Past projects 114
Let's Take Care Of Our Earth!
Funded May 31, 2017Remarkable things are happening in my classroom with the environmental science instructional materials, my students are having fun while learning about the importance of taking care of our planet and animals. The Growing Things Theme Box had 10 different kinds of seeds and several gardening tools for the children to engage with. My students had the opportunity to plant corn, tomatoes, sunflower, carrot, marigold, pumpkin and relish seeds, they were so excited to fill the pots with the soil and put the seeds in the dirt. They have now learned about the plant life cycle, what plants need to grow and the important role bees play in pollination. They've had the opportunity to listen to several books from the Growing Things Theme Book Library Set and they have participated in class discussions regarding "What plants need to grow", "How to care for plants", "How to grow a vegetable garden" and "How trees help purify our air" .
I put the Animals Up Close Puzzle Set in the Science center and the kids love engaging with them, they're bright beautiful pictures of different animals. The children have had the opportunity to learn the names of the animals and their habitat. One of my little ones favorite materials from this project has been the Soft and Squeezy Ocean Animals Set, I put the animals in my outdoor water table for the children to play with them during outdoor learning centers time. It is so rewarding to teach the children the animal names because as surprising as it may sound many children don't know the name of these ocean creatures, it is precisely why I ordered these materials, so that the children can learn that there are many beautiful creatures in the ocean that need our protection by not littering and keeping our oceans clean for them.
Thanks to your generosity, every day my students have access to wonderful activities! Thank you for helping plant the seed of environmental awareness in my students through these fantastic instructional materials. Forever thankful.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Betancourt
This classroom project was brought to life by Tom's of Maine and one other donor.Same, Same but Different
Funded May 27, 2017Remarkable things have been happening in my classroom with the arrival of these amazing tolerance instructional materials, thank you for your continuous support! With the arrival of the materials, including the Differing Abilities Paperback Library and Differing Abilities Book Sets, I have engaged my students in heightening their awareness, learning and exploration of the differing abilities people have, thus far I've had the opportunity to read to them about deafness, autism, asthma, blindness and anxiety. Every time I read one of these books to them they focus and show interest and participate in dialogue, questions and answers pertaining to the topic being read. I have put several of the books in the library for them to picture read and I always find someone looking at the Differing Abilities Books. They particularly love the Wemberly Worried Book Set I have put for them in the Listening Center, there's always someone listening to the story there. They also, ask me questions about the Kids Around the World Block Play People, they want to know why the man has a cloth on his head or why the boy has a red cloth on, the children are very curious and want explanations. I've explained to them the different names of the clothing such as the Ghutra, Kimono, Embroidered Mexican Peasant Dress, Buckskin Dress or the African tunic and I explain to them that in other parts of the world or in our own country some people dress like this, the children find the differences amusing and interesting. Thank you for planting the seed of love and understanding in my students with these amazing multicultural and differing abilities instructional materials.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Betancourt
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and one other donor.Arts and Crafts in Preschool!
Funded May 25, 2017Arts and Crafts time are a favorite activity in my classroom! So on behalf of my students, please receive a humongous thank you for the wonderful art materials. I immediately brought out these materials for my students to engage with, the Stick Foam Cubes were great fun! The children used their imagination, critical thinking, and problem solving skills as they made a mental plan of what they were going to create with the cubes and then completing their creation. They all made something different, a cheetah, a dress, a girl, a dog, a Power Ranger, a house etc.
The Superbright Sulphite Construction Paper has been used by the children to cut out shapes and make Shape art. Their shape pictures are now on display in our classroom, they're bright, colorful and absolutely beautiful! The children are proud of their work.
The children have used the Painting Bowls for various activities such as, using them while painting, sorting objects by various attributes such as color, shape and size, color recognition and to hold collage materials while collaging their master pieces.
Thank you for providing these wonderful art materials to my students, they're engaging and foster the art of creating.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Betancourt
This classroom project was brought to life by H&M and one other donor.A View From Around The World
Funded May 25, 2017You couldn't have bestowed these precious instructional materials on more grateful subjects, my students and I are immensely thankful! Upon receiving the materials I proceeded to gather my students to share with them the great news of having received materials for our classroom. They were very excited and wanted to see what was inside the box, squeals of joy came from my students. They particularly enjoy engaging with the Around the World viewers, they're eager to show me what they're seeing and they enjoy having discussions about what they see the people eating and wearing. They have asked me what is this? wondering what the monuments are and where they are. It's fun explaining to them that the world is immense and that we are just a small part of it and that other people in the world are similar but also different and that that in itself is interesting and wonderful.
We're currently in the middle of our Pets Study so the Guide Dog and harness have definitely come in handy. The children have had the opportunity to listen to an informational book about blindness and how these wonderful guide dogs support people who need help getting around safely.
The Feel and Find Sensory tubs are helping my students with shape, number and alphabet retention, the children are engaging with these wonderful tools and I use the opportunity to help reinforce the acquisition of these skills by having the children tell me what they find.
