Past projects 84
Comics Club
Funded Aug 3, 2017I cannot thank you enough for your generous donation to our school. We started our Comics Club where students can check out and read graphic novels and it is my favorite hour of the week. The kids are so excited to be exploring this genre they love so much. We are learning how the books are written and will even write our own in the spring.
Every week they scramble to check out a new book and participate in discussions about what they are reading. It's so encouraging to see a group of kids reading just for fun! This is all thanks to you and your kind donation. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Trayers
Math Mania
Funded May 23, 2017Thank you so much for your generous donation! Math is often overlooked in our curriculum because of an emphasis on reading skills. Many students lack confidence in math skills and do not see the subject as being "fun". You changed that for my students! We use the math resources every day both in whole group instruction and in our math workstation rotations. My students LOVE math now!
Their eyes lit up to see those packages arrive. They were amazed someone they never met cared enough about them to fund materials helping them become more successful. We are truly, truly grateful for your kindness!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Trayers
This classroom project was brought to life by Aspect Ventures and 4 other donors.Ready to Read
Funded Aug 28, 2017I cannot thank you enough for funding our project for books. My Kindergarten students are what we call emergent readers-they are just discovering the wonder that is text and stories. Their faces just lit up when the packages of books arrived. They said "are those for us?" and proceeded to read right away. Their favorite story is one called Press Here where the book seems to change the illustrations because they blew on the page or shook the book. They read it over and over.
Finding fun books for my students to read is key to developing passionate readers! You have helped us immensely in reaching that goal. You may have inspired some lifelong readers with your donation and we are very grateful!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Trayers
My Mighty Mathematicians
Funded Oct 2, 2017We are so incredibly grateful for your generous donation to our class! We use the math manipulatives every day. We use them to teach new concepts like sorting and graphing and then the students also use them to work in groups in workstations.
The students particularly like working with their own rekenreks. This resource helps us practice basic number sense and ways to compose and decompose numbers. One of my students said "these make me feel like I'm in college"! I love that they feel like they are learning something special as they learn math.
Your donation my have helped to inspire the next famous mathematician! Thank you so very much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Trayers
Books to Teach Empathy To My Kinder Students
Funded May 4, 2017I can't tell you how much your donation for books has helped our class. Empathy is a skill we work very hard to develop and you helped us get so many great examples from literature of how to be empathetic people. I have shared many of the stories already with my students and they just adore them! They get so interested in learning about the adventures of people real and make-believe.
I also use the stories to record for their listening stations and make them available for the students to take home and read with their families.
We are so incredibly grateful for your help with getting these resources into the hands of our kiddos! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Trayers
Pee-Wee Picassos
Funded May 22, 2017I cannot thank you enough for your kind and generous donation! Because of you my students will be able to express themselves creatively and apply what they are learning in so many different ways!
The students were just overjoyed that someone was thinking of them and wanting them to be successful in Kindergarten. We painted self-portraits and portraits of our friends and family. We invented our own new insects out of pasta and used the paint you provided for us to make them colorful. We got under our tables and painted like Michelangelo which the students really enjoyed!
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Your kindness is very much appreciated!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Trayers
This classroom project was brought to life by H&M and one other donor.Books to Teach Social Justice to the Young Ones
Funded Apr 10, 2017I was beyond thrilled to see that this project ended up getting funded. I chose titles that will serve as role models for my young students. We have already read several of the stories as a class and my Kinder students just devoured them! I read them I Dissent which is a biography about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I have one little girl in my class who has adopted the phrase Ï Dissent" as her personal mantra. I love seeing that excitement and empowerment happening.
My students have learned about people who did not accept things they felt were wrong in society. The rose up and protested. I know that because of your generous donations my students now have that spark within them as well. They will be our future mayors, governors and voters. And you have helped inspire that!
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Trayers
My Mini Mathematicians
Funded Jan 30, 2017I just wanted to thank you for your generous donation to purchase math workstation materials for my students. I wish you could have seen their faces when the boxes arrived-they were so excited! Math workstations are their favorite part of the day. It used to be in Kindergarten we would teach numbers, counting patterns-now the standards are much more rigorous. We are expected to teach our students how to count money, how to add and subtract.
Hands-on materials are so vital to learn math effectively. The students have to move the pieces around to make different numbers and visualize the skills they are learning. Your donation made it possible for me to be a more effective teacher this year, because it made my students excited to learn more math!
We are very grateful for your generosity and I especially appreciate the smiles you put on the faces of my students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Trayers
Getting My Teach On
Funded Jan 24, 2017I cannot thank you enough for giving me the opportunity to be inspired at this conference. With all the budget cutbacks we face, one thing that has been cut is access to professional development. As teachers, we have to grow! There are new tools being invented every day when it comes to technology and I believe it's our responsibility to learn how to use them. A teacher needs to be able to grow with their students.
The presenter at this conference is someone I have followed through blogs for a long time. I greatly admire her spunk and her passion. This session was very inspiring and definitely gave me lots of new ideas to try with my students.
It was very generous of you to fund this project. I thank you from the bottom of my heart!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Trayers
STEM Skills And Fairy Tales
Funded Aug 25, 2016Thank you so very much for your generous donation to our project! Building a foundation in science and engineering skills is so important and you have helped us do that in a fun way! The students love their building activities and ask to work with them every single day!
When we finish our math lesson we break up into math workstations and that is when these resources are utilized. It is so encouraging to see the students working together to solve problems like how to make chairs that are more sturdy for Goldilocks and the 3 Bears and to build stronger houses for the 3 Little Pigs. They are applying their skills and telling stories with the materials at the same time.
We are truly, truly grateful for your help in making this project become a reality! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Trayers
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 3 other donors.