Past projects 51
This Is the Way We Brush Our Teeth
Funded Feb 2, 2017I cannot thank you enough for donating to our classroom! My students have LOVED the whole unit on brushing their teeth, and were ecstatic when they received their very own set. They now know all about their teeth. They now come in every single day, telling me and each other that they brushed their teeth and flossed. My students are also explaining to me about how they use their different types of teeth (incisors, canines and molars) to eat different types of food. This has been such an exciting unit for all of us!
Also, thank you for the donations for our hand soap! My students now can wash their hands frequently in the classroom instead of having to go to the bathroom to wash appropriately. I have never seen my students be so excited to get so clean during the day!
We appreciate all that you have helped us do and learn in our kindergarten classroom!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sedillo
Organization for Independence
Funded Apr 1, 2016Thank you SO much for all the organization! My students love all the colors for our organizational items, and they love knowing where to get something without having to ask! It is so important to me to give them their independence when they are learning. When my students first saw all our new organizers, they were so ecstatic. They were so excited to start using the new parts of our classroom.
One of their favorite organizational tools is the Classic Birch Tabletop Writing Center. This is so wonderful to have because it has so much room for different types of paper and writing utensils. I can definitely store enough supplies in the writing center for each student. It works great for when we work outside in the courtyard. Another one of the best tools for my students to use is the Classroom Work Organizer. In my writing area, my students are able to find a piece of work of their choosing, and can easily put it back in the same place if they do not want to work on it. This organizer saves a ton of room on my counters because it holds so much in a small area.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sedillo
A Hands-on Learning Community Garden: Part II
Funded Mar 11, 2016We had so much fun planting in the spring! I cannot thank you enough for helping to provide the materials we needed to plant our vegetables. My students learned so much, just by playing in the dirt a little bit each day. They were able to learn the life cycle of plants, the parts of a plant, and watch them grow! It was so exciting for them to water our little garden every day, along with measuring how much they grew throughout the time we watched!
One of the favorite items donated was the magnifying glasses! My students loved using them, and wanted to look at everything with them! They were able to draw more detailed pictures of what they saw. My students loved being able to use the gardening gloves as they pulled weeds and checked on our little garden.
We even went on a field trip to a real farm! My students saw greenhouses, rows ready for planting, and animals that were vital to the farm. My students were able to apply their knowledge of what they have already learned to the farm. They were so excited to use their gloves and goggles on the field trip as they helped the owners pull some weeds for a while. They will never forget the hands-on learning experiences you helped to provide!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sedillo
This classroom project was brought to life by #BestSchoolDay and 2 other donors.Singing and Dancing with Heidi
Funded Feb 16, 2016The Heidi Songs have been such a great addition to my classroom. My students are always so excited to learn new words, and to be able to spell them with ease! The Heidi Songs are so catchy that I hear my students constantly singing their favorite songs. When they start to read their books, they are ecstatic about finding the words they know. I make a big deal out of the words they know, and it helps them when they can sing along. Parents are always telling me that their child sings the songs at home, and how they can find more just like it!
I really enjoy the songs, not only because they help my students to learn, but also because it gives my students body breaks. Being at school for 7 hours and without many having prior schooling experience, my kindergarten students get exhausted! I do several brain and body breaks throughout the day, but what is a better way for them to move and sing, all the while learning? It has been wonderful watch them learn.
Thank you for all the great DVDs! Many teachers want some just like it so they can have their students singing, dancing, and spelling sight words, numbers, and letters, just like mine!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sedillo
Our Favorite Fairy Tales
Funded Feb 1, 2016My students love reading the classic fairy tales so much! We have been focusing on The Three Little Pigs for a couple of weeks so they can learn to retell the story and to predict what may happen. They have been so excited for the different versions of the original, and think the books are absolutely hilarious. Story time is the best part of their day, because they are able to dive deep into the books and answer higher level questions.
Reading in my classroom is such a great part of the day. My students have built up their stamina to keep reading independently. They are definitely glued to their books, and cannot wait to tell me all about their stories they read. Because they are still very young and are not quite reading words, they can certainly talk about the pictures! The art in the pictures are exquisite and inspiring to my students.