We really were a classroom in need of these materials, thank you for your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Betancourt
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and one other donor.Fostering Art and Music in Early Childhood
Funded May 19, 2017There's nothing more rewarding than seeing my students happily working on an art project, they immerse themselves in what they're working on and have such a great time. Thanks to your generous gift my students have lots of art materials to choose from. They're currently working on collaging sea creatures for their Luau themed preschool culmination celebration, which is taking place in a couple of weeks. They've had the opportunity to use the stick jewels, collage buttons, wiggly eyes, craft noodles, pom-poms, ocean animal collage boards and macaroni to collage their unique sea creatures for our culmination poster. Everyone's art looks fabulous! We also, want to thank you for making it possible to add more instruments to our instrument collection, the children now have a variety of instruments to choose from. The kids love music time, the xylophone, Chilean Rain-sticks and triangles are their favorite instruments. Thank you for helping me integrate the arts in our preschool classroom, every child deserves the opportunity, tools and resources to nurture their creative, artistic side to their maximum potential. Through your generous gift you are making that possible:) Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Betancourt
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and one other donor.Creative Arts In Early Childhood
Funded May 19, 2017Upon receiving the creative arts materials, my students were ecstatic about the Puppet Theater, they couldn't wait for my assistant Mr. Keiyon to assemble it. Once the puppet theater was assembled, I brought out several puppets for the children to put on a show, they took turns making the puppets sing, dance, and tell stories. My students are using their imagination, language and social skills while participating in the puppetry activities. Thank you for providing these wonderfully engaging resources and creative outlet for my students, they are happily enjoying them. I'm extremely thankful!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Betancourt
This classroom project was brought to life by H&M and one other donor.Teaching Tolerance Through Dramatic Play
Funded May 19, 2017My students are the most thankful and appreciative little kids in San Pedro, they got very excited to see and engage with the new materials. They told me to say "thank you for the toys" and "we will take good care of them." Thank you for helping my students grow up with the tools they need to learn tolerance, love, respect and appreciation for each other and others. With these tools you are planting the seeds of love for a better tomorrow and more peaceful world. My students are in love with the veterinarian and doctor office dramatic play props. I set up, both an indoor and outdoor Hospital play area for them; they're having a blast playing vet and fixing all of our classroom stuffed animals boo boos and of course playing doctor and bandaging and treating each other during doctor office play. Now that they have the doctor props, the kids love to dress up with their lab coats and use all of the doctor instruments such as the stethoscopes, syringes, doggy bowl, doctor bags, thermometers and clip board for writing prescriptions. It's so rewarding watching them engage in play where they are helping make each other feel better and also, taking care of the animals. Thank you for your generosity and contribution for a classroom full of eager to learn and eager to experiment group of children.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Betancourt
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and one other donor.Let's Learn to Get Along!
Funded May 8, 2017The impact the Tolerance project instructional materials has made in my students is astounding! Each day during our classroom busy schedule, I make sure my students are given the opportunity to listen to at least three books being read by me. Now that I have the Tolerance project books, I read at least one or two pro-social, differing abilities or multicultural books to the children each day. The kids attend to the books being read and they participate in open-ended, critical thinking discussions, to assure they are grasping the concepts being taught. I have seen the difference these books and materials are making in my students lives, there is less fighting, less hitting and more language being used when solving conflicts in the classroom. The children are growing in kindness and compassion, I hear them say things like "No hitting!","Let's share." and "We are all friends." to each other. I'm truly thankful for these wonderful materials, it is through your donation that my kids are learning to get along and appreciate each other a lot more. With all of my heart thank you so much.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Betancourt
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and one other donor.Discovering Science!
Funded May 5, 2017The excitement my students experienced when I opened the box with the science materials was priceless. They were very happy to see the new materials and even more happy to engage with them. Upon receiving the science materials, I proceeded to implement several science experiments in my lesson plan for my students to participate in. The children had the opportunity to predict and test the force of the giant horse shoe magnets by conducting an experiment, testing whether or not the horse shoe magnet would pull out magnetic and non magnetic objects out of the water. It was a wonderful lesson that involved critical thinking and language skills. It was interesting to chart their responses and see their reaction to the results. The children also, participated in learning about what are magnetic and non magnetic objects and the strength of magnets.
The science viewers have become one of the favorite things to explore in the science area, the children love to see the different images of bugs, insects, animals and life cycles and I've noticed that when they engage with the science viewers, the children are using a lot more descriptive words to talk about what they are seeing. It was through your generous gift that these investigations and experiments have been made possible and I thank you with all of my heart.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Betancourt
Art and Creativity are Important for Kids
Funded May 2, 2017When my students and I opened the boxes filled with art materials, the kids unanimously cheered with joy, they were so happy and thankful. I wish I could upload a video of them chanting yay!! It truly was an amazing moment. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my students happily engaging with materials of their choice but there's something about art that brings a smile to my face, maybe it's because as a child I longed to paint and color but didn't really have the resources to do it and now it feels great to see that my students have these art materials to engage with. The kids are having a blast with the art materials, they have collage farm animals, flowers and frames with the flexible foam shapes, sequins and gemstones. My youngest students have been spending time using the design rollers painting farm animals for their Barn book. Thank you so much for the wonderful art materials. Thanks to you, the children go home with art projects everyday now.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Betancourt