Mrs. Lamb's Classroom Edit display name

Current requests

Past projects 11

• A Maker's Space for Everyone!

  Funded May 7, 2024

  Thank you so much for your support of our classroom and our maker's space! My students were so excited to open up the various different boxes of materials and they were even more excited, and a little shocked, when I told them that they got to use the materials to CREATE! The first time we got to use the materials, I didn't give any guidance. I just let their imaginations run wild! Students loved creating bridges, houses, animals, even robots with the materials you provided!

  After we got a taste for creating, I felt like they were up for challenges. I started putting an assortment of materials at their tables and then posing a challenge or a problem for them to solve. It was great to see them collaborating with each other to come up with solutions. They didn't even realize that they were using 21st century skills while working together. I can't thank you enough for the difference you have made in our classroom!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Lamb

  This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and one other donor.

• A Fun and Exciting Place to Read!

  Funded Aug 14, 2024

  Thank you so much for your generous donations to support learning and fun in Room 19! We cannot wait to get all of our new materials in. The Back to School season is always a crazy one for teachers, but this surprise was such a bright spot. Your support for education is truly appreciated.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Lamb

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Gates Foundation and 3 other donors.

• Financial Literacy in Second Grade

  Funded Sep 24, 2018

  The materials purchased with this project have continues to help my classroom learn about financial literacy. Instead of learning about money, budgeting and spending in a book, we are able to use "real" money to model different scenarios. Additionally, I have been able to use the games and other materials purchased to run centers while I provide more individualized, personal learning to each of my students. This allows me to ensure I am meeting the needs of everyone in the classroom. I cannot thank you enough for funding this project for us!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Lamb

  This classroom project was brought to life by Charles Schwab Foundation and 2 other donors.

• A Magical Place to Read

  Funded Sep 11, 2023

  I cannot thank you enough for your generous donation to our classroom. Thanks to you, we were able to fund our entire project and turn Room 19 into such a magical place to read and learn. Without your support, that would not have been possible.

  I let students decide how we would use the materials once they arrived. Overwhelmingly, the students decided that they wanted to keep the lamps at their tables so we do not have to use the fluorescent overhead lighting all day. They have taken so much responsibility for the lamps and it has even become a class job to plug them in and charge them at the end of the day. The classroom environment is so much warmer and just has a calming effect without the harsh lighting all day.

  The reading buddies have also been a huge hit! Students love cuddling up with a friend while they read a book. We also bought several of the books to go along with the buddies and it's nice to use them to make the book come to life! Finally, the shelves have been great to house all of our new materials and organize the classroom better so we have actual room for a dedicated reading corner, as well as areas where students can access materials and supplies that they use throughout the day.

  It may sound silly, but materials like this, while not what some would deem as necessary, can affect an entire classroom community. Our classroom doesn't feel cold. It feels like a warm, safe space for learning to happen and relationships to be built. Thank you, again, for supporting our classroom.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Lamb

  This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares.

• STEM Bins for Second Grade

  Funded Sep 12, 2019

  I cannot thank you enough for your support with this project. My students were beyond excited when our materials started arriving and they could not wait to use them for various activities in the classroom. I have really enjoyed finding ways that we could incorporate them into special activities, as well as into math and reading instruction. Perhaps the most enjoyable way to use them has been for students to experiment on their own with building various things.

  The main way that I planned to use these materials was during our "soft start" at the beginning of the day. Many of my students come to school late or tired. I was struggling to start instruction right away and I found myself dealing with a lot of interruptions and behavior issues tied to all of this. Now, we use these materials when we first come in as a sort of "free play" for 10 minutes in the morning. Students can choose which set of materials they would like to work with and then they build things together. This gives them time to be creative, talk to their peers and just wake up before we need to get started with math instruction each morning. I was surprised to see that students started challenging each other and themselves to build the same thing with different materials. For example, each group tried to figure out a way to build a flower using the building materials they had that day. This has now morphed into a challenge where I give the students an item to build and they have to build it in their own way.

  My next steps for these materials are figuring out how I can incorporate them into core instruction. I currently use the different materials for counting collections, but I would really like to figure out how I can use them for ELA instruction. Some ideas I am planning to try are using the materials to spell different sight and vocabulary words and then using them to build different settings from the stories we read.

