weather is upon us in Louisiana our PE classes are being moved all around. Some inside and some get the chance to go outside. Having the new ipod makes my teaching life a little easier! My students love to request songs for me to play during their PE classes. The students have gotten so used to having music with their activities that when we don't take the speaker out, they question us continually!
Your generosity continues to overwhelm me! From all the students at Prairie Elementary, we send you a heartfelt THANK YOU!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Soprano
Project my PE!
Funded Apr 24, 2014What a busy start to a school year! I hope you are all not offended by the timeliness of my thank you package! I am still overwhelmed with gratitude from all of you. Amongst all the craziness you see in today's education system and our world, I find comfort in knowing that there are still very generous and caring people out there! We have been able to use our projector and screen for several lessons on those bad weather days. My students particularly enjoy a website called GoNoodle. We can now project the screen for the whole class to see instead of just a few students in front of a laptop screen! Thank you again for taking the time to make a difference!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Soprano
Quick on Their Feet Makes Them Quick in Their Seats!
Funded Oct 18, 2013My students were so very excited when they came to PE yesterday! To be quite honest, they are usually excited about PE, but when they saw all the new equipment they were overjoyed! I set up four obstacle courses with the new hurdles, agility ladders and river stones. Once they completed one course they had the option of staying there or rotating to a new course. By the time they left my class they had all rotated around several times! I overheard them say things like, "these hurdles are awesome", "I can go backwards across the river stones", "these are the coolest ladders"!
Being able to set up a challenging, yet visually appealing obstacle course takes my lesson to the next level! Thank you to Chevron for donating to such a wonderful and meaning cause! With the help of people and companies like you I am able to take a good lesson and make it great!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Soprano
I Like to Move it, Move it! I Like to MOVE it...2
Funded May 24, 2013My students were so excited to be able to have music again during PE! This past week alone we used music for two of our activities and next week we will use it for two days as well. I set up a crossfit obstacle course and played music from Teen Beach Movie and you should have heard them scream with joy! They not only moved faster through the obstacle course, but danced along the way! Next week we will be playing Halloween music for our Halloween games! Thank you so much for helping make my job even more fun than it is already! Your kindness really does overwhelm me!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Soprano
PE to the Fullest
Funded Apr 3, 2013I didn't think that my students could get any more excited about PE, yet they did! When I brought some of the new equipment into the classrooms this week (rainy day PE) it was like Christmas morning! They were so excited to play and try all the new games! I have been very fortunate to have had several projects funded, yet I am still amazed at the amount of people that are out there ready to help me do my job better! Thank you all for being open minded to my crazy projects and most importantly, thank you for feeling my passion about wanting to be a great teacher!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Soprano
Still Stacking To Better Hand-Eye Coordination
Funded Dec 6, 2012I consider myself to be an active person, so I like to be moving all the time! Therefore being a PE teacher is right up my alley! Not having a gym at my school can sometimes be a headache, because we are forced to have PE in their classrooms. But, because of people like you who donate to Donors Choose, my inside teaching days are not so bad! Yesterday for example we had bad weather and were forced to stay inside for PE. My assistant and myself EACH grabbed a speed stacking class set and had a great day inside! The students were so excited to see that each class had new cups! I was even able to time some of the students with the timing mat that was included in the set! They were overwhelmed to see just how fast they were!
Thank you for helping not only myself, but many, many other teachers have the tools to make our jobs a little easier and in turn make us better teachers!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Soprano