Past projects 6
Soaring Into 2025
Funded Dec 24, 2024Thank you so much for your support in funding our project. The Soaring into 2025 project provided daily classroom materials for students to use. This includes supplies like left-and-right handed scissors, and mesh pouch zippers that students use to store their daily learning tools. Learning workstations have also been replenished with counters, masking tape, and wooden puzzles. The resources funded through this campaign were essential for classroom use and not tied to a single project.
The students were left to discover the new classroom resources in their own time. They were excited to see the new mesh zipper pouches that could store their journals and daily writing utensils. It took them longer to notice the new scissors, which were better at trimming paper during our craft-oriented learning workstations. The scissors were a great addition And there was a natural excitement to play with the wooden alphabet and number puzzles. Often in Pre-kindergarten, foundational learning feels like play to the children. Their alphabet and numerical recognition skills have improved greatly. They can now dedicate time to piecing together puzzles and saying the numbers, letter names, and sounds aloud.
The students will continue using the craft supplies and daily school supplies, with the mesh bags filled with the supplies outlined in the lesson plans. The puzzles will stay in circulation with learning stations as we integrate numbers in higher-level math concepts and continue reviewing letters as we move towards blending sounds and improving reading skills.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Rodriguez PreK
Make Math Fun: Donate For a Pre-K Rug!
Funded Aug 7, 2024I wanted to thank you all for your contributions to the "Make Math Fun: Donate for a Pre-K Rug" project. Your donations have improved our classroom environment and given our students a space where they can learn comfortably. The students were enamored with their cozy Nature Activity Carpet, and eager to test their new Talking Buttons.
The Play & Learn Nature Activity Carpet provides a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere during our math and science time. During workstations, the students often practice counting and number identification through whole group movements and activities. Physically moving to sit, jump, and play on the carpet provides a kinetic learning experience for young students, which wouldn't be possible if they were confined to their desks all day.
The Talking Buttons are used during the Letter and Number Table sessions. These tools allow the students to hear and practice their letter and number sounds during independent and group sessions. The goal is to help students get to a place where they can fill a table to recognize and identify letter names and sounds.
The practical application of tools like these helps create a learning environment that engages students individually. Activities like moving to a learning carpet or pressing a button to practice enunciation foster independence and support in their learning development. They acknowledge a need to correct their pronunciation and press the talking buttons. They invest their energy in playing on the carpet and want to prove they identified the numbers with their friends.
Your support in this project has created a classroom environment that supports independent and group learning. The tools funded through this project create a fun and memorable classroom for kids to play with their friends and learn in ways that would not have been possible without you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Rodriguez PreK
This classroom project was brought to life by United Airlines and 8 other donors.Let's Get Our Pre-K Classroom Organized!
Funded May 7, 2024Thank you so much for funding this project! The students were thrilled when they first saw the new materials! Their faces lit up with excitement, and they couldn't wait to start using them. They were particularly fascinated by the colorful caddies and trays, and it was heartwarming to see them eagerly organizing their supplies and taking pride in their new, tidy classroom setup.
We are using the new resources to enhance our daily learning activities. For example, during our recent "Nature Walks" project, the students used the trays to organize their leaf and rock collections. The caddies were incredibly helpful in keeping all the art supplies like crayons, markers, and glue sticks in one place, making it easy for the students to access what they needed for their science journals. These new organizational procedures allowed the students to focus more on their observations and creativity rather than trying to find their materials.
The students also integrated these organizational tools into our "Community Helpers" project. Each table was assigned a different community helper role, and the students used the caddies and trays to organize their research materials, craft supplies, and project components. This helped them stay organized and fostered teamwork and collaboration as they created their end-of-the-year presentations about their assigned community helper. I am excited to see how these resources will continue to support the students' learning and development.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Rodriguez PreK
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 2 other donors.Pre-K STEM and Construction Center: Building Our Future Today
Funded Nov 29, 2023I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for your contribution to the "Pre-K STEM and Construction Center" Project. Your donation has improved our class learning centers and given students a hands-on learning opportunity. The students were ecstatic when they saw the new light table in the classroom, eager to start the new unit so they could see the other materials were now available.
