Mrs. Croker's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 12

• Help My First Graders Learn French

  Funded Sep 24, 2021

  I greatly appreciate your generosity, thoughfulness, and support in my French Immersion classroom. The new resources have been a great addition to my teaching materials. The students are using the beginner books to read simple sentences in French. The books are colorful, fun to read, and the students are able to reinforce their reading skills and French vocabulary. The mini pocket charts have been great to use as a station, in which I have students put the sentence strips in order to make complete sentences that match pictures. Students have also been using the markers to practice writing French words (days of the week, months of the year, and other new learned vocabulary) on a white board. It is amazing to see how fast the students are learning a new language. Thank you so much for your support. It is greatly appreciated.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Croker

• Become Proficient in French Through Interactive Games and Visual Aids

  Funded Sep 2, 2021

  I am so appreciative of your generosity, thoughtfulness, and support for my classrroom. The French resources have been so fun to use in the classroom. The students enjoy the printed out games to practice their French phoneme skills. With the Donors Choose gift cards, I also purchased a bundle set of songs, sentences, and activities to learn to read in French. The songs are short and cute. They each have a melody to well known songs such as "Wheels on the Bus, the Muffin Man, etc.". The students even sing the songs when I am not teaching a reading foundational lesson. It is absolutely adorable. I also used the gift cards to purchase a variety of short poems for students to practice reading in French during station time. With the resources, students are also creating their Fall book to learn new vocabulary, read, and write in French. They are enjoying it! Thank you so much for caring about my students and my French Immersion classroom. Your kindness and support are greatly appreciated.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Croker

  This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 8 other donors.

• Expanding French Language Learning Opportunities for Students

  Funded Jul 14, 2021

  I greatly appreciate your support as I start my new French Immersion classroom this school year. It has been wonderful to use the new books in class. Currently we are learning animals and colors with the book "Ours, Dis-Moi." I have helped students learn the vocabulary words with games, writing their own book, and reading the book with a partner, as well as in unison. In less than one week, I already see the students growing in their French vocabulary. They read their own book today with a partner, using the vocabulary from the book. It gives me so much joy to see the students motivated and enthusiastic in wanting to learn a new language. I look forward to reading one of the other books about family as we move on to our next unit. The books are student friendly, repetitive (to help strengthen French vocabulary) and the stories are cute and fun. Furthermore, the students love games. The French vocabulary cards are going to be a wonderful way to engage students in learning new words. Thank you so much for suppporting our unique French Immersion program. Just seeing what my students can do in one week, I can't wait to see how much they will learn in a school year.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Croker

• Learn Math and Reading through Fun Engaging Activities

  Funded Dec 3, 2019

  Thank you so much for you donation and support. When I introduced the games to the class, the students were eager to try them out during station time. They have greatly been enjoying playing the new math and literacy games. The reading games have been terrific to reinforce the skills we have been working on in class. I have set up the games on suffixes/prefixes, vocabulary, and phonetics as stations to reinforce the reading skills at station time. Students also enjoy using the powered pens to check their reading comprehension and they like using the timer to test their partner's reading fluency with the reading passage kit. The math fact cards have been great to help my students improve their computation fluency. These games not only have enriched my stations, but my students have been strengthening their reading and math skills as well in a more engaging, fun way. I greatly appreciate your generosity. Teaching is a big passion of mine, and I am thankful to have the support from the community and donors like you.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Croker

  This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous classroom supporter and 7 other donors.

• Math to the Power!

  Funded Dec 4, 2019

  Thank you so much much for you donation and support. When I introduced the games to the class, they were eager to try the new games out during station time. The students have greatly been enjoying playing the new math games. The math game "Pop to Win" seems to be their favorite, in which they pop the dice to move across the board. This game is wonderful to reinforce a variety of math skills, such as word problems, multiplication, computation, geometry, and fractions. It is wonderful to see the students enjoy learning, and they do a nice job taking turns and helping each other out when one stumbles on a question. My students have also been enjoying using the hands-on kits to add or subtract within 1,000. This has helped them have a better understanding of place value. The money game has been fun as well as this tends to be a difficult concept at this age level. The students have been enjoying strengthening their money skills in a fun, interactive way. I greatly appreciate your generosity. Teaching is a big passion of mine and I feel thankful to have the support from the community and donors like you.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Croker

  This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous classroom supporter and one other donor.

