Past projects 7
Making Math Fun and Games
Funded Aug 12, 2021Thank you, Donors! You have really made a positive impact for my students. With your generous donations, we were able to get many new math games and resources to help students learn while having fun. Our old dry erase boards were scratched, chipped, and stained; however, now we have a brand new set of boards and markers for every student to get a clean writing surface to practice solving math problems. The students love using all of the new interactive math games. The Make a Splash Floor Mat is a huge 'hundreds chart' that has been used for understanding numeration, as well as multiplication. It comes with giant inflatable dice that the students enjoy using during centers. We are so grateful for your thoughtfulness and donations to make this project successful for my third graders.
When our boxes of materials arrived, I opened them up with the students. It felt like Christmas. When I opened the boxes, the students' faces lit up with delight when they saw that the boxes were filled with colorful, exciting math games and materials. Our school math program consists of workbooks and online math tools. These new hands -on, interactive games and learning materials truly enhance our math program. The games are fun and they motivate my students to want to learn.
We will begin the second semester of third grade learning about fractions and geometry. Students will be using our new set of pattern blocks as well as the fraction tiles to find and learn about equivalence. These materials are going to be so helpful in understanding fractions as equal parts by seeing the concrete representations. Thank you again for your generosity, so that my students have what they need to make learning math fun!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lentz
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and one other donor.Out With the Old, in With the New
Funded Oct 8, 2020My students LOVE the new area rug! We are so grateful of your thoughtfulness and generosity. You helped support our class, and now we have a beautiful new area rug that brightens up the room and provides a comfortable space for my students to work and play.
The class was curious when they saw the giant box in the classroom. I opened it immediately and the students were absolutely delighted. They helped pull it out of the box and unroll it onto our floor right next to our bookshelf. The kids always ask if they can go read on the rug or stretch out to work on their computers. It gets tiresome sitting in their hard desks all day. Having a new fresh rug to go sit on and gather in a small groups, really makes a positive impact. They use the rug for reading, using computers, and playing during our inside recess on rainy days. We LOVE the rug, and we are so happy that you helped contribute to this project. You've made a difference, and we appreciate it!
Last year, I had an old, hand-me-down carpet. I tried my best to keep it clean for the students. But once COVid-19 hit, I knew that I needed to discard the old rug and replace it. Thank you for donating and helping us get this new area rug. We are truly grateful!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lentz
Making Math Meaningful
Funded Aug 14, 2019My students and I were so thrilled when our project was funded and our new math materials arrived. The resources were delivered at the perfect time to utilize the array wipe off boards and unifix cubes. We were learning about multiplication and division. The array wipe off boards really enhanced my students' understanding. They were able to use dry erase markers to demonstrate multiplication equations by drawing the arrays. When learning the difficult concept of distributive property, they used the array wipe off boards, as well as the unifix cubes to separate the "big" fact into two easier equations. It makes this difficult concept so much easier, when we can see how the large array can be broken into two smaller arrays. Thank you for giving us the materials to make this math easier to learn and help the students truly understand.
When these materials arrived, it was like Christmas. Students gathered around as we opened the box and began looking at each new colorful math activity. Of course, they wanted to use many of the items right away. The dominoes were a big hit, as well as the magnets. They love to stand up by the board and create multiplication and division problems using the grid and magnet coins. With the Geostix, they've made creative designs using various shapes. When teaching Geometry, we will be incorporating those into lessons to show an assortment of polygons to name and describe.
I'm looking forward to our unit on fractions and time, so that we can use more of our new items. The giant pie and bar fraction magnets will perfect for showing equivalent fractions as well as comparing fractions. Having that fun, colorful manipulative will be so much more meaningful than completing a worksheet in our workbook. The students are really enjoying and benefiting from these new math items. I wanted to make sure you knew that we are putting these materials to use, and they've really enhanced our math program. Thank you for your generosity. Without your thoughtfulness and donation, we could have never had such wonderful math resources to use in our classroom. We appreciate you, and we thank you for thinking about us.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lentz
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 7 other donors.Gearing Up for Greatness
Funded Sep 29, 2017Thank you, Chevron. My third grade class is so grateful for your generous donation that helped provide our class with headphones and mice to use with our Chromebooks.
