Mrs. Gillingham's Classroom Edit display name

Current requests

Past projects 22

• Flexible Seating for Kindergarten!

  Funded Sep 18, 2024

  Thank you so much for your generation donations! My students were so excited when they saw the boxes of supplies being delivered! Especially because they are in kindergarten, they are so excitable and happy, they were over the moon when they saw that the boxes were items for their classroom! They couldn't wait for me to open them so they could see what was inside!

  We are using these new resources everyday! We are able to use the rug in our writing center. Students gather around the rug with their writing supplies. Some students are also able to use the chair bands, if they have some extra energy throughout the day.

  They also love all the books I have read to them during our various read alouds. The students gather on the rug after lunch and I pick one of our new books to read to them. They are so grateful as am I!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gillingham

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community & an Anonymous Partner and 7 other donors.

• Arts and Crafts!

  Funded Apr 26, 2024

  Thank you so much for your contribution to our classroom! My students were able to use these resources in a way to help them rest and relax after state testing. For example, after a month long of taking the California state testing, known as the SBAC, students were able to focus on their mental health and well being by creating bracelets and keychains. This allowed them to get creative and focus on their mental state.

  The students were so excited when they saw the materials! They couldn't wait to dig in and get started on created! They were so excited to have a space and the materials they needed to allow their minds a break from all the hard work they had put into their state testing. Moving forward, I will be able to use the remaining materials for this years end of the year state testing. We will have the same session, where students can unwind and get creative, and take a breathe!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gillingham

• Art for the Students!

  Funded Jan 1, 2022

  Thank you so much for the amazing art supplies we received. The students are using the new resources to create some really cool art projects. So far we have used some of the supplies to create a Frida Kahlo art project. The students have also been using the Fuji film Instax to take photos of their work and weekly interactions with each other.

  My students were shocked when they opened up the boxes to see all of their new art supplies. They were excited and know that they will be using all these supplies before the school year is over. My students are super excited to create and design their own shirts and then to use the vinyl to bring their designs to life. They had huge smiles on their faces when they saw these supplies.

  The next steps for our classroom is to continue creating and making wonderful art projects. The students are excited for our last couple of months together and cannot wait to be able to use all the supplies during the next months of school. They are also loving the books that came with their supplies and are taking turns sharing books and reading to each other!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gillingham

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 8 other donors.

• Basic Needs!

  Funded Apr 2, 2021

  My students were so excited when they saw all the wonderful resources they got. These basic need items such as the toothbrush and toothpaste is vital for these students to keep up with healthy hygiene. They were excited to see what color toothbrush they got and they were pretending to brush their teeth with them! They were so excited over all the snacks they received and mentioned several times how they were going to share these with their parents.

  The toilet paper, coffee pods, and soap were much appreciated by their parents when they came to the school to pick up their goodie bags. Our families were so appreciative and thanked me several times. I thank you all back donors!

  The next steps for students will be to continue to make sure that they stay healthy and safe during these still uncertain times. I will plan on checking up with them next school year as they enter 4th grade to make sure they are all staying safe and healthy. I will be able to give them more toothpaste and brushes when they need! The supply is plenty and I know my new students will also benefit from this wonderful donation! Thanks to all of you!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gillingham

  This classroom project was brought to life by Kathleen and Chip Rosenbloom and 7 other donors.

• Virtual Learning During Fall!!

  Funded Nov 20, 2020

  Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your generous donations! This year has certainly been a challenge for all teachers like myself and our students. The impact for "virtual Learning During Fall" has been huge! The technology that I received has helped to make my lessons more efficient, understandable, and exciting for my students!

  The product that my students have been the most excited for has been the document camera. This product attaches to my computer and allows me to show a document under the camera. We use it for read alouds. This product has been a life saver because I do not have to awkwardly hold up the book I am reading to my students, but I can simply place it under the document camera and project it to the Zoom screen for all my students to see. This has gotten so many more students excited for our read alouds! I have noticed more students pay attention and look at the pictures with excited faces as we read.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gillingham

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose 20th Anniversary Fund and 5 other donors.

• Technology for Virtual Learning!

