Ms. Ku's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 15

• Learning to Save Money with Piggy!

  Funded Oct 24, 2024

  With an unexpected addition of TWO new students to our roster following the funding of our project, we had to delay our financial literacy lessons until after the holidays in order to make sure we had enough supplies for our new friends, too! Now that we are all set, the anticipation is almost too much to handle! The general consensus amongst students in class is that their primary goal is to understand how to save up enough money for our grand finale of a field trip at the end of first grade... Dolphin Quest! I am so excited to be able to provide them with vocabulary and to teach them strategies to help them hit their goals! Mahalo nui to all who contributed to this passion project!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ku

• I Like to Move It . . . Move It!

  Funded Dec 28, 2024

  I am truly honored that, during this holiday season, you philanthropists from near and far saw such potential in my project that you committed to investing in the physical and mental health of my Kohala first graders! The unique challenges that my littles face as one of the few classes starting at the end of the pandemic have forced me to get creative in my approach to teaching, quite literally making me think outside of the classroom! I am so excited to use these new materials to get my keiki moving, thinking, problem solving, and progressing!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ku

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Cavens Ohana and 2 other donors.

• An Apple (Pencil & Mouse!) a Day

  Funded Dec 5, 2024

  To see the people who raised me come full circle to help me raise our younger generation is such a humbling experience. Mahalo for your contributions and continued relentless support of my vision for a more functional, productive class! Keeping up with the latest technology will only take us to places we could have only dreamed of before your donations!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ku

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Cavens Ohana and one other donor.

• Getting Sharp with Organization & Storage!

  Funded Oct 15, 2024

  Our classroom is slowly transforming into an organized oasis thanks to your generosity! Your contribution to the functionality and to the practicality of our classroom has allowed us to access our curriculum materials efficiently in addition to our library of multileveled books! My students love having access to our brand new pencil sharpener, and our color printer is up and running, bringing our beautiful and vibrant classroom projects to life! We are so incredibly grateful for the support of donors like you!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ku

  This classroom project was brought to life by Hawai'i State Dept. of Ed and Marc & Lynne Benioff.

• Block It, Lock It, Put It In Your Pocket!

  Funded Aug 24, 2024

  It's fall break, and I finally have the opportunity to build my beautiful new storage cabinet! It's even better than I could have imagined, and does exactly what I was hoping for... provide some more privacy for our class in addition to some much needed storage! I now have easy access to spare changes of clothes, teaching manuals, reading group journals, math manipulatives, and so much more! Mahalo nui to each and every one of you for contributing to this essential new piece of furniture in my classroom. As my teaching years fly by, I realize that it's so important to find investment pieces that will stand the test of time, so I plan on having this heavy duty cabinet for many, many years to come! I appreciate you all so much!!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ku

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Gates Foundation and 10 other donors.

• Don’t Leave Us in the Gray

  Funded Mar 27, 2024

  I must admit, integrating the arts and different medias into a first grade curriculum hasn't always been my strong suit. My irrational fear of glitter explosions and spilled paint water has always deterred me from attempting those complex projects that are guaranteed to end up on display on refrigerators! But this printer has been an absolute game changer! Our class has been able to use it to personalize projects with their photos, print beautiful colored posters with new math concepts, and we were even able to use it to help advertise for our Krispy Kreme Fundraiser, which ultimately earned us a trip to Dolphin Quest! Your donations have made a far greater impact than you could ever have imagined, creating memories that will last a lifetime. Mahalo nui for being our classroom angels and for turning into my vision into an absolute reality!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ku

  This classroom project was brought to life by LOFT and 10 other donors.

• Learning Labs & STEM Galore!

  Funded Feb 15, 2024

  While writing tools, folders, flashcards, and the like are all essential to the basic functionality of any classroom, nothing gets students more excited than the anticipation of new Learning Lab stations! We have had the same twenty stations available with simple activities such as popsicle sticks, dice, and stencils all year long. While important, they all lacked a challenge! My students could hardly contain their excitement when I went through the list of new labs for them to choose from! We were able to replace ten of our stations with rich, colorful, stimulating activities that are sure to keep our class engaged, creative, and collaborative all while incorporating fine motor skills and a sense of wonder all year long! Mahalo nui for making this happen!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ku

  This classroom project was brought to life by Hawai'i State Department of Education.

• Paint It… Dry It… Show It!

  Funded Dec 13, 2023

  Our class has been OBSESSED with our new classroom "refrigerator" that we have created with our new clipboards and adhesives! It is now the heart of our classroom where the students feel like they can express themselves with whatever piece of art or academic achievement they have. Mahalo nui for making this possible! Our first lesson since getting our supplies was a step-by-step art lesson on how to draw Bluey! Not only were students able to post their own creations, but I was easily able to snap a photo for parents and they were able to quickly identify which creation belonged to their child! Next up on our agenda... the paints and drying rack! Also, our new orchestra stand has been an absolute dream in terms of efficiently delivering any type of lesson hands free! We are so incredibly grateful for the donors of this project... our classroom is slowly transforming into an oasis for learning!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ku

• Teamwork Makes the Dream Work!

  Funded Nov 17, 2023

  It was quite the rollercoaster getting these huge whiteboards to ship to Hawai'i, but after waiting for more than two months, they're finally here... and so much more than we could have ever expected! Our class used them for the first time today, and I have never seen our class more engaged, patient, and motivated then they were with their random partners today!!! I can't even begin to tell you how happy this makes my teacher heart. And it was all thanks to you for your support of my classroom and our mission to bring Thinking Classrooms to first grade!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ku

  This classroom project was brought to life by Hawai'i State Department of Education.

• Floor Table for the Win

  Funded Aug 28, 2023

  After some shipping delays and a missing table top, our class finally received our highly anticipated floor table!!! The sheer joy on each of my students' faces made the extra wait totally worth it! Our floor table was ordered specifically for use during our sacred free choice Learning Lab time, and it was an absolute mad dash to see who was going be using the table first!

  Thank you to all who made this possible. I've been trying to be really intentional about incorporating purposeful play throughout my day, and this floor table has been the absolute center of our play universe!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ku

  This classroom project was brought to life by United Airlines and one other donor.