Past projects 19
Bringing Stories to Life with Technology
Funded Jul 24, 2017Young children love to tell stories. They love to retell about events that happened to them at home, with friends, and in school. In early childhood, we work on writing simple stories and putting their ideas onto paper. Students are learning how to "write" first by dictating information about their picture, then by sounding out sounds heard in words. We work on adding detail and information to their pictures and ideas.
Because of your generous donations of two new iPads to use in our classroom, we are working on expanding their ideas into digital stories and media. We have been able to start using new iPad apps such as My StoryBook Creator and Book Creator to begin to write simple, repetitive stories for our students to learn that even very young children can be authors! This has been extremely beneficial since most of my students are still learning pre-writing skills and letter formation.
By your donation to this project, my students are also learning how to collaborate with their peers, share ideas, and work together to complete a task. This has been such a great way to work on both academic and social-emotional skills in our program. Thank you so very much for your generous donations to our classroom and our students. We are so grateful for your support with this project!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Hitchins
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and one other donor.LEAPing into Digital Storytelling
Funded Aug 14, 2017Thank you so much for the generous donations of LeapPads to our classroom! We were in desperate need of having a listening center that students could use independently to read along with and listen to audio stories. My students love reading and being read to, however trying to use a CD player independently was limiting to students because they had to listen to whatever story I chose to put on for them that day. By gifting our students with LeapPads which are age- and developmentally appropriate, they are able to utilize this center more independently. They also are able to read along with whatever story THEY chose to read! This has made this center so much more engaging and popular in our classroom!
Since the LeapPads were designed specifically for young students, I do not have to worry that they are looking at information that is inappropriate or too challenging. These programs have also given my students a renewed excitement of reading and literacy, as it brings many of the stories to life through animation. As they are becoming more familiar with some of the popular stories, they are starting to read along with the text on the screen! This is such a great pre-reading skill for my students as they are learning to follow the text, and that text goes from left to right.
Thank you so much for your generous donation to our class and to our students. We are extremely grateful for your donation to our class and allowing us to purchase much-needed materials!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Hitchins
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and one other donor.Incorporating iPads for Student Learning
Funded Jul 17, 2017Words cannot express the true gratitude that we have for you and your donations to our classroom. In our early childhood program, students are excited, engaged, and motivated by technology activities. Through your donation of an iPad with a keyboard and protective case, my students are able to work on pre-readiness skills to better prepare them for Kindergarten. In our classroom we have daily free choice and centers set out, with centers focusing on literacy, math, fine motor, and science, just to name a few! The iPad has been a great addition to our center time which allows students to work on these academic concepts in fun and interactive ways. There is never a time when someone is not using the iPad for skill practice!
We have been able to download age-appropriate apps and programs to the iPad that allow students to work on skills that they need more practice on, and the activities are able to be adapted to individual students' needs. My students are learning letter and number recognition, letter sounds, counting and beginning addition, how to create and form letters, and cause and effect. They love the addition of the keyboard which not only works on letter recognition, but is also working on their hand-eye coordination, and is preparing them for their future work on computers and typing skills.
The addition of the iPad to our classroom free choice time is also helping students work on social skills and development such as sharing materials and taking turns, and communicating with their peers. My students are also learning how to appropriately take care of technology resources and can help one another navigate the apps with decreased teacher assistance. The simple addition of an iPad to our classroom through your generous donation has greatly benefited my students academically and socially. We are extremely thankful for your generosity and your support of our students and program. Thank you so very much!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Hitchins
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and one other donor.Letters, Rhyming, and More!
Funded Dec 19, 2016Thank you so very much for your generous donation and support of our Letters, Rhyming, and More project. In early childhood we are always trying to find fun and engaging ways to help students learn literacy skills such as letter recognition, letter sounds, rhyming words, etc. Through this project funding, my students have more hands-on games and activities to help them learn these skills.
One of the things I love most about these materials is that they encourage my students to work together collaboratively, as well as work on their social skills such as sharing and taking turns. These new materials are very exciting to the students, so we are definitely hitting these standards! Students are excited to share their accomplishments with their peers and other teachers, and will often ask for me to take a picture of something they wrote on the gel boards, want to show a parent the letter they made with the letter builder game, or will call me over to the sand table to show me what letter they found (and named!) from the sift and find seashell activity.
This project has allowed my students to have more opportunities to be successful in learning their pre-literacy skills. They are excited, engaged, and are making progress with beginning letter and sound recognition already. I cannot thank you enough for the generous donations and opportunities you provided for my students through this project being funded.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Hitchins
3D Art Materials for PreK
Funded Apr 25, 2016Thank you so very much for your generous donation and support of our 3D art project. The art center is a huge interest area in our classroom and my students are always looking for new ways to create and express themselves through art materials.
