Past projects 8
Cooking in the Classroom
Funded May 18, 2022Thank you so much for your donation of cooking supplies to my classroom! My students have used these quite a bit this school year and over summer school. We have made a few types of cheese several times, pudding, yogurt, meatballs, cookies and zucchini fries. The rolling pins have also been used to roll out modeling clay for student projects. The bread pan was recently used in a science experiment to demonstrate the affect of pollution on wetlands and the tongs were recently used in an experiment to demonstrate the effectiveness of different bird beaks in eating different foods.
These materials have been incredibly helpful in implementing labs and bringing my students' learning to life!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schmitz
This classroom project was brought to life by Herb Kohl Philanthropies and one other donor.Go Wild!
Funded May 3, 2022My students use the donated clipboards daily whether it is inside to make worktime more flexible or while we are exploring the outdoors. My students are learning a lot about birds right now and we have been using those field guides that you donated to identify different bird species. We practiced using the binoculars in an activity where we spotted birds with different bands on their feet and look forward to using them to explore real birds outside in the near future. We will also be dissecting the owl pellets very soon when we learn more about what birds eat. We just finished a book about owls so the students are very excited!
Thank you so much for your donations! They have really brought our curriculum to life and make learning even more fun!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schmitz
This classroom project was brought to life by Herb Kohl Philanthropies and one other donor.Let's Get Cooking!
Funded May 3, 2022My students love our new classroom kitchen! All of the kids really enjoy being able to learn about food science and eat the goodies they make! So far we have used the new equipment to make creamed eggs to demonstrate how we can use eggs in our everyday diet and make mozzarella cheese.
When I told the kids that we have a class kitchen, they were like "What? We have a class kitchen? That's so cool!" They couldn't wait to use it!
This equipment will continue to be used in our classroom for various purposes: nutrition, food science, learning culinary skills, and just for fun! It has and will continue to make such a difference in my students' education. It's a huge game changer! We couldn't thank you more for the opportunity to bring learning to life!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schmitz
This classroom project was brought to life by Herb Kohl Philanthropies and one other donor.Aeroponic Engineering
Funded May 18, 2022Thank you so much for your donation of supplies to do aeroponic engineering in our classroom! Students will use these supplies to learn the engineering process, what it takes to be an agricultural engineer, and build aeroponic systems to use to grow fresh produce to be used in our school lunch program.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schmitz
This classroom project was brought to life by Herb Kohl Philanthropies and 2 other donors.Elevating Engagement with Flexible Seating - Part 2
Funded Mar 24, 2022Thank you for the donation of the soft seating bench!
My students love to lay out on it, use it as a flexible seating option and use it to reach the higher parts of the whiteboard and just use the whiteboard more comfortably.
I love how it makes a previously unusable space useful! It fits right under the whiteboard which previously had no purpose. This donation has helped us use all the nooks and crannies of the classroom to help my students be more comfortable! It is also really nice because it is light and easily moved so students can push it to wherever they would like it to work.
There is room for one more bench under the whiteboard to even it out and maximize the space and flexible seating so I believe that would be the next step in this project.
Thank you so much for helping integrate flexible seating in my classroom and helping my students be more comfortable and have choice in their learning!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schmitz
Cozy Rug for Work Time
Funded Apr 28, 2022Thank you so much for the donation of this beautiful cozy rug! The students appreciate being able to sprawl out and not be on the hard cold floor.
You may have noticed the rug is different than the one that you had put donations to. It seems the company sent the wrong rug, but I'm not complaining. I think the mix-up ended up to be really cute!
As you can see in the pictures, the students have an odd way of working (putting their Chromebooks on a surface and their bodies on the floor), but they are most comfortable doing that. As long as they are happy I am happy. I saw them doing this previously and couldn't imagine how it felt to have their little knees digging into the hard tile floor and knew I needed a rug to help them be more comfortable.
Thank you so much for making this a reality!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schmitz
This classroom project was brought to life by Herb Kohl Philanthropies.Wobble Stools for Movement
Funded Apr 28, 2022As soon as my students walked into the room and saw the wobble stools they were so excited. Despite other seating options in the classroom, they picked those particular seats to do their work in. They jumped right on them and loved how they were able to adjust the height to fit their needs.
I originally had the stools set up at the counters to create another workspace from something that wasn't being used, but some students dragged the stools over to tables instead. It is very rewarding to see the students be able to customize their work environments to best suit them. This increases their comfort in the classroom and allows them to focus more on their school work. The ability to have movement while they work also is so helpful in keeping them on task.
Thank you so much for your donation of the wobble stools! The students love them and will continue to benefit from them.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schmitz
This classroom project was brought to life by Herb Kohl Philanthropies.Elevating Engagement With Flexible Seating
Funded Feb 23, 2022Thank you so much for your donations to elevating engagement with flexible seating in my classroom! The addition of the couch has really helped my students be more comfortable in the classroom. They have more choices of where to sit which helps them get a little control in their lives and allows them to make choices that work best for their learning. In the pictures I sent, the students are learning about how we use turkeys and their life cycles as a group.
When the students first saw the new couch they were so excited. A couch! They all couldn't wait to try it out and even though it is a three-seater, as you can see in the pictures, they crammed five people together on the couch so they could all use it and learn together. When my colleagues peak in my room they are also very excited for me. It is really cool to have a couch in the classroom!
Our next steps in this project would be to evolve our reading nook even more. I think adding a rug would make it more cozy and provide seating options for students that like to lay out on the ground while they do their work. Another couch might come into play or benches for more seating so the students don't have to cram and everyone could get a turn.
Your donation has really changed the tone of the classroom and has made the students more comfortable and more willing to engage. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schmitz