Past projects 32
Calico Critters are a 2019/2020 Classroom Highlight!
Funded Dec 3, 2019My students were so excited to see additions to our Calico Critter World! The restaurant and additional characters have certainly added on to the wonderful Calico Critter world that is created each time we have Kindergarten centers. The Calico Critter world is always a highlight for choice time, but even more important it is an important tool in social skill building. Students work together to build the town and put all of the delicate pieces into place. They use their social skills to build and then to play. I wish I could take a recording instead of a picture so you could experience the joy that the Calico Critter play center brings to our classroom. Thank you for you very generous donation that made the funding of this project possible.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cruz
This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous classroom supporter and 4 other donors.We Love to Read!...Elephant and Piggie Books!
Funded Aug 13, 2019Thank you for your generous donations that helped fund this project. Originally we had planned to order the complete Elephant and Piggie Collection for our classroom library, but after trying several times, with several vendors it came to pass that the Elephant and Piggie Collection was no longer available. So we went with Plan B!...we were able to order several gorgeous new books I have been wanting to add to our reading curriculum. Books that are very engaging, have beautiful illustrations, and incredible purpose in their words. These books will be used as the literature piece for several different units within our reading curriculum that is taught all year. Not only will my classroom benefit from these amazing literature selections, but we will be able to share these selections with the other 2 Kindergarten classrooms as well --- thereby impacting even more children with this project.
Thank you again for your generous donations! I wish you could be in the classroom when these titles are read aloud but trust me when I say, the students are going to love them!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cruz
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 3 other donors.Lite Brite and Calico Critters for the Win!
Funded Nov 8, 2019This has been an amazing project brought to our classroom! The Lite Brite sets have provided students an opportunity to learn to share and work together, as well as help develop their fine motor skills. We quickly learned that we didn't need the Lite Brite templates and instead are engaging our creativity by designing our own pictures for the Lite Brite machines. The Calico Critters have also fostered sharing and communication skills and students work together to put together their Calico Critter scene and then participate in dramatic play. The Calico Critters have become such a highlight that students are always curious and excited to see if new playsets and characters have been added into the town! Thank you so much for your generous donations that made this project possible!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cruz
Discover Geography!
Funded Sep 17, 2019Thank you for your generous donations! The geography talking globe has been a discovery highlight in our classroom so far this year! It has helped students learn how to work with a partner and take turns, it has provided them with interesting facts about different places around the world, and it is an engaging activity. My students have become more interested in learning about different countries and continents around the world and we have enjoyed using the globe to tie together literature we are reading with the content within the literature! For example when we learned about Emperor Penguins we were able to go to the globe to see the location of the penguins we were learning about and listen to the facts the globe offered! We matched it to our reading! This has been a great addition to our classroom and thank you again for your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cruz
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 2 other donors.Spring is Here! Let's Take the Learning Outside!
Funded Apr 20, 2019Yesterday was a beautiful Spring day in Klamath Falls, Oregon so we took our new clipboards outside, along with our new science based books and we completed our daily writing assignment! The birds were chirping, the breeze was cool, and science was in our brains as students generated lists and sentences identifying the things they saw around them outdoors at school. The clipboards made it possible for students to move around the school grounds to record their work and the science books made it possible to generate some writing ideas and use correct spelling in their writing piece. Thank you for your very generous donation that made funding this project possible! This class and many classes in the future will have the benefit of this funded project!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cruz
Science and Reading and Math...Oh My!
Funded Feb 28, 2019Thank you for your very generous donations that led to the introduction of our science workstation for our classroom. The microscope with the slides has been a popular way to begin exposure to safely working with a microscope and the the magnifying microscope has been a popular resource to look at everyday items that students see all around them in a magnified state...think of a penny and how awesome it looks to a 5 year old when its really big! The addition of a science journal has provided students a way to document their observations and share them with their families. The science workstation is definitely a highlight in our classroom! When the science crate is taken off the shelf and placed on a table you can feel the excitement as students patiently wait to make a visit to that activity. Again, thank you for making this idea for an engaging activity in my classroom come to life.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cruz
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 3 other donors.Does My Class Have The Next Top Chef?!?
Funded Jan 18, 2019I can't even begin to express the excitement my students have when the Kindergarten Top Chef kitchen opens on Friday afternoons! We have made mini-pies, cookies, pizza, croque monsieur sandwiches, and so much more using our fabulous classroom oven and cooking supplies. Students have had a great time learning to follow a recipe, preparing ingredients for baking, and serving up their delicious creations to their friends. Students are learning the beginnings of fractions by measuring out their ingredients. Students are reinforcing their nutrition lessons by reviewing the 5 food groups and matching them to their recipes. Most important students are having fun being creative and preparing culinary delights to share with their friends. Thank you for your very generous donations that led to the opening of our very own Kindergarten Top Chef kitchen! Walking traffic in the school hallway definitely slows down on Friday afternoons as people walking by try to guess what's cooking by the amazing smells that are drifting out of our classroom. By the way...so far the croque monsieur has by far been the class favorite!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cruz
This classroom project was brought to life by Someone Who Cares and 6 other donors.Keep on Building...Keep on Pretending!
Funded Nov 18, 2018Thank you again for your generous donations which made the funding of this project possible. The additions to the play kitchen have been excitedly received and have certainly added greater interest in playing in the kitchen. The engineering kits have been overwhelming popular in our classroom. My students love the amusement park one the most and have had a great time building the roller coaster over and over again! It has certainly sparked their creativity and continues to fuel their interest in the areas of science and engineering! I hope you enjoy the snapshot of the happiness and interest these photos express. Again with heartfelt gratitude I say thank you for helping bring this project to fruition.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cruz
Creative Inspiration at the Writers Workshop!
Funded Aug 5, 2018These storybook houses are amazing! The colors are vibrant, they are simple to put together, and they are nice and big so small hands can fit inside with the pieces! My students absolutely love them. We finally reached a point in our curriculum where we could use the farm storybook setting and soon we will be able to use the other three! I originally set it up as an assessment tool for my English Language Development students so I could check their vocabulary and sentence structure learning for our ELD farm unit, but the students loved it so much I left it out for them to continue playing and exploring. The conversation and imaginative play coming from the farm was amazing and so wonderful to listen to! Thank you so much for your very generous donations that made this project possible --- the farm will be put out into the Writer's Workshop station with matching vocabulary and I know its going to be a big hit! ”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cruz
Kindergarten Skills = Life Skills...Come Into Our House...Our Dollhouse!
Funded Aug 1, 2018Thank you to all who helped our classroom receive our beautiful dollhouse! It's a dollhouse mansion! and it is being enjoyed by all! The dollhouse has been a wonderful addition to our classroom learning environment! I assure you it is a highlight of free choice center time. Students who are typically quiet and reserved are quickly becoming animated and expressive when they play at the dollhouse and it is heart-warming to witness. Students who are working on sharing and playing with others find the dollhouse to be a great place to practice those skills as there is so much furniture and fun to be trading and sharing! Overall the dollhouse has had a fun and significant impact for all of my students. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful and engaging learning tool in my classroom. Our dollhouse even participated in the Great Shakeout Earthquake Drill on 10/18! Our classroom is prepared and our dollhouse is prepared! (when I built it...I re-enforced it with Gorilla Wood Glue!)
Thank you again to all of the donors who made this possible! My heart is full of gratitude!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cruz