One of the things I love most about these materials is that they are open ended and students can create whatever they want with the materials. It is a wonderful opportunity to see what my students can create with pieces of wood, feathers, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, and random recycled materials. Not only do they create projects on their own, but it is a great opportunity for my students to work together with their peers to create projects and pictures. They are proud of their work and ask me to take pictures of their art work to send to their families all the time. We are starting a book of our art creations to put in our art center so students can look back on all of the great pictures and projects they create at school.
This project has allowed my students to begin to appreciate our art center even more as it gives them so many more materials to build, construct, and express themself. I cannot thank you enough for the generous donations and opportunities you provided for my students through this project being funded.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Hitchins
Multi-Cultural Learning in Early Childhood
Funded Feb 10, 2016Dear Donors,
Thank you so very much for your generous donation and support of our Multi-Cultural Learning project. As I unpacked the boxes of new materials, the students squealed with delight as I took each new item out. The musical instruments, dramatic play clothing, and new babies have been the most sought after items we received. These materials are chosen daily by students to use!
One of the things I love most about these materials is that it is giving us an opportunity to learn about different people, different countries, and how to use a global map. One of the new materials we received was picture cards that show how to say "hello" in different languages. Each week we are learning a new way to say hello, as well as where that country is located on a map, and in relationship to where we live. We learn about travel and transportation with these cards and activities as well. The kids are excited on Monday's to see what our new word of the week is posted on our classroom door.
This project has allowed my students to begin to learn about people in different countries and what they wear, how they speak, types of musical instruments they use, and famous landmarks. We are excited to learn that we are both similar and different from people in other countries, and learning about acceptance and diversity through this project as well. I cannot thank you enough for the generous donations and opportunities you provided for my students through this project being funded.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Hitchins
Hands-on Math Activities
Funded Mar 2, 2012Words cannot express my sincerest appreciation for your donations to our Hands-On Math project. We have 40 students this year (in either an AM or PM class) who will be able to benefit from your generous donations, and will continue to be used for many years to come!
When the box of new materials arrived, the kids were extremely excited and started clapping and cheering! We now have so many wonderful math activities our Math center is overflowing with games and activities for the kids to choose from. It has been a wonderful addition to our program and curriculum this semester. The counting boxes, rubbing plates and counting cubes are definitely the most popular and sought after games.
These new materials have allowed my students to continue to learn about patterns, number recognition, counting, writing numbers, beginning graphing, money, and time concepts. They are building a wonderful foundation for future math skills and concepts, all while thinking they are just "playing" various games and activities. You have given my students an amazing gift!
Thank you for giving my students this wonderful, educational opportunity to learn, play and explore! We are eternally grateful for your generous donations to our project, our classroom and my students. ”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Hitchins
Science...More than Magnets!
Funded Oct 4, 2011experiments
I cannot begin to express my sincerest appreciation for your donations to my Science Materials project. As you can see by one of our posted photos, the Science Center is VERY popular with students waiting patiently to have a turn to explore! What a wonderful gift! The models of the heart and the brain are definitely the most popular items we have. The children also really enjoy brushing the gigantic teeth and exploring different slides on the microscope! The materials you gave us are exposing my students to so many more concepts and science areas and allows them to explore and learn through natural and hands-on learning experiences.
By using these materials, my students are learning so many life skills including problem solving, observing, predicting, asking questions, and learning to do basic expiriments.
Thank you for giving my students this wonderful, educational gift to learn, play and explore! We are eternally grateful for your generous donations to our project, our classroom and my students. ”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Hitchins
Please....Read To Me!
Funded Jun 13, 2011Thank you so very much for your donations to our Listening Center Project. Our class will have 40 students this year (in either an AM or PM class) who will be able to benefit from your generous donations. My students love to listen to books being read to them and our new Literacy Center will allow them to listen to stories whenever they want!
There are so many benefits to having a listening center in our classroom. The materials you provided us with will allow my students to learn how to follow along with the text, improve their listening skills, be able to hear different authors tone and inflection, as well as learn how to work together in small groups to listen to the stories together. What a wonderful gift you have given my students and we are extremely grateful for your help!
My students love sitting together in small groups, sharing books and listening to the stories. It is one of our most popular centers right now!
Thank you again for your donations.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Hitchins
This classroom project was brought to life by Townsend Press and 6 other donors.