Past projects 17
Magiscopes for Close Observations
Funded Nov 14, 2023We are beyond grateful for your generosity. These magiscopes greatly increased both engagement and knowledge in our science area. Unlike microscopes, magiscopes enabled my students to closely observe their found objects. They looked at pores on rocks, the vein on a feather, the wing patterns on a butterfly, and so much more. Microscopes are great, but the extreme magnification can be too abstract for young children. These magiscopes are a great stepping stone to using a microscope later.
As soon as I found out magiscopes existed, I knew my classroom needed them. You all made that a reality. We are looking forward to using them even more next school year!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Grace
Current Events for Kids
Funded Aug 26, 2023Thank you so much for making this project possible for all of our second and third grade students. We received our project materials in time for the beginning of the school year and we introduced the class magazines at the end of September. Our children couldn't believe that they would get a "real" magazine to take home every week!
Since using the magazines, children have been inspired to read more nonfiction. Each article sparks their curiosity. We have engaging conversations about the topics. One magazine article was about the pros and cons of homework... our children had so much to say about that, we sounded like a debate club! Other magazines have taught us about important topics, such as climate change, innovations at Google, tennis player Coco Gauff, among many others.
The addition of these magazines to our classroom have been instrumental in encouraging more nonfiction reading and keeping children challenged and engaged in their reading work. We are so grateful for your support.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Grace
Birding Binoculars!
Funded Apr 6, 2021As this crazy COVID school year comes to a close, we are so grateful for YOU. Your donations allowed us an amazing opportunity to finish up this school year studying birds and going birding. What could be better than that? We spent lots of time reading about birds and studying them in the classroom. The bird books included in this project were vital to many topics we studied throughout the unit.
Every Friday, we put our learning into action. We went on field trips to Central Park to go birding. We had so much fun identifying different kinds of birds and getting a closer look at some with our binoculars.
When we got ready for our first birding trip, my students were so excited to see that they each got a pair of binoculars -- just like REAL birders. By the last birding trip, my students were experts with their binoculars and had truly become *REAL* birders themselves.
The best thing about this project is that the materials will last from class to class, year after year. May the second grade birding tradition continue for many years to come! Without your generous donations this would truly not be possible. We cannot possibly thank you enough!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Grace
Series Books for Second Graders
Funded Oct 22, 2020This has truly been a year like no other. I can't fully express my joy, excitement, and thanks for your donation to my project. I'm so thankful that you share my vision for reaching children and helping them foster a lifelong love for reading. Reading is truly the best.
When I set out to request these books for my second graders I wasn't even sure if we'd be able to use them! Thankfully, we have been able to use them and we love them! When we first returned to school in October, I only had 7 students. They loved seeing the new series books and it made our classroom truly feel different from our first grade classroom. Then, more students opted in to in-person learning and I taught 18 kids on alternating days November-January. Each day my students came to my classroom to learn they felt so lucky to have such an amazing selection of books. We've since had yet another shift and now I have 9 students who get to come EVERY DAY!
My students love the library so much that they choose to spend extra time in it when we have free time. And I still have students (who had to switch classes) write me notes requesting different books so I can deliver it to them! My students love reading so much. They recommend their favorite books to each other and they won't stop talking about the books they are reading. They are eager to share books that you donated from our library. Many of my students don't have a large library of books at home. When they were learning remotely, they had to rely on books on the screen. But it's just not the same as holding a real book! This gives them an even deeper appreciation for all the books that were donated.
My students especially love the Houndsley and Catina series, the Mighty Robot series, the Magic Tree House series, and the Pinky and Rex series that YOU generously added to my library this year. They love reading longer books and falling in love with the characters. Many students have set goals for themselves to read through the entire series!
I am so thankful to be able to give my students something they look forward to everyday they walk into the classroom. It is truly their light in the darkness of this pandemic.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Grace
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Donor and 3 other donors.Seating for Physically-Distanced World
Funded Sep 7, 2020This project didn't quite work out as planned because most of the items were backordered and would not be available any time soon. So I did some research and found these cushions instead of the yoga mats and these floor desks instead of the lap desks.
The cushions have been an amazing replacement for our giant meeting area rug, which has been stored in the basement due to COVID restrictions. Each child gets their own cushion and they are easy to wipe down. It makes us feel like we still have a cozy meeting area, even without the rug and with physical distancing. They also keep our bottoms warm as the floor can get quite cold from the wide-open windows that keep our classroom ventilated. The kids love them and I think they turned out even better than the yoga mats!
The strange floor desks I found have also been a great resource. Because of COVID and knowing that outside is safer than inside, our school made use of its great outdoor space and spearheaded an outdoor learning initiative. It is a bit too cold now, but when it was warmer, we transported these little desks outside with us and kids sat comfortable around our school garden reading, writing, problem solving, and creating. They also enjoy using them around the classroom. It's a nice alternative to sitting at their desk and still allows us to maintain physical distance. I have also used them when I need kids to be close to the Smartboard to see better while doing some work since the desks are further back in the classroom.
My students truly love all the alternative seating arrangements available to them and it gives them some sense of normalcy in this turbulent year. We are so lucky to have support from people near and far; I would not be able to provide these things for my students alone. We are all so thankful.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Grace
Seeing Ourselves in Series
Funded Aug 8, 2019I can't fully express my joy, excitement, and thanks for your donation to my project. I'm so thankful that you share my vision for reaching children and helping them foster a lifelong love for reading. Reading is truly the best.
