Past projects 13
Books for Backpacks!
Funded Dec 5, 2024Thank you so much for your generous donations toward our book pouch project! I am so excited to be able to share these super engaging books with our young readers. These high quality and FUN books will go a long way toward helping them develop a real love of reading.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carrie McClean
Learning to Play & Playing to Learn
Funded Aug 6, 2024Thank you so much for our new choice time materials and color printer! Now in our 13th week of first grade, the kids have had hours of fun and learning in Choice Time. The new dollhouse furniture has made it a very popular place to be, and there have been many fun afternoons of playing restaurant and "family" in our pretend play station. Having fresh play doh and new materials for the light table have been amazing additions to our stations. The kids report that Choice Time is the best part of the day, and a part of that is because of the rich and engaging materials in our room.
Having a color printer has positively impacted all aspects of our day. Just today I printed out a Doubles Facts Snakes and Ladders game in color, which made our math games time more engaging. Being able to print in my room has made a prepping for the day and week ahead so much easier. I am very grateful for your generous donations!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carrie McClean
Bugging Out With Insect Art
Funded Mar 27, 2024Thank you so much for the art materials for our insect work. Because of your generous donations our June Share was a huge success.
The children made "Invented Insects" out of the Model Magic and after they were dried, they painted them with our fabulous new watercolors.
We also made Eric Carle inspired insect collages using the new bright tempera paints on tissue paper and then collaging the parts together on watercolor paper. The kids made incredible background using the water colors and pastel crayons.
The process of making these creations was made easier by having a real drying rack!
We also made beautiful close-up flower paintings and so much more.
The kids loved experiencing such high quality art mediums and using them to create meaningful representations of their learning.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carrie McClean
This classroom project was brought to life by LOFT and 9 other donors.Flexible Seating for First Graders!
Funded Sep 6, 2023Thank you so much for donating to our flexible seating project! The benches have been a HUGE upgrade to our meeting area. We can easily move them around to offer kids different work stations and options to accommodate their wiggly bodies.
Not only do they provide a comfortable seat for working, they also give us additional storage for books and materials. We also love putting high interest books in the baskets in the storage space below so the kids can easily browse and read during quiet times in the classroom.
We are so grateful for your donations!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carrie McClean
This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares and 16 other donors.Bugging Out!
Funded Apr 25, 2022A very belated THANK YOU for our insect materials. Another year has almost come and gone and that means another group of first graders have had the joy of using these materials. Having the hands-on materials to support our insect study has been so beneficial to the learning happening in the classroom.
The kids love making insect rubbings and labeling the parts of their bodies. We have our large insect posters up in our room and kids have access to lifecycle figurings as they work on their insect research project. The gorgeous books also have helped them stay engaged in our work as well. We have used the microscopes in our classroom throughout the entire year--looking at insects and plant parts closely! We've even inspired our science teacher to oder a few for the rest of the school!
We could not provide such an enriching and engaging study without your support, so thank you so much for your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carrie McClean
Plant-Based Learning
Funded Apr 13, 2022Please forgive my very belated thank you for your generous contribution to our plant project! Another school year has occurred and another group of students have benefitted from the amazing materials we received.
We have grown radishes, carrots and now we have a miniature pumpkin plan vigorously growing in our classroom planter. The children run into the room each morning to see how much growth has occurred and are eager to water and tend to our classroom garden.
Having the opportunity to witness the lifecycle of plants in our very own classroom has had tremendous benefits. When the farm at school goes to sleep outside for the winter, we can keep our learning going. Thank you again for your support!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carrie McClean
Books for Backpacks!
Funded Dec 10, 2021Thank you for your generous support and donations! These books have been so important for helping our kids work on their reading skills at home and at school. Since getting our books we have been hearing a lot of, "Can I bring this one home?" and "This one is so good!" Kids have been recommending books to each other and building a real love of reading. As the kids move up in their reading level, having a wide variety of high-interest books ready to go home has been invaluable. We feel so lucky to be able to support their reading journeys both at home at school.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carrie McClean
Read, Play, Love
Funded Nov 11, 2021Thank you so much for the decodable readers and phonics games! We can see our kids making big gains this year because they have so many opportunities to practice their newly learned skills. The kids are eager to switch out their book baggies each week to see what new books they will be taking home. We also have been using our phonics games during our small group time to make reinforcing phonics skills more fun. We are seeing their confidence grow and they are developing a true love of reading--a teacher's dream!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carrie McClean
Beautiful Books for Beautiful Children
Funded Sep 11, 2021I can't tell you how amazing it has been to have such a wide variety of beautiful and high-quality books in our classroom. These titles, featuring many of the 13 guiding principles of the Black Lives Matter in schools movement, have been instrumental in sparking conversation and reinforcing the work that we are doing in our classroom to ensure racial justice in education.
We loved reading about our skin color, ways we are unique and also similar, exploring our gender identities and embracing what makes us special. We are learning about our community as well as the world around us. We are thinking more about family and how that can look different in every house. Honoring our differences and noticing our similarities is powerful for first graders. Having these books makes that work more engaging. THANK YOU!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carrie McClean
This classroom project was brought to life by The Allstate Foundation and one other donor.Learning to Play & Playing to Learn!
Funded Aug 27, 2021Choice Time in our classroom is a time during the day filled with joy and fun and learning. Thanks to your generous donations, the children have been creating bakeries, schools and homes in our pretend play area, building towers, trees and spaceships with MagnaTiles and Brain Flakes, and exploring light and color with our light table. They are not only having fun, but learning to problem solve and share and they negotiate the different centers.
Our classroom is more beautiful and joyful because of you.
THANK YOU!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carrie McClean