The purpose of these materials was to guide students through their social surroundings. Using the light table, the students became engineers, drawing blueprints as they designed a "hometown." Blueprints included schools, houses, bridges, and other buildings necessary in a real town. The students learned about construction and contracting, using the Magnetic Write & Wipe boards to create a list of materials needed to build their projects. This included construction tools like hammers, saws, construction helmets, and wooden blocks for building. They even got to purchase the materials at the "hardware store" using the real-working cash register. Learning to purchase goods via credit cards, cash, and different forms of currency. Finally, they began to build their projects, working with one another to bring their imaginative designs to life.
Our future lessons will see the Write & Wipe boards for writing and language arts lessons. Practicing the letter of the day and refining the motor skills needed to build penmanship. The light table will be used in collaboration with previously donated materials for mathematic graphs and charts, sorting patterns, number comprehension, and letter recognition. The real-working cash register is already being used in our "farm-to-table" unit, exploring how goods and food go from farms to stores, to their home kitchens. For many students, this is their introduction to the larger world around them. These tools help them understand how the numbers, letters, and vocabulary learned in the classroom have real-world applications.
Your donation is making a difference in our students as they learn meaningful life skills, roles in creating a community, and how the world around them is built by people who learned STEM concepts in school. Exploring real-world steps added a cooperative and problem-solving component to their centers. The students no longer saw it as stacking wooden blocks, but instead as working together to build with their fellow architects, construction workers, and engineers. Thanks to the contribution from people like you, these kids had fun learning about how they can one day be the engineers designing and building the future.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Rodriguez PreK
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 13 other donors.Pre-Kindergarten Centers: The Foundation of Learning and Imagination
Funded Nov 29, 2022My students and I would like to express our deepest gratitude for your contribution to the "Pre-Kindergarten Centers: The Foundation of Learning and Imagination" Project. Your donation is making a difference in our classroom every day. The new learning centers are a hit! The students are enjoying hours of learning about capacity and volume using the Sand Water Table. They loved pouring water into containers of different sizes. It got a little messy, so I changed the water for colorful painted rice. Sometimes, we even use the table for matching our capital and lowercase letters.
The students were so excited to see the new materials. They all wanted to start playing with the magnetic counting and alphabet maze as soon as possible. We use them every day during learning centers, small groups, and independent work. You should see how happy the kids are when it's their turn to use these materials.
We just finished our theme "From Farm to Table" and we are closing it with a field trip to an actual farm! The students will draw and write about our visit using the jumbo crayons and the jumbo picture story newsprint. Thanks to your generosity, these students will enjoy many more fun, interactive, meaningful lessons.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Rodriguez PreK
This classroom project was brought to life by Houston Endowment and 6 other donors.Inspiring Learning Centers
Funded Nov 23, 2022My students and I would like to express our gratitude for your contribution to the "Inspiring Learning Centers" Project. Your donation has improved our class learning centers and given students the opportunity to learn about community helpers. From the moment they used the Hardwood Community Vehicles on the Around Town Play Carpet, the students began exploring how their actions can give back to the community. Whether it was the role of a police officer or the importance of a fireman, the children began to dream about what they could be in the future.
The students' faces lit up with joy when we opened the boxes. They couldn't believe that someone had given them the chance to play in the classroom. They all wanted to sit on the new carpet and play with the new traffic signs. Little did they know how educational these tools would be in learning social studies.
Your donation is making a difference in our students as they learn meaningful life skills, the roles in the community, and the importance of working with your fellow neighbor to build a better world. We wrapped our unit by writing about what we want to be when we grow up. And thanks to the contribution from helpers like you, these kids had fun learning about how they can impact their own community.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Rodriguez PreK
This classroom project was brought to life by Houston Endowment and 7 other donors.