• Flexible Seating for Flexible Learning

  Funded Aug 1, 2019

  Thank you so much for your support and donations. I feel grateful to have the support of people like you in our community. My students are absolutely loving the new flexible seats! When I introduced the seats to the class, they were so ecstatic! They were smiling ear to ear, and they were so excited to use the new seats. The students and I also love the pretty colors and comfortable feeling the seats provide. I use the seats in different ways. For instance, my students earn table team points for making good choices and working well together as a team. At the end of the week, the team that has the most points is VIP and the team gets special privileges. One of the prizes earned is for students to choose their own seat. They are so happy to sit on the stools instead of the regular school chairs. They are focused and stay on task. Another way I use the flexible seats is when students work on station activities or independent work time. I let students choose their flexible seat and place it wherever they like in the classroom, so that they can complete their work. The ADHD seat has also been wonderful. One of my students has a lot of energy, so I let him this special seat. He absolutely loves it and he is able to complete his work, while moving around in his seat. He asks for it everyday and it does help him concentrate. I am so happy that these seats have been such a positive experience in my classroom. These have been so successful that I plan to purchase more for my students. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Croker

  This classroom project was brought to life by Neukom Family Foundation and 2 other donors.

• Technology and Book Storage Bins Needed!

  Funded Sep 29, 2016

  Dear Donors,

  I feel so grateful to have your support. I received all the supplies within the last couple of weeks and we have already been using every one of them in the classroom.

  I do a lot of differentiation in my class, in which students work on various levels and activities to meet all their needs. It is such a great feeling when I am working with a small group and the students say "This is fun! I want to do more!" One of the many stations that I have students work on in class is to complete leveled math activities on their Chromebook. I have several students who did not bring a pair of headphones to school , so the new ones I received have been fabulous! I love the storage bag that came with the headphones too! My students have been using them with care and have been doing a wonderful job putting them back in the bag carefully. These have really helped minimize the noise level too. While some of my students are working on their assignments on their Chromebook, I can easily teach a small group of students in a quiet classroom environment.

  Secondly, the book tubs have been so wonderful to keep all my books organized. Over my 16+ years of teaching, I have collected many books for my students. My previous bins were getting worn and it has been great to have new bins that are larger, colorful and sturdy. I have organized all my books by reading level and it has made it a lot easier for my students to get a book at their level. My students can easily place the books back in the correct bin without having the books crammed in a small box. It is nice to have the extra storage space! Third, my students work very hard in class and they often have to show their work to solve math equations, write stories, and much more. Having a good electric sharpener is very useful as I can sharpen a great amount of pencils at once. Thus, when students need a new pencil, they can easily get a new one without losing any learning time. Last but not least, the caddies are terrific for each teams to organize their table materials (such as erasers, pencils, nametags...). It is so cute to see how the students organize their supplies in the little compartments of the caddies. They really care about keeping their materials tidy and feel proud to have things organized. The rolling cart has also been terrific for me, as I often have to bring a workload of papers to grade over the weekend. Having the cart helps me bring what I need home, without worrying about getting hurt with the heavy load. I can easily put the cart in my car and then look through all my students' work at home with ease. Being able to take my time to analyze their work helps me better prepare my lessons and make sure I am meeting the needs of all my students.

  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all these classroom supplies. All these materials were very much needed and are all being used with care and love. Thank you for you generosity and support. I truly appreciate all your help.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Croker

• Help My Students Master Their Math Goals!

  Funded Aug 11, 2015

  Wow! When I received the math stations, I could not believe my eyes! I opened up the big shipping boxes and saw six colorful math kits, one box per math skill: time/measurement, money, math operations, graphs, place value, and geometry. I am all about cuteness and organization, and these math kits are perfect! Plus, each kit comes with 3-4 different games to help me plan activities to differentiate my stations. When I showed the six math kit boxes to my students, they were smiling ear to ear. They were really excited to start using these great math resources!

