Mrs. Baldridge's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 20

• Books That Look Like Us!

  Funded Oct 27, 2020

  Thank you so much for these books. My Kindergarten students are diverse. My class represents over 7 countries and we all look different. We are learning what diversity means and how we can celebrate it. We are looking racism in the eye and facing it with brave intentions.

  Your donation of books that represent people of color is a resource I have needed for a long time. People of color are not represented in children's literature at the level of white people. They are not even represented at the level of animals in picture books. I wanted my students to see books with people who look like them. And now, thanks to you, they can. They can have a Kindergarten experience (even a Covid one) that will show them that they matter and are an important part of our world.

  What an amazing gift you gave. You gave them the power to see themselves as important.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Baldridge

  This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Donor and 4 other donors.

• Tidy up our Kinder Classroom!

  Funded Sep 10, 2019

  Thank you so much for your generosity! We have received our new Seat Sacks and have gotten rid of the old ones! My students are using them every day and they play a vital role in keeping our classroom organized.

  One of the main things about having chair pockets (or Seat Sacks) is that they allow my Kindergarten students to have a place to keep their own materials. Each child in my class has a pencil box with their materials inside. On the pencil box is their name and a picture of the group they belong to. When the pencil box is not in use, it is stored in their chair pocket. This leaves our hexagon-shaped tables clean and open to new activities.

  Our Seat Sacks look so great in our classroom. I cannot thank you enough for your big hearts and caring souls.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Baldridge

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 6 other donors.

• I Will Meet You at the Rug!

  Funded Jan 29, 2019

  Thank you so much for your incredible donation of a new rug for our Kindergarten classroom! The day it was delivered to our school I couldn't wait to set it up. When the kids were at P.E. I unrolled the beautiful new rug and was amazed at how good it looked in our room. It matched our classroom perfectly. I invited all of the other Kindergarten teachers and my principal to see it!

  When the kids came in they were ecstatic! They wanted to roll on it, hop on it, and choose their special spot. Our old rug was so dirty there were spots no one wanted to sit in. Now they can sit where they want and everyone is happy.

  The day after I received the rug we participated in the Global School Day of Play. This where the Kindergarten teachers rotated classes through our room to interact and play with new materials. It was so nice having a rug that was the focus of one of our play centers.

  I am so excited to use this rug for the rest of the school year and the years to come. It was a blessing to receive it from you and cannot thank you enough for supporting my class and the world of education. We all know how much schools need and don't receive. Thanks to you we are supporting kids one project at a time.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Baldridge

• Play Like a Child, Learn How to Love

  Funded Aug 22, 2018

  My Kindergarten students are loving the dolls we received from you! Each child has had a different connection to the dolls, excited to be able to play with dolls from their own ethnic background. I have a girl from Somalia who plays with the darker skinned dolls and tells amazing stories of her family. I have students from Hispanic backgrounds making dolls talk in both English and Spanish. They love having different age groups of dolls because not only are parents important, but so are grandparents, uncles and aunts, and bothers and sisters. They especially love the pets! One of my best experiences while watching my students playing in the doll house is how they interact with each other. They make up elaborate stories blending all kinds of families and are truly seeing beyond color lines. My goal in this project was to build and celebrate tolerance. Thanks to you, I think we have done just that! I cannot thank you enough.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Baldridge

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 4 other donors.

• Eggs + Aquariums = Real Life Learning in K

  Funded Jan 12, 2018

  Thank you much for your generous donation! We have set up our new aquarium in the classroom and the students love watching the fish throughout the day. They have understood the needs of the fish and how we have to take care of them. Animal needs are a Next Generation Science Standard in Kindergarten and it has been wonderful to experience observations first hand! We have not set up our incubators yet, but are hoping to get them started at in the middle of May. This will allow us to observe the entire chicken incubation and hatching cycle for our last unit of study in Kindergarten. What a fun way to end the year!

  Something I was not intending, but was delighted happened. I set the aquarium up next to our calm corner in the classroom. This is an area where students can sit when they are feeling overwhelmed, angry, or sad. By having the tank right next to the calm corner, student are able to use the water sounds and sights as another way to calm their bodies.

  The last month of school will be so exciting because we will be incubating and hatching chicken (and maybe duck!) eggs. We are going to start tadpoles in our aquarium soon, and will also be observing the life cycle of a butterfly.

  Thanks to you we are able to make life come alive in our classroom. Thank you so much! It is experiences like these that give school meaning and set kids up for a life long path to learning.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Baldridge

• Daring to Experiment in Kindergarten Science!

  Funded Dec 21, 2017

  Thank you so much for donating science materials to my Kindergarten class. The materials you donated have allowed my students to do one science experiment per week. So far, since we have received your generous donation, we have worked through weather experiments and are now using physical science experiments.

  When my students first saw their materials arrive they could not wait to see what was inside! And that was just the box from amazon! Once it was opened and I explained how we had amazing people give science materials to our class, I told them we would get to do science experiments every week.

