Past projects 2
Creating Community Helpers
Funded Feb 8, 2022We are so thankful for the dress up clothes, postal office, nail salon toys, the baby crib, and the community helper puzzles. I loved seeing the students eager to participate in role playing together. They were wanting to cooperate and take turns being the driver to the fire truck or being the mail carrier. One student was having a difficult time wanting to come to school, but his eyes lit up with "what awesome new thing will we do today?" Our days as a classroom became much more united and involved.
When I first showed my students the donated items, they were overjoyed! We were excited to open and explore every item together! They couldn't wait to try each set out. One of their favorites was the hair and nail salon. Our boys loved getting the chance to "cut" each other's hair.
Our next step with our project items included having each student decide what they would like to become when they grow up. When they chose a career, they were asked specifically why they wanted to be that. Students were encouraged to think critically and come up with a unique answer from their peers. The hands-on experiences that your donation provided our class offered them endless reasons to become a community helper in the future.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Baumgarten
This classroom project was brought to life by Oklahoma State Department of Education.Tech Savvy Kinders!
Funded Jan 8, 2018Thank you so much for your generous contribution to our project! As you know, this project supplied our class with two iPads in our classroom to help reinforce concepts and add a new way of reaching this generation. Since we received the iPads, I have noticed multiple students' interest in school have increased. Students who are typically more shy and do not like to be heard by others, now have a way to voice their opinions and thoughts without peer judgment. Not only, have they began to gain confidence, they are still learning valuable skills to advance in this society.
Another area where students have began to excel with the iPads is reading. With the iPads, I can create individualized plans for each student that focuses on the concept he/she may be struggling with. I am also able to expand my teachings using prerecorded videos or published videos to explain concepts further. Students are able to advance at their own pace without judgment from other students. For example, when papers are passed out, students are aware that their paper is different from their neighbor. However, with the iPads, I am able to adjust activity levels without others noticing.
A few of their favorite activities on the iPads include Farm Phonics and SeeSaw. Farm Phonics is a game that simply focuses on letter sounds and begins blending the sounds to create words. This has been a great addition to our class, because it lets students work progressively and it shows a detailed report of how successful they were with each area.
SeeSaw is an app that allows students to become more familiar with concepts such as taking pictures, creating videos, voice recordings, and many other things. This app has been helpful in reaching students who need a boost of confidence outside of specific academia. We have loved every minute of this gift!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Baumgarten