  Again, we cannot thank you enough for supporting our classroom through this project!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Lamb

  This classroom project was brought to life by San Diego Gas & Electric and 3 other donors.

• Help Us Become Better Readers!

  Funded Aug 3, 2018

  We truly cannot thank you enough for your generous donation to our classroom. The books that we received as part of this project have made independent reading in our classroom so much fun! There are 25 students in our classroom and all of them have varying interests. Finding books that are enjoyable for all students to read can be difficult, but because we have a little bit of everything now, most students have been able to find a book that they are captivated by!

  Not only have these books been great to have for the students to read independently, but I have been able to use them for lessons in the classroom, too! The science books like Ada Lace, Rosie Revere and Ada Twist have been great to use during our science and engineering lessons. They are a great way for me to introduce concepts and capture students' attention before we start our units of study. The Berenstain Bears books have been used to teach careers and building classroom community and "Do Unto Otters" was such an awesome book to have to teach manners at the beginning of the year.

  I also have quite a few students who speak spanish this year and having a copy of "No, David!" in spanish was so exciting for them! They were able to read the book to their friends in spanish while the other students followed along in english. This was such a great way for them to make connections, while also teaching their classmates something new. Overall, the books have been a great addition to our classroom! Thank you all, again!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Lamb

• Second Grade STEM

  Funded May 8, 2018

  We cannot thank you enough for the support you have given our classroom! While we haven't yet had the chance to dive into all of our materials, we have gotten to use quite a few of them in ways that have added to our classroom beyond measure. My students were so excited when I first showed them all of the great things we had received thanks to your generosity and they had a great time coming up with ways we could use all of the fun new additions to our classroom.

  One of the first things we took out were the legos. Legos are great for daily lego challenges and STEM activities and we have been able to use them in a variety of ways. We were able to work in teams to complete challenges like building a bridge or a shelter for animals. Seeing their brains work in various ways to get things done was absolutely amazing and was invaluable to me, as a teacher, in the beginning of the year when I was just getting to know them. I could see who really thrived in these situations and which students needed a bit more guidance. Next up, we used the play doh to help us with our spelling words! This was another way to get them really excited about their learning.

  In the spring, we plan to use the toy motors and solar panels to build our own solar powered toys and the Makey Makey kits will come in handy during coding. As the year goes on and they feel more and more confident in their skills, these additional materials will allow them to create so many things. My students and I cannot thank you enough for your kindness and for the opportunities you have given us.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Lamb

  This classroom project was brought to life by San Diego Gas & Electric and 7 other donors.

• Help Me Get My Teach On!

  Funded Mar 29, 2018

  I cannot thank you enough for your support in getting me to the Get Your Teach On National Conference! I truly believe that every educator should be able to attend this conference at least once in their teaching career. Not only was it an extremely upbeat and fun environment to be in, but the presenters and speakers were relevant, motivating and inspiring. They spoke honestly about teaching in today's world and the challenges that educators face, but they also stressed the importance of being a support system for our students, as well as for our fellow educators.

  One of the major highlights of the event for me was getting to sit in on sessions that were planned specifically for the new grade level that I will be teaching next year. Until this point, my teaching career has been in upper elementary, specifically fifth grade, but in just a few short months I will be teaching second grade. They idea of moving to a primary grade after three years in upper grades was daunting. I had no idea where to start! However, thanks to the great presenters at Get Your Teach On, I know feel more prepared for the task! Presenters covered everything from social studies to math to reading. I was given resources and materials I will be able to take back and use with my new students and that was such a highlight for me.

  One specific thing I will be taking back to my classroom is the resources I was given on teaching social studies in the classroom. The presenter for this session was phenomenal and she stressed the importance of teaching our students about the world around them, as it may be the only exposure they ever get to it. She described teaching social studies as a "responsibility" that all teachers have, even though it is often described as a "forgotten" subject or one that is incorporated with other subjects. She gave us one resource we can use with our students in which each student gets to talk about their "culture" and share it with the class as a way of educating their peers and building a classroom community. I cannot wait to do this project with my students when we come back to school!

  Again, I cannot thank you all enough for giving me the opportunity to attend such an amazing conference. I hope that this Get Your Teach On experience was just the first of many that I will have in my teaching career.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Lamb