  So far we have worked on weather and physical science experiments, using the materials you have provided. My students were so excited about the magnets and watching a tornado form inside bottles. Next we will be working our way into life science. We will be learning about plant life cycles, the life cycle of butterflies, the life cycle of ladybugs, and the life cycle of birds.

  I cannot thank you enough for giving my Kindergarteners the gift of seeing what the world is all about. When I tell me students that it is "Time for Science" they get very excited. Thank you, thank you, thank you. The gift of education is precious. Thanks to you I can provide that for my kiddos.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Baldridge

  This classroom project was brought to life by Tom's of Maine and 7 other donors.

• Project Lead the Way in K!

  Funded Mar 9, 2016

  Thank you to the amazing donors that have given us our iPad minis! We have 4 iPad minis, which gives us a total of 9 iPads in the classroom total. This allows for my students to work in small groups in everything from reading to math to science. We have begun Project Lead the Way in our classroom, which is a science and engineering program aimed at starting students out young to the world of engineering. So far in my class my students have constructed a beanstalk out of pipe cleaners and built the 3 little pigs' houses. Our iPad minis are used to build our background knowledge of structure and function. We have an app called Popplet that allows student to map our research and go through the stages of engineering, which are

  1. Ask

  2. Explore

  3. Model

  4. Evaluate

  Thank you again for giving us the opportunity to delve deeper into our program with the aide of technology.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Baldridge

• Kindergarten Techies

  Funded Oct 6, 2015

  Thank you so much for funding our project. We are enjoying our Dragon Touch tablets in class, especially during math time. My students are able to use technology to bring math to life. They can interact with numbers, quantities, and story problems on a daily basis that is both engaging and fun. Often we use hands-on manipulatives to count and use during math lessons. While this kind of hands-on experienced can never be replaced, introducing ways for students to use technology to answer math questions is just as valuable as the hands-on manipulatives. They will need these skills as they grow and learning them at a young age is so beneficial. We think of technology for children to be more entertainment based. What I find so exciting about using tablets in the classroom is that my students can look at the tablet as a tool to learn, rather than just a toy.

  Needless to say, my students took to the tablets with ease. Many have tablets at home and know how it works. But, because this is a new kind of tablet we had to get acquainted with all of the buttons, how to find the file we need, how to adjust volume, and what we are NOT allowed to do with the tablet. When my tablets first arrived we all sat on the carpet and the students huddled around to see how the new tech works. We have an interactive white board, 2 desktop computers and 5 iPads in the classroom. Now, we have a new tool that does new things. Students will learn how to use both an Apple product and an Android. Thank you again for making this possible. My Kinders thank you as well!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Baldridge

• Magnetic Science in Kindergarten

  Funded Jun 16, 2015

  My students LOVE the Magformers that you so generously donated to our Kindergarten classroom. They ask to play with them all of time. And, the best part is, while they are playing, they are learning!

  We use the Magformers in a variety of ways. We sort them into colors and shapes. We build structures as teams and see what we can come up with. There are some engineers in the making in my class, for sure. They make some amazing structures from these versatile magnets. We are also learning about how magnets work. Today, for example, I used the Magformers in a shape lesson. My students have seen that the Magformers stick to each other, but were very surprised that they stuck to my white board. We talked about WHY they stick to other things and I plan on doing a unit later in the year on physical sciences, including magnets.

  My students learn through play. Kindergarten is a place that lets kids explore. Thanks to your donation of the Magformers set, they can explore math concepts in fun and expressive ways. They ask to use them everyday. It is my challenge to find new and exciting lessons that include them, and I look forward to working them into a lesson whenever I can.

  Thank you, again, for your very generous donation. My Kindergarten students, and myself, appreciate it so much.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Baldridge

• Organize My Kindergarten!

  Funded Aug 21, 2014

  We are using our chair pockets in Kindergarten and it has been such a great addition to our classroom for the second quarter of school. Each student has a chair pocket, which hangs from the back of their chair. Their names are on them and they have two books in them right now. The books are their new spelling books and their word journals.

  My students were so excited to see their chair pockets on their chairs on Monday morning! They saw their names on them and what was inside and all they wanted to do was look at the spelling book inside. It was like getting a present! We added our word journals today, after making our first entry. I think it makes my students feel good to know that they have a special place for their special books.

  I asked for chair pockets for my classroom for two reasons. I wanted to have a place for my students to keep their books, which will keep our classroom (and me) better organized. I also wanted chair pockets to teach my students personal responsibility. They are in charge of these two books at the moment. If one gets lost or damaged, they are the ones at fault. This is a life lesson that begins in Kindergarten. I am glad that my students have taken such an interest in their chair pockets and how we can use them. Hopefully they will be more responsible students and we will all be better organized!

  Thank you for your generous donation to help us become better students in Kindergarten. I explained that we only have our chair pockets because some really nice people helped us buy them and I told them how much they cost. They were amazed at the amount and happy that people can be so generous as to help. Thank you so much.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Baldridge

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Bakersfield Californian Foundation and 7 other donors.