Past projects 11
Sensory Through Touch and Sight
Funded Feb 3, 2025My students LOVED the sensory tunnel. They wouldn't come out of it and brought toys into it to play with. It has helped me with their sensory needs and motor needs.
The sensory jelly blox, my kids won't let go of them. We stack them, squeeze them, and explore the different objects inside of the blocks.
My students have been able to attend to the sensory blocks for over 10 minutes without walking away from the activity. They are also able to engage with others social when playing with the blocks.
Thank you so much for helping the kids meet their sensory needs.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Karli
Snacks for Toddler Bellies!
Funded Nov 23, 2024This project has been truly one of the most amazing gift for my students. Each day the littles come in, they get to pick a snack and fill their little bellies.
When this project got funded, I had so many emotions go through my heart. You are truly angels for supporting my students that need a little extra nutrition each day.
We have been able to work on communication skills when they are shown two different snacks. The smiles the kids have on their faces when they know it's for them is truly wonderful.
Thank you so much for helping these students feel loved and full each time they are at school! It means the world.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Karli
Calm Area Carpet!
Funded May 5, 2024We LOVE our carpet and so thankful for you to help us obtain it. The students love it and it DOESN'T show stains! WE LOVE THAT! The kids helped me open the carpet and roll it out.
We have used it for calm down time and for when students are sleepy. We have also used it for when reading and when playing with toys.
The kids know where to go when they are upset and are no longer s overwhelmed by the different shapes like our old one.
The carpet brings the room together and we love it! Next year we can't wait to start off with this carpet and the kids learn where our calm down area is.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Karli
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 2 other donors.Focus Motion with Dividers!
Funded Apr 29, 2024While this is not the divider I originally picked, we love the one that finally came. It's the perfect size for my toddlers and it has helped them focus during speech and one on one time with the teacher.
The students first reaction was to knock it down, but they now understand that it helps them stay in one area and focus with the teachers. My younger group of students won't go in the area it is blocking when it's up.
I have gotten another one to put them together and to also block other areas and when both teachers need to have small groups.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Karli
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 3 other donors.Manipulative Sets for Toddler Learning!
Funded May 8, 2024We have used these stem/ fine motor activities for morning work and independent time with the teacher. We also are using them to help with their fine motor and cognitive skills while also learning to share.
The students LOVE them! They are a great size for their tiny hands and very safe. When they saw them for the first time they had big smiles on their faces and were requesting for me to open them right away!
I can't wait to use them for the remainder of this school year and during summer school! They are really helping their creativity! Thank you all!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Karli
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 7 other donors.Art for the Twos!
Funded May 2, 2024Thank you all so much for helping us!
The students were so excited to see the art materials and wanted to have art time as soon as we opened them! They love art time!
We have used the stamping pads to make cards for our admins, clinic aid, speech therapist, and gifts for the students parents! They LOVE the using the stamping pads and always pull them out for art time. We also used the laminating pouches to make the cards for their parents last forever!
The textured art tools are used to paint with different lines. The students love feeling the textures as well and were used in the water table. We painted a rainbow as a class with the tools and the students had so much fun painting together.
We are so thankful for all the materials! We can't wait to make more memories with the items during art time! The parents love having art come home to hang on their walls!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Karli
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 2 other donors.Sensory Play Through the Eyes of Toddlers!
Funded Apr 4, 2024When the items got delivered, the students helped me open it and had the biggest smiles on their faces. They imminently wanted to open the caterpillar color sorting toy as we were learning about bugs for our camping/nature theme. They first named all the colors and items that came with it.
My students love the soft blocks and caterpillar toys. They are able to learn to play together when engaging in these items during the school day. It was so sweet to see them engage together. The hedgehog sensory puzzle also was a favorite in the room as my students love colors and were able to touch different sensory items.
The butterfly weighed blanket has helped students who were upset. They were able to cuddle with it and get the heavy sensory feeling and helped them calm down.
Thank you also so much for helping my students get sensory items in the classroom!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Karli
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 4 other donors.Terrific Twos Play Outdoors with Fun Toys
Funded Feb 25, 2024They have been learning how to throw the balls into the hoop and getting them out on their own. They have been throwing, rolling, and kicking the balls and learning to do some with each other.
The bike has been a BIG hit! They have been playing with the wheels and practicing sitting on it. Still learning to use their legs to make it move, but the smiles have been going since getting the bike.
These items have been helping them learn to engage functionally with toys and getting to move their bodies.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Karli
Building Through Play
Funded Aug 15, 2023This project, "Building through Play", has helped my class engage in play together. Most of my students engage in independent play and when I pull these blocks out, they engage in the same area and build towers together.
When the blocks first arrived to our class, the smiles on the student's faces were pure joy and happiness. These were the first toys I've gotten to get all my students to engage with at the same time. The blocks are easy for their tiny hands to pick up and safe when the students dump over the tower of blocks.
I've been able to incorporate these blocks into centers and structured play. It can also help develop language by using terms "put on", "want more", "go up", "go down", and labeling colors.
When I've sent pictures to parents, they were so proud of their children and how they look happy while playing with friends for one of the first times. We are so thankful for these blocks for building friendships, language, and play skills.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Karli
This classroom project was brought to life by The SONIC Foundation and 5 other donors.Classroom Community
Funded Jun 10, 2018My students and I use this carpet as a place to begin the school day and end the school day. It's our place to say hello and become a family. We have had many giggles, cries, cuddles and dance parties on it already. Another activity that we do on the carpet is helping my students to learn about personal space when sitting. They are able to find a number or a letter to sit on and then they are able to stay there. The big sun in the middle allows us to walk in a circle during music time. The students are learning to make a circle around the big sun and that helps with the visual aspect of keeping a circle with them. We have drum gathering on the carpet and each student finds a cloud to sit on and starts drumming on the drum. My students have also asked to play doll house on the carpet instead of the block area.
The carpet came on a Friday afternoon when my students were leaving. It was a pretty rough day since it was raining outside and we were unable to go out and play. As we were waiting for the bus, I saw the UPS truck pull up and saw an object that looked to be a carpet. I was so excited when the UPS man pulled it out and brought it in the school. I told the man you are about to bring so much happiness and community into my classroom. I stayed late after work to set the carpet up because no one in the school knew what the carpet looked like and I wanted to surprise them the following Monday. My administrator came by that afternoon to see the carpet and she smiled and said how beautiful and bright it made the classroom. The custodian said "this is the best looking carpet in the entire school" which made me so happy. The following Monday, my team walked into the room and they were speechless. They said our classroom is finally complete. My students walked in and all went right to the carpet because it was new and different. They all sat on it and just looked at the carpet. One of my students started counting the numbers they saw on it while another student jumped around on the sun. It was hard getting the kids to unpack that morning, but that just meant they loved it so much.
This carpet has been a dream of mine since I started at the school I work at. It's bright, playful and a place where everyone wants to be while at school. I plan to start each and every day on this carpet and end each day. I also plan to always have dance parties and bubble parties on it. This beautiful carpet means the world to me and I'm still so blessed that my family and friends helped donate to bring community and happiness into my second home, my classroom. When I think of the carpet, I think of it as the center of the classroom. The carpet definitely completed the classroom and made it feel like a home for my students and myself. We have already had so many memories on it and I can't wait to make more.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Karli