Past projects 66
Listen and Learn
Funded Oct 14, 2019Thank you again for the financial support that helped me attain the new goodies our class recently received. Technology is used daily in our classroom, mostly as independent work during reading stations. Headphones and the Doorbell I purchase, thanks to your donations, are already being put to use. In stations my students have easy access to the headphones and use them when listening to books or videos on numerous literacy websites. The Doorbell is a great way to catch my students' attention and mark transition times. I am loving that new toy!
The board games have also been used during reading stations. The students love asking what games they can play and look forward to finishing their "must do's" so they can get to them. I truly believe they will be able to become stronger spellers and readers by playing word-related games daily.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Alston
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 4 other donors.Back to the Basics!
Funded Aug 28, 2019Wow! I am so grateful and amazed at how quickly this project got funded, and how easy it has made the start of the school year flow. Although many students come in with supplies, there are a good handful that still need items necessary in my class. With many new students coming in without supplies, the notebooks and folders have been given out and put to good use. We have already started cutting and gluing things to add to our interactive notebooks and the scissors and glue have come in handy. We have already ran out of our first batch of glue sticks (that's why I only set out a little at a time)! The scissor caddy is the star of the show with it's convenience and easy organization.
When the items began arriving, I gave some students the task of carrying the boxes to my class and they were excited to see what was in them. They were comforted in knowing that there were things in those boxes that were for them and their use. I believe the favorite is the broom and dust pan. After years of being given a broom from custodians only to have it taken during the summer, it was nice to have one that I could put my name on. The students love having the responsibility of sweeping at the end of the day, and I even have other teachers asking to borrow it!
Now that I have more than enough of the basic supplies to get the school year going, I want to think about more projects geared towards reading and books. The interest in the type of books students want to read have changed, and I need a library update! I want to meet their needs by keeping them interested in reading with graphic novels and cool picture books. Look out for a project coming soon!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Alston
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 9 other donors.What's In Store?
Funded Apr 16, 2019The treats that we have received have been a big hit! We have an incentive program implemented at the school already in which students receive "Broad Rock Bucks" and are able to go shopping with them at the school store. As the school year closes, the glamour of the store begins to diminish because there is less to buy. I wanted to keep the momentum going and the materials we received to add to the store definitely helped with that issue. They looked forward to picking from the assorted gel pens, slap bracelets, sitting in a special seat, and their all-time favorite, the big box of candy.
When they first saw the materials I got a lot of "What's that?" and "Ohhhhhh look at all that candy!" I was so excited to start using it to reward a lot of different things, and it came in extra handy when we started state testing as pick-me-up for them. These items have lasted a while too so for my next project I'm thinking books! I will be transitioning into my favorite subject next year, reading! Again thank you for kind donations to help make this possible, and I am looking forward to a new project for the upcoming school year.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Alston
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 2 other donors.We Need A Break!
Funded Apr 10, 2019Once again, your donation means a lot to me and my students. Your large donation was able to allow materials to arrive and be put into use right away! The students are always excited to see new items in the classroom. In pictures you will see them enjoying a game of spoons and using the deck of cards to play "War." Most of the materials came so quickly that they have already been used for indoor/outdoor recess and to help us review science content with fun review games. The game we played involved the students needing to answer a question for their team. If they got the question correct they got to shoot a basket and earn a point for their team.
Anytime there are boxes coming to my room, the students have an idea of what's coming, but are still very eager to see what "treats" are coming their way. Some students know that I've been working on a project, but some love asking what's inside the box. Once they see they have several questions like "What is that for?" and "When did you get that?!" I love explaining to them that I get these items through donations, and that thanks to contributors as yourself, I am able to supply them with things that are helping to make our classroom environment better. I love to see the looks on their faces and the excitement in their eyes.
I wanted to get these thank you's as soon as possible because it was such a blessing to receive, but there are still so many plans for these materials and future ones to come. The Play-Doh will be used for making models of the layers of the earth, possible planets, examples of plate tectonics, and plant and animal cells. They can also be used for indoor recess, which I know the students will love since we have a lot of accessories for play-doh but all of my previous play-doh was dried out. I am looking forward to continuing to use these things daily. Thank you a million, again!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Alston
Where Do Our Ideas STEM From?
Funded Nov 12, 2018Thank you so much for all of your donations that have helped make stem projects possible in our class. We have not gotten a chance to use all resources due to snow days and shortage of time, but some of the cups have been used to demonstrate light objectives. I plan to use the chalk soon to have students record strategies on the sidewalk when the weather permits. The glue sticks have been in constant use daily, so that has been a HUGE help.
My students were excited to see new materials, especially the glue sticks because they knew that they were needed. They asked me many questions about what the plans were for the items and I'm looking forward to the upcoming projects we have for them.
As I continue to move forward this year I would like to provide the students with more flexible seating and I'm thinking of more hands on stem projects that can be funded for the middle and end of the year.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Alston
Interactive Science Class
Funded Nov 19, 2018When I originally created this project I was considering items that we had a shortage of in class. Simple supplies such as erasers for pencils, glue sticks, and disinfectant wipes are necessities in this interactive science class. It has been such a blessing to know that we are well-stocked with these items. They are definitely being put to use. As I am writing this I just gave about five pencil erasers to students as they prepare for class today. We eat breakfast in the classroom everyday, so the wipes have been a tremendous help getting the messes up quickly. The most valuable item from this project is the glue sticks. We add to our interactive notebooks almost everyday, so glue sticks are a huge necessity in this class. It feels great being able to replace them for students without worrying that we are running out soon. Although the supplies are what I appreciate the most, the students are putting the wobble seat cushions to use! They were very excited about them, and use them any chance they get. I will attempt to get more through Donors Choose soon, as the students thoroughly enjoy them. Again, thank you so much for your contributions!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Alston