Past projects 176
Improving My Instruction and the Students' Learning
Funded Apr 30, 2015Thank you so much again for donating to this project. I have learned so much from the professional development materials that you have so generously helped to fund. It is not always easy to think about new and innovative ideas to teach new ideas and lessons. I have pored over the books and have gotten many useful ideas that have made learning how to read so much more interesting to my students.
Colleagues have also been able to look over these books and have gotten ideas which helped with their teaching practice.
My students are enjoying to new fish and frogs and I can't wait for them to use the vet toys we also received.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smirk
Meeting All Kinds of Friends
Funded Aug 23, 2015What a wonderful experience our pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes had during the NYC Kids Project's visit to our classrooms. Our school now shares space with a Special Education school and many of the students in that school have are physically challenged and my students are very curious about them.
NYC Kids Project teachers students about people who are physically challenged with children's literature and puppets. By educating my students about people who are in wheelchairs, who are blind or deaf I am hoping they won't bully students like this in the future. I am trying to teach them that everybody is special and unique and we all deserve to be treated the same. Thank you again for helping me provide a quality education to my students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smirk
Mastering the Readers Workshop
Funded Mar 28, 2015I wanted to let you know how much I loved going to Columbia University to participate in the Teachers' College Reading Institute. The institute was five days of the best professional development I have ever attended.
The workshops were ran by instructors who really know the best methods to teach children how to read. They gave me so many wonderful things to implement in my classroom to ensure my students don't only love reading but also become strong readers.
Thank you again for your generous donations.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smirk
Let's Dress Up
Funded May 27, 2015I want to thank you again for your generous donations. The two boxes of dress up clothes arrived and I just introduced them to the class today and they were a hit.
When I opened up the boxes the students were so excited to try on all of the clothes. The best part about the boxes is that there is clothes for both girls and boys. Once I introduced the clothes to the he entire class I put them in the Pretend Center and that's when the real fun and learning really began. Thank you again for such a wonderful resource.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smirk
Organized Weekly Learning Binders
Funded Feb 8, 2015I just want to thank you again for supporting my pre-kindergarten students and their families. Your donations have made it possible for me to create Home Communication books and Assessment binders for every student in my class.
The Home Communication books make a big difference in the way the parents are connected with whats going on in our class and school community. They store the students homework, school calendars, notes from the school and they also have a place for the parents to communicate with me.
I am so grateful to have donors like you helping me and my students. We couldn't have received these materials without your help.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smirk
A Teacher Needs to Learn Too
Funded Mar 1, 2015I am writing to thank you again for providing me the opportunity to attend the 2015 International Literacy Conference in Saint Louis. It has been a wonderful four days of workshops that have helped me to grow as an educator.
The workshops I attended focused on teaching literacy to Pre-Kindergarten students. Several of these workshops talked about how to incorporate technology into my literacy instruction using iPod applications and Skype. I can't wait to put this knowledge to use in my classroom this upcoming school year.
This opportunity wouldn't have been possible without your help. I am so grateful for your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smirk
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 11 other donors.Tech. Us Up
Funded Oct 31, 2014I want to write and thank you again for supporting my pre-kindergarten students and my teaching with the project "Tech Us Up." The materials this project has provided have been a wonderful addition to our classroom.
We are using the photo printer to print out special activities like trips and celebrations. I place these pictures on a bulletin board so the parents who couldn't attend can see what their child is doing in school.
The apple T.V. is helping bring more videos connected to our curriculum into the classroom. It helps us connect with sites like netflix, youtube and much more.
We wouldn't have these amazing resources without your generosity and for that I am forever grateful.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smirk
Let Us Laminate
Funded Oct 31, 2014I am writing to thank you again for your generous support of my Pre-Kindergarten
class. The laminating sheets your donations provided arrived a few months ago and I have been putting them to good use protecting pictures and other paper manipulatives we use in the classroom.
The most important things we are using the laminating sheets to protect are the math manipulatives I have to make for our new math and literacy curriculmn. I have to print pictures for the students to work with in both curriculum's, because I can laminate them I will be able to reuse them with my students again next year. This will help me save paper, toner and time and I am grateful to you for this.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smirk
Color My Pre-K
Funded Jan 25, 2015I am writing to thank you again for your generous support of my pre-kindergarten class. The crayons, markers and dry erase markers arrived in our class a few months ago and my students have been putting them to good use daily.
The pictures I shared with you are of two different projects we used the materials your donations provided The first group of photos I shared was of our Circle Art. The students used the crayons to trace and draw circles and then they used water colors to paint them in. The second group of photos was of a picture one of my students made by gluing strips of paper down and then decorating the background with markers. Both projects came out great. Such great expressions of creativity wouldn't have been possible without your help. We will be forever grateful.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smirk
This classroom project was brought to life by Quill.com FY15 and 3 other donors.Pre-K Writers
Funded Nov 25, 2014I am writing to thank you again for your generous donations to my class. The all of the writing materials your generosity provided arrived a few months ago and my students have been busy putting them to good use as they learn how to write.
The items we use the most are the mini white boards with dry erase markers. As I model how to form letters, numbers or shapes on a large white board my students practice forming the same thing on their mini whiteboard. If they make a mistake or if they don't like what they did there is no stress because they can just wipe it off and try again.
We wouldn't have had the opportunity to have such nice supplies without your help and we will always be grateful for it.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smirk