These books have made my classroom more enjoyable. My library has been growing and it makes for a great literature-rich environment. Thank you so much for the donation for my students to be able to "read" their favorite fairy tales!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sedillo
Kindergarten Explorers
Funded Dec 11, 2015My students have loved all the different books we received for this project. They loved learning about the different cultures, and comparing themselves to the children around the world. They have learned that each person is unique in many different ways. By reading these books, my students have become closer and even more curious about the world around them. They have become aware, and care about how others are treated. My students' favorite book is "It's Okay to Be Different" by Todd Parr. With this story, they all learned that all their differences make them who they are. All of my kindergarten students loved being a part of this research with their 4th grade reading buddies! Thank you so much for providing a fun and caring set of books for my students to learn!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sedillo
A Carpet for Circle Time
Funded Nov 16, 2015Your donations for this carpet have been such a huge life saver! The carpet has been such a wonderful addition to the classroom. It feels more inviting for me and the students, and it just makes it look more like a kindergarten classroom should! My students love having the defined space for circle time. They are always so excited to use it for self-selection as well as for rest time. The first day the students saw it, they all were fighting over who was able to rest on it. I had to make sure each one got a turn! My kindergarten students are now more aware of their bodies, and can make choices about their proximity to others while at carpet. It is so nice to know that they can find their "carpet spots" so easily; even my lowest students can tell that they sit on a certain letter. It helps them know where to go when they struggle with littlest things.
The carpet is so much fun! My students have done "walking songs" on the carpet, where they go in circles and listen to the music and directions. For example, the music plays bouncy music as they are walking. Then the instructions change to fast music so they can run, quiet tip-toe music as they tip-toe around, and so on. They are able to control themselves and know which direction to go as they do this. Another fun thing that they have recently done was match the magnetic alphabet letters to the letters on the carpet. They get to use their gross motor skills to identify what goes where, and to move their entire body as they work.
Once again, thank you so much for helping me have a large oval rug in my classroom! My students love it just as much as I do. It is absolutely one of my favorite parts of the classroom.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sedillo
A Love for Music
Funded Aug 13, 2015The iPod and stereo has been an amazing addition to my classroom. The iPod is so easy to use, as I am able to easily find my playlists for each part of the day. There is no need for me to search on my computer for the songs that I want to play! The students can easily follow along with the music, and predict which songs come on next. I have made a CD with the music used daily for the substitutes that are guests in my classroom. It keeps the routines in place for my students, even when I am not there. The substitutes easily use the stereo and remote to keep the calendar procedures each day.
Thank you for providing my classroom with a vital piece of technology! The parents of my students come and tell me each day that their child is singing a song that they have learned in class. My 20 kindergarten students love starting and ending their days with fun and educational music. This year has been wonderful with all the singing!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sedillo
Enriching Language Through Art
Funded Jun 26, 2015My students are always so excited to create art! At the beginning of the school year, a student asked me, "Will we get to paint in here?" I could not have been happier to tell her, "Yes!" The children love being able to go to the art center, and using the fun and easy to use paint cups! They love the fact that they can store their art on the drying rack themselves. The drying rack saves so much counter space when we need things to dry; I don't need to scatter most of the students' artwork all around the room in order for it to dry.
Since we do not have art as a pull-out this year, I love that I can provide materials for students to be creative. Although it can be messy, their faces are filled with delight. With all the supplies, we have made paper mâché piñatas, calendars, Flat Stanley dolls, post cards, and other pieces of art decided by the students. It is great to know that they can choose what to use, and I do not have to put a limit on them!
The students have so many stories to tell on what each part of their art pieces mean. One student loves learning about everything in the ocean. He has limited English and fine motor skills, but he painted a Humpback Whale and told me everything about it. The art my students create gives them such excitement about everything they do. Thank you so much for helping my students learn in a fun way! We could not have done as many art projects as we have without all your donations!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sedillo
Kindergarten Paleontologists Discovering Dinosaurs!
Funded Feb 25, 2015My students and I are so grateful for your donations! I could not have taught my unit on dinosaurs as thoroughly and confidently without you providing these materials for my classroom! There were so many books that were used for each lesson, and so many resources for the students to learn from.
They can all now tell me the difference about fiction and non fiction, and several facts about the dinosaurs we studied. It is amazing how much they know now. They applied that wonderful knowledge when we went to the Natural History Museum on a field trip. The parents that volunteered to go with us were in awe as the children identified the animals and talk about the details. I taught more about the dinosaurs after the field trip, and the students could relay the new information to what they saw at the museum.
It was also so much fun when they were able to be paleontologists! They loved getting to wear the goggles and getting to dig with the tools that professionals get to use. They were so excited to find the bones, and wanted to show me every little thing. Once they saw one bone that could easily be identified to a specific dinosaur, they couldn't wait to dig out the rest. The students had a blast with everything that you have provided for us!
I love dinosaurs, and it was so fantastic to be able to share that passion with my students. I definitely learned with my students, and could not have been more excited about my teaching. My students really took onto the new information that they will be able to carry with them for a long time. The resources really made teaching fun and exciting, as well as making it easy for me to refer back to so many different books. There are so many dinosaurs that I did not get to, but the students are able to come to me and ask about the different types. This has been the best unit for all of us this year, and it wouldn't have been without your help! Thank you wonderful donors!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sedillo