Past projects 16
Science Equipment for Serious Learners
Funded Apr 14, 2023Your assistance came at just the right time to enrich our life sciences unit "Life Cycles of Plants and Animals" AND provide a fun choice for both learning time and free play.
KH was the first student to see the kits. "What are those?!? Is it for us? Can I play with it? Can [best friend] play too?" (This was all said in what sounded like one continuous sentence.) In short, it was an instant success. Excellent word-of-mouth endorsement too: It's the talk of kindergarten. Next year, these are definitely going to be integrated into the independent exploration zone earlier in the year.
Thanks so much for your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Taylor
This classroom project was brought to life by 3MGives San Antonio and 3 other donors.Mouse-bots for Kindergarten STEM Learning
Funded May 2, 2023I'm writing to offer a glimpse of the impact of your generous support in providing mouse-bots Colby and Jack for my Kindergarten classroom. The students shown here were very busy working together to solve a problem: how to get their mice to the cheese. They had to build a sequence of paths of increasing difficulty and program their mouse-bot to reach the cheese at the end, all without adult support. Your contribution helped 14 students work hands-on instead of passively observing.
I can hopefully assure you they were absolutely thrilled to have more bots to work in smaller groups (squealing occurred). And they say thank you thank you thank you for Colby and Jack who are "super fun" and helped make any day they got to use them "the best day ever."
My kiddos don't have access to this kind of technology except at school and they know it's a big deal to be able to use them. Other classes are jealous, but I'm hoping to encourage other teachers to try them out with lesson plans I'm developing to spread the joy of learning even further. Again, thank you so much.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Taylor
This classroom project was brought to life by 3MGives San Antonio and one other donor.Tiny Learners, Huge Curiosity
Funded Apr 11, 2023I'd like to share with you the impact of your support of some of our "littles" showing how they are benefitting from the learning materials acquired through DonorsChoose.
You have helped some high-need children of color (especially girls), many coming from challenging social, economic, and academic backgrounds.
The project shown here features the work of ZE and KG, both working on the same STEM project. Their learning objective was to apply what they learned about the life cycle of plants, including documenting results of an authentic experiment using tomato plants. The materials acquired through your donation were essential to their learning.
These photos show some tools they used, including their science journals and a magnifying glass. I hope you can see their intense work and pride of accomplishment. These are in my opinion the most gratifying outcomes, because growing their positive feelings about their own work potentially affects the possibility that they will pursue STEM careers in the future. Again, thank you so much.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Taylor
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 3 other donors.Brainy Books for English and Spanish STEAM
Funded Mar 30, 2023The storybooks of The Questioneers Series is quickly becoming a class favorite in room 502. My kiddos are excited to see the connections among books in a series. We started with "Aaron Slater, Illustrator" and continued with "Iggy Peck, Architect", "Ada Twist, Scientist", and "Rosie Revere, Engineer." First we read them together in a large group, then pairs of students retrieved them from the class library to enjoy during structured reading time.
One of the books has a main character with dyslexia, and the plot helps readers understand some of the challenges faced by some of their classmates, or maybe even themselves. I can tell that my class has really been paying attention to the stories because they mention the characters and recall the key lessons in each one: "stay curious," "keep trying even when learning looks like failing," "embrace your differences," and "don't be discouraged when other people don't appreciate what you're doing."
Your investment in the potential my class holds is so powerful, we don't even realize what we've unlocked. Thank you for making it happen.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Taylor
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 2 other donors.Listen Up, Buttercup!
Funded Jan 22, 2023My kindergarteners need to use iPads for more than cute learning games and entertainment. Our school relies on them to conduct diagnostic testing to learn about student progress throughout the year. It's hard to do well on a test with a lot of noise, interruption and equipment dysfunction, but with your generous donation, we can create better conditions for their success. In the short time we've had this new equipment, the classroom has calmed down, the children are less reluctant to take assessments, and they are enjoying the ability to focus. "It makes my brain happy" one child told me, "so now I can listen." I'm sending pictures of a more peaceful classroom and happier children. Thanks for making this happen.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Taylor
We Can Build Kindergarten Engineers
Funded Jan 19, 2023I want to let you know how much your generosity matters for projects like Cerebros, the after school bilingual kindergarten STEM club we started this past January. With all the resources you've provided, my kindergarten class has been able to practice planning and building their own creations. They were so excited when they first saw all the equipment. I couldn't believe some of the reactions I witnessed. Right away, the kiddos started assembling some amazing structures and showing them to me with such pride ("Ms. Taylor! Ms. Taylor! Look, Ms. Taylor!").
C. G. hardly ever speaks. He can, he just chooses not to. The one time I heard him speak was when he and I opened a brand new box of gears: "Hm" he said. "I could really use these." And so he did. W. C. works intently with any kit he gets, all alone and usually in a corner. I would bet money he's going to become an engineer someday. The other kids don't seem to notice him, but later it turns out that they start to mimic his methods and designs in their own work. E. W and E. T. interchangeably call themselves "The SuperGirls" or "The Super Scientists." I love to hear that.
I'd like to say that it's because of my fabulous insight and meticulous planning that they've grown so much in such a short time. But really it's because people like you provided an opportunity for them to sprout on their own. Thanks so much for that.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Taylor