  These math kits are going to be wonderful to reinforce the math curriculum this year. I am so excited to use them! Currently, we are learning about knowing our math facts up to 20 fluently and mentally, solving equations with missing addends, and telling time to the hour and half hour. Last week, I introduced stations to my class and I used two of the box kits as part of my center activities. The kids were so well behaved and were so focused on their tasks. I was just beaming! Students worked in various parts of the room (at their seat, on the carpet, or at a table) and were all working with a partner. One of the new stations from the kits you generously donated was called the "football math fact" game. The boys, especially, loved this activity. I am teaching my students to stop using their fingers to add and subtract, thus they were using a hundreds chart to help them find the sum or difference of an equation. Students had to place little football cards (with equations written on them) onto the correct football score card. They were so focused! After filling out their football score cards, students had to record their equations in their math notebook. They were really enjoying this activity. Another math game from the new kit that some students played was the "time riddle cards." Students had to solve funny riddles by finding the time to the hour and half hour. The students used a dry erase marker to record their answers and solve the riddles. I even had one of my students say "this is fun!". As I was walking around the classroom and assisting students, I was so impressed of how focused they were and how well they were working with each other. The students were whispering as they collaborated with each other, and they were doing such a great job sharing the materials and helping each other. This is exactly what I was hoping for when I ordered these math stations. I want the students to have fun learning and to collaborate in a respectful, friendly way.

  Another thing I love about these math boxes is that there are several games and activities per box. For example, in the "time/measurement" box, there are also activities on telling time to the five-minute interval and elapsed time, as well as games using measuring tools (ruler, yard stick). These are skills I will teach to the students later in the school year. However, if I see that a student is ready to tell time to the quarter hour or 5 minute interval now, I can go ahead and use the more challenging activities. I cannot wait to do math stations again in my classroom this upcoming week! The students are so much enjoying learning math and working together, in a respectful, friendly classroom environment. I cannot wait to use the other activities as we get more into the school year and learn new math objectives.

  Your generosity and compassion for my classroom means the world to me and I am forever grateful. Thank you so much for your help and loving heart. We have only been back in school for two weeks, and already I see the love of learning in my students' eyes.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Croker

• Classroom Supplies Needed

  Funded Dec 2, 2014

  Thank you so much for opening your heart to us. I feel so thankful and grateful to know that there are people in our community who care about teachers, students, and schools. Simple items such as chair pads and a pencil sharpener can have a big impact in the classroom environment. Some students have difficulty working when there is noise in the classroom. I want the students to be able to work in a nice, clean classroom environment that is appealing to the eye and feels like home to them. Thus, the chair pads are perfect. The students really like them. When they need to get up, there is no noise. In addition, the floors stay clean. Second, students need to be able to have access to sharpened pencils so that there is minimal time wasted during learning time. Wow, the new pencil sharpener is great! It is quiet and fast! Those pencils are very well sharpened! My students were amazed to see how well the sharpener worked! I love seeing the joy in their eyes! In addition, I can sharpen many pencils before having to empty the dispenser. Every minute counts as a teacher, so this is time well saved for me!

  Thank you so much for impacting my classroom in a positive way. Teaching is in my heart and always will be. I love watching my students learn each day. I greatly appreciate all your help and support. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Croker

  This classroom project was brought to life by Kia and 6 other donors.

• Help Us Get More Organized and Be More Math Proficient

  Funded Aug 23, 2014

  The new math resources have been a wonderful addition to my classroom. I have set up various math stations for students to go to during independent work time. Whenever the students find out they get to play with the new math games, they say "yes, I love that game!" They are so focused and on task when using these resources. This has been wonderful for my students who need extra reinforcement to learn their math facts and counting money. Students are also improving their communication skills as they have to share the materials, as well as work together to complete the math puzzles.

  Identifying coins and adding money is a new skill in second grade. At the beginning of the quarter, most of my students could not even recognize the coins. Now, after various lessons, completing math stations, many of my students have now mastered the skill. For those who are still needing extra help, I use the money puzzle game as a reteach station. They have to use a hundreds chart to help them add up the coins that they see on the cards.

  In second grade, students are having to know their math facts fluently without the use of fingers. To help them add mentally, they use a hundreds chart to add the numbers on the puzzle pieces. Then, they attach the math fact to the correct number. It has been great to see the students so focused and have such a wonderful time learning about math.

  Students have also been using their new folders to keep their math station work organized. I have assignments attached inside their folder. When it is time to go to math stations, students know to look inside to see what differentiated tasks they need to work on for that day. This is teaching their good organization skills as well as responsibility and independence.

  I am looking forward to using the yard sticks when we learn about measurement later on in the school year. It will be wonderful for students to visualize what a yard looks like, how to use it to measure objects, as well as use it to compare the size of various objects.

  I am very thankful for all your generosity and support. You have brought many smiles in my classroom. Thanks to you, my students will have the tools they need to learn math in a more hands-on approach and in a more fun way. Thanks for helping make math learning fun!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Croker

  This classroom project was brought to life by Gates Foundation Back To School and 5 other donors.