Past projects 15
Technology Is The Future!
Funded Aug 16, 2013Thank you all so very much for your donations to our project. The students have been using the Kindle now for a few weeks and have noticed we can use it for more than we thought. When the Kindle arrived the students were thrilled! Although I have 25 students and only one Kindle, they have all been very patient taking their turns.
We realized that we can use our Kindle for many things. We have downloaded about 100 free books so far. Everything from poetry to science nonfiction. If a student has a specific interest, we can quickly go online and download a book of their choice. We also found some free educational game apps that they get to play during reward time.
One of the most beneficial hidden treasures is that the ELL (English Language Learner) teacher in my classroom has found it very helpful when teaching new vocabulary to our students. We are able to quickly pull up a picture to go along with the new words.
Next week I will have my students look through other projects on Donor's Choose and pick one they want to support. I believe it is very important to teach the students how they received these resources and how they can pay it forward.
Thanks again so much!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ruthven
Headphone Happiness!
Funded Oct 11, 2013Thank you so much for your donation to our classroom. The students were so excited when they saw that big box in the front of the room last week. When they entered the room and realized their headphones had come, you would have thought it was Christmas in October! When I opened the box and showed them the new materials they were thrilled.
The headphones are absolutely adorable as well. They look like little frogs and have flies where the plug is. This was a hidden treasure for my kids because we just started studying insects. The students are using the headphones on the computers and also at the listening center. They are so excited to use the listening center. We couldn't use it until now because we didn't have headphones for it. They can finally use sound for their games and while listening to the books online.
The simple technology of headphones has completely changed this part of my classroom and teaching. My students are so excited to take their turns and are very respectful of their new headphones. This week I will show them some projects on Donor's Choose and we will pick one to support together. I believe in paying it forward and want to teach my students what helping others is all about. Thanks again!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ruthven
As Simple As A Pencil!
Funded Dec 30, 2012Thank you so much for your very generous donations to our classroom. When I became a teacher I put a lot of thought into the lessons I would teach. Never did I think that I would worry about supplies or sharpening pencils. :) Thanks to your donation I have enough pencils to last the entire year! We never have to worry about sharpening our pencils because the sharpeners we got are amazing.
Being prepared is a life lesson I try to teach my students. They are now always prepared with their pencils for every lesson. I have so much more teaching time now that I don't have to sharpen pencils all day long!
Thanks again- more pictures and stories from the kids to come.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ruthven
Writing Is Our Joy! Help Keep Us Organized
Funded Feb 19, 2013Hi! We received the materials last week and already the kids are on cloud nine! When the boxes arrived you would have thought it was Christmas in March. :-) They wanted to use the writing privacy folders that day. Who could resist those smiles. So, we opened them up and got right down to work. The kids love that they have their own "writing offices" and one child even told me he feels like a "professional writer"! Yesterday the kids and I organized their writing materials and the new writing corner looks great thanks to you!
I love my job and really enjoy teaching second graders. They are so excited to learn and come to school with such enthusiasm. We are so appreciative of your very generous donation. The children will be done with their stories in about two weeks and I will send them along with your thank you letters. The children are so excited for you to read their stories.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ruthven
What Is A Magnet? New Science Standards
Funded Aug 11, 2012Thank you so much for your generous donations to my classroom project. It is people like you who have silent impacts on my classroom and my students and make teaching them how to love learning that much easier. Your selfless donation helped me create an amazing unit on magnets.
For the past three weeks my students have been learning how to be scientists. We discussed the scientific method and learned the important vocabulary regarding magnets. It was finally time to start investigating! For our first experiment we discovered what was magnetic and what wasn't. It was great because every student had a magnet and could experiment freely. In the past I had three magnets for all of my students to share. It was great to see them discussing their findings with each other. Our experiments continued for the next 2 weeks.
Not only was I able to use the materials in my classroom but I was able to share them with the other second grade teacher. I am excited to be able to use materials next year! Thanks again!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ruthven