  Funded Jul 16, 2020

  Thank you so much for the donations that went towards this project. Currently our school district is 100% virtual learning. This means that students are receiving their education online. All of the items that were donated have helped me become a better virtual teacher for my students. The technology has been helping my students learn this school year because they have been able to hear me clearly via Zoom on the new noise canceling headphones that I received. The students are also learning with many different videos. During the school day I go between using two screens to play videos and show my self. To do this effectively I am using the Ipad holder so my students can see the videos and online resources clearly during our school day.

  My students enjoy and appreciate all of the new products that were received. Unfortunately, this time my students are unable to use the products themselves. This time my students are excited for me to the the stand up light. This helps them to see my face more clearly and helps to create that student teacher connection a little better. My students also love when I use the noise canceling headphones because they can hear me and our read alouds so well.

  All of my students are appreciative of the products we received because they know how challenging distance learning can be. They love knowing that their teacher has some of the best technology that will help them with their education this year.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gillingham

  This classroom project was brought to life by Kathleen and Chip Rosenbloom and 5 other donors.

• Diverse Books!

  Funded Jun 26, 2020

  Thank you so much for the donations! I cannot wait to be able to start teaching students from these books that were delivered. In third grade we teach students main idea and details. These books will be used as a mentor text. This means that I will read and show the students how to find the main idea of the book and show them how to locate support details. Then the students will be able to go off and read their own books to find the main idea and details.

  In my classroom reading time is golden! There are no interruptions and students read from their bin. They can choose a spot to sit in and have a reading journal to write down their thoughts about the book after they read. Students are encouraged to read, read, and read! Even if they have already read a book my students know that they can benefit from rereading a book.

  I have already been able to read these books to my summer school students and they are so excited! I have students in my summer class who are Mexican American and Asian American. They are delighted that I have been reading books to them that represent their culture. They love being able to see themselves in these books through our virtual read aloud. This is all possible because of people like you! Thank you for caring for my students and my future students!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gillingham

  This classroom project was brought to life by Kathleen and Chip Rosenbloom and 2 other donors.

• Books for All!

  Funded Jan 30, 2020

  Thank you so much for this generous donation of books for our classroom library! In our classroom reading is done during a workshop lesson. My third grade students are given 25-30 minutes of independent reading time while I work one on one with students. Right now we are working on a nonfiction unit, so students are being encouraged to read nonfiction books during their reading block. The last ten minutes I give them an opportunity to read a "dessert" book. Their dessert books can be any book that they have been wanting to read for that day. I also use the books that were donated as a mentor text for reading and writing workshop. These books have great ideas to teach different concepts in our workshop.

  I am helping to cultivate a classroom atmosphere where students are able to read for fun and not have to take a test. I am cultivating a classroom where students feel that they are all readers and not a reading level. These new books will help all of my students feel like readers and that they are capable of anything!

  I do have some students who are especially excited to receive some of these books because we are growing our library and getting more books by the same author. They are learning to read books in a series by the same author. They will be excited to see us get books by famous authors that we have been studying!

  We are truly grateful and cannot share enough how happy we are to receive more books to help our library grow!!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gillingham

• Let's Tech It Out!

  Funded Aug 16, 2019

  My students were so excited when they saw the box come in from Amazon! They had no idea that it was an IPAD Pro because I wanted this project to be a surprise to them. When I let them open up the box they were so surprised! They said, " WOW! This is the biggest IPAD". They were so excited and started asking what projects they could work on with their new device. They were so excited too once they saw the Apple pencil. They were ready to start using these two devices the minute we got the packages.

  We are using the new resources such as the IPAD Pro and Apple Pencil to do whole group instruction. We are working on math questions, and the students are using the IPAD to project onto the screen their work. This way students can collaborate and share their strategies that they are using for their math questions. It has been a really engaging and interactive way to share our learning and collaborate with each other.

  The next steps we have for our classroom projects with our IPAD Pro and Apple pencil is to have students use the device to make green screen videos on the APP DoInk. This will continue to enhance and promote 21st Century learning in a collaborative way that will help to keep my students engaged! We are so excited to continue learning with our IPAD!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gillingham

  This classroom project was brought to life by Kathleen and Chip Rosenbloom and one other donor.