The materials arrived in our classroom very soon after you helped our project reach that "Fully Funded" status. The headphones are nice! They are Sony headphones with sturdy, plump cushions that makes the students more comfortable when they are working on the computers. Another cool feature is that they are foldable, and that makes storing them easy. We had earbuds on our school supply list; however, quite a few children did not have any. Also, they were falling out of their ears, and they were uncomfortable for many of the students. You have really helped make our computer time more enjoyable with the fine headphones.
Your donation also provided a class set of mice for the computers. Students were relying on the keypads to maneuver the cursor, and it was causing some students to make errors in their work. The mice are much easier for 8-9 year old eye-hand coordination.
Thanks again for choosing my project to fund. It really means a great deal to use to have the proper equipment to use with our technology.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lentz
Math Moves Minds
Funded Sep 29, 2015We are truly grateful for your generous donation to our class. With your donation, I was able to purchase many new math manipulatives and games for my third grade students. Here are a few of the items that we purchased from your donation: board games, construction kits, solid geometric shapes, measurement magnets, Hot Dots with several card packs, and many other fantastic games that enhance our math program. My students use these materials weekly during math centers. Also, if they finish their work early, they can choose one of the activities. When its too cold or rainy, we have "inside recess." The kids get together and play "Fraction Action," and they use the construction kits. One of their favorites is called "Zoob." It contains brightly colored pieces that snap together, and the students have used this kit to create all sorts of 3D designs. I've been impressed with their engineering. It was your thoughtfulness and generosity that made this all possible.
When the packages first arrived, my students' began questioning what was in the boxes. I quickly opened them up, and it was like Christmas morning! The boxes were loaded with games and math manipulatives. They gathered around and began asking, "When can we play with this stuff?"
The items purchased with your donation, have enhanced our math lessons tremendously. Instead of just working from the textbook, workbooks, and worksheets, the students can play interactive games to practice the same math skills. When they're having fun, they're learning even more. Thank you for giving my class these awesome resources! You're the BEST!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lentz
Shoot for the Stars!
Funded Aug 24, 2014Thank you so much for providing the funds necessary to purchase the items included in our "Shoot for the Stars!" project. The space themed items really enhanced my outer space themed classroom. The students' eyes lit up when they walked through the classroom door and saw all the posters, stars, and other materials purchased with this grant.
The giant inflatable planets are a hit with the boys and girls. They like to order them like our solar system, and we use them to demonstrate rotation and orbital patterns around the sun. The carpet and the space lamp helped to create a cozy reading area for the students to sit with a friend and read. Whenever we have to stay inside during recess because of rain, the kids always ask to get out the glow in the dark space puzzles.
Having these new resources in our classroom has had a positive impact on student learning, and it has also enhanced the learning environment of the classroom. This is my first year to teach third grade, and I did not have the materials needed to create the science themed classroom that I envisioned. You made it all possible. Thank you again for making a positive impact and supporting education.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lentz
This classroom project was brought to life by Gates Foundation Back To School and 2 other donors.Future Engineers
Funded Nov 15, 2013Thank you! Thanks you so much for your support in helping to fund our class project, "Future Engineers" from Donors Choose. This was my very first time to use is venue when seeking funding for a class project. We wanted you to know that the project was a success, and we now have the new materials in our classroom. You made this a great experience for our class, and you made it well worth the time and effort that was required to complete the steps of this process.
The children love playing with each of the new toys. these new play sets provide opportunities for the students to use problem solving skills, logic, and spacial reasoning. They work in small groups to design and construct these building play sets. This allows them to practice real world skills like cooperation, team work, leadership, resolving conflicts, and verbalizing their ideas to their classmates.
We could not have obtained these new materials without your generosity and willingness to help fund this project. These play sets will be utilized for years to come. You not only helped this class, but you provided educational materials that will support the learning of many more kindergarteners in my future classes. We truly appreciate your support! THANK YOU:)”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lentz