My students love reading more than any other class is this school. They recommend their favorite books to each other and they won't stop talking about the books they are reading. They are eager to share books that you donated from our library along with books they have brought from home. There is truly a culture of readers in my class.
We received the books in September and have been loving them ever since. My students cherish the books and you can even find them giving hugs to their favorites. Not only do they love reading, but they also have made so much growth as readers. My teaching has not changed drastically so the difference is really in the books. Because they love the books so much, they are more motivated to figure out the words and read what is happening. It has been truly amazing to watch.
My students absolutely love all of the Piggie & Gerald books. The hardest thing about managing my students during independent reading is just to quiet them down when they're reading Piggie or Gerald's expressive GROOOAAAANNNNN or sneeze or whatever it may be! My class also loved reading all the Gossie & Friends books, especially since I used some of them as shared reading books in the beginning of the year. It gave my struggling readers and boost and the confidence they needed to move forward. My advanced readers are enjoying the Mercy Watson series and think it's so funny how that pig loves "toast with a great deal of butter!" They also love reading the adventures of Fox as well as Sofia Martinez. My students can truly see themselves and their own stories reflected in these series books.
I cannot wait to see this happen for years to come. Without your help, my students would never have had these great books. I just couldn't do it without you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Grace
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and 7 other donors.Opening Books to See the World
Funded Sep 10, 2019I can't fully express my joy, excitement, and thanks for your donation to my project. I'm so thankful that you share my vision for reaching children and helping them foster a lifelong love for reading. Reading is truly the best.
My students love reading more than any other class is this school. They recommend their favorite books to each other and they won't stop talking about the books they are reading. They are eager to share books that you donated from our library along with books they have brought from home. There is truly a culture of readers in my class.
We received the books in September and have been loving them ever since. My students cherish the books and you can even find them giving hugs to their favorites. Not only do they love reading, but they also have made so much growth as readers. My teaching has not changed drastically so the difference is really in the books. Because they love the books so much, they are more motivated to figure out the words and read what is happening. It has been truly amazing to watch.
My students especially love the new graphic novels basket I added to my library this year. The graphic novels I requested (and received) are a perfect introduction to the popular genre. They get some of my most reluctant readers interested and reading words. We also used the school books during our school study and they really supported our unit. Finally, they are just getting into some of the series books that were donated, like the Confetti Kids, in which my students can truly see themselves in these stories. The Star Wars books are always popular now, especially since a new movie was recently released.
I cannot wait to see this happen for years to come. Without your help, my students would never have had these great books. I just couldn't do it without you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Grace
Get Comfy!
Funded Aug 15, 2019This is just a small token of my gratitude for your generous donation to my classroom. The rug that you donated has helped make my classroom cozy and comfortable every single day. The plain blue color helps kids stay focused on the important learning. No matter how difficult the content seems, students are able to grapple with it because they feel right at home. Kids often go to sit on the rug during independent work time instead of at their tables.
We received the rug in September and I was able to begin the school year with everything looking and feeling great. Without your help, my students would never have had this amazing resource, which might not seem vital to many other people, but truly do make a difference.
Without donors like you, thousands of classrooms in the United States would go without important resources.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Grace
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 5 other donors.Reading with Mem Fox
Funded Apr 9, 2018I can't fully express my joy, excitement, and thanks for your donation to my project. I'm so thankful that you share my vision for children's reading and understand the impact an author study can have. My students love borrowing the books I read aloud to them. Even though the books are very difficult for first graders to read independently, you can hear many students actually reading the text because they love it so much. If you love something, you're motivated to figure it out!
My students love reading more than any other class is this school. They fight over their favorite books and they won't stop talking about the books they are reading. They are eager to share books that you donated from our library along with books they have brought from home. There is truly a culture of readers in my class.
We received the books last April. My students cherished the books and you could even find them giving hugs to their favorites. I'm so excited to share the books with this year's class. We're already into our first author study of the year and they love it. I'm sure they will greet the Mem Fox books with even more enthusiasm knowing the true potential of an author study!
Without your help, my students would never have had these great books. I just couldn't do it without you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Grace
Ravenous Readers
Funded Aug 24, 2017I can't fully express my joy, excitement, and thanks for your donation to my project. I'm so thankful that you share my vision for reaching children and helping them foster a lifelong love for reading. Reading is truly the best.
My students love reading more than any other class is this school. They fight over their favorite books and they won't stop talking about the books they are reading. They are eager to share books that you donated from our library along with books they have brought from home. There is truly a culture of readers in my class.
We received the books in September and have been loving them ever since. My students cherish the books and you can even find them giving hugs to their favorites. Not only do they love reading, but they also have made so much growth as readers. My teaching has not changed drastically so the difference is really in the books. Because they love the books so much, they are more motivated to figure out the words and read what is happening. It has been truly amazing to watch. All of the alphabet books helped us create our own alphabet book related to our unit of study (apples - see the pictures!). My students loved reading the different kinds of alphabet books and finding ways to make our own the best! They also love the different series books you donated- the Froggy, Fancy Nancy, and Katie Woo books get all my readers excited. The Dear Dragon series helped my struggling readers find a book series they could read and love.
I cannot wait to see this happen for years to come. Without your help, my students would never have had these great books. I just couldn't do it without you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Grace