Mrs. Sumens' Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 22

• New Books for a New Grade!

  Funded Mar 31, 2023

  Starting this new school year in a new space with these amazing 5th graders has been so fabulous. I am so lucky to get to teach 27 incredible humans!

  A highlight of my first three weeks with them has definitely been the excitement over our beautiful classroom library. They have been working diligently to build their reading stamina and the variety of brand new books has been a great motivator to read!

  They are excited each day to scroll through our book selection on Booksource to see all the titles available and are keeping a book always at the ready as a fast finisher. I cannot adequately express the gratitude I feel for your generosity. Because of your kindness this beautiful library is the heart of our new learning space.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Sumens

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 6 other donors.

• Kicking Off a New Year!

  Funded Aug 10, 2022

  Thank you so much for helping us start our year off right! We love our new classroom plants, our bulletin board supplies, and especially our laminator!

  I ended up being transferred to a new school and a new grade level just 12 days before the start of school. How incredibly helpful our new laminator has been while creating resources for a new grade and curriculum. Such a huge blessing!

  I am loving teaching my new first graders and we are truly thankful for these supplies that helped us get off to the right start!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Sumens

  This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and one other donor.

• Surf Seats for Students

  Funded Jan 19, 2022

  Thank you for your incredible kindness in donating to our kindergarten classroom! We were so excited to get our new Surf Seats and are using them throughout the day in so many ways!

  The excitement was palpable when our boxes arrived. It took a few days to get them unpacked and set up on their rolling cart. The kids anticipation grew with each passing day and when they were finally ready to use they were so thrilled to do all of their work and play in a Surf Seat!

  Thank you again for providing us with portable seating that we can use in so many fun ways!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Sumens

  This classroom project was brought to life by Utah State Board of Education.

• 100th Day GLOW Party!

  Funded Nov 30, 2021

  Thank you for your donation to support our kindergarten classroom. We celebrated the 100th day of kindergarten in style with an epic day of glow games. The kids dressed as secret agents to help save Zero the Hero from the devious Agent 99.

  The room was filled with so much excitement. Each mission (learning activity) was met with energy and engagement. Over and over we overheard students saying, "This is the best day ever!" Thank you so much for helping to provide an epic 100th day. We cannot wait to figure out other fun ways to use our 100th day supplies to extend the experience throughout the year.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Sumens

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 4 other donors.

• Kindergarten in Color!

  Funded Aug 12, 2021

  Thank you for donating these supplies to my classroom. I am so excited to get printing lesson plans, decodable books, centers, and sound walls for my incoming kinders. Our school is so excited to jump into the Science of Reading this year as we undergo LETRS training for all of our K-3 teachers. New training and teaching methods mean that we are rethinking what we have done to help all students become better readers!

  We are going to print and laminate all the things to take our learning to the next level! Eek! I cannot wait! It is going to be so much fun!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Sumens

  This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 3 other donors.

• Let's Find Out!

  Funded Oct 22, 2020

  Thank you, thank you, thank you! We have absolutely loved our Let's Find Out magazine subscriptions! Beyond the printed magazines the digital resources: videos, games, songs, printables, etc. have brought these magazines to life! My kinders get so excited each time I pull out a new edition and their eyes light up when I tell them it is theirs and they get to take it home after our lesson. Additionally, the digital aspect has made it easy to send home the same learning activities/opportunities to our students in remote or at home learning due to quarantine/isolation. This has been such a blessing at this crazy time! Thank you again for your generosity.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Sumens

  This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Donor and 4 other donors.

• Safe Outdoor Play

  Funded Sep 28, 2020

  Thank you for supporting our classroom! Recess has been extra fun with our new outdoor play resources and we have enjoyed playing together while keeping some distance apart to keep us safe. These stepping stones, outdoor seats, hula hoops, playground balls, and cones have allowed us to set up obstacle courses, create physically distanced spaces, and provided independent play activities that have kept us moving and smiling during our mask breaks outside. Everything that arrived has been easy to sanitize and provided endless creative fun. Thank you so much for supporting early childhood education and for making recess the best part of our day!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Sumens

  This classroom project was brought to life by Johnson & Johnson.

• Help Elephant and Piggie Go to Kindergarten

  Funded Sep 11, 2019

  There were squeals of excitement and anticipation in our kindergarten room last week as we opened our boxes of NEW Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems. They quickly became the first choice during our 'Read to Self' practice, a time when we are building our reading stamina for independent reading. These kiddos love Gerald and Piggie just as much as I do and are having such a fun time retelling the stories in their own words. I am looking forward to a year filled with life lessons about sharing and friendship from two of the best of friends, Gerald and Piggie.

  Thank you so much for supporting early childhood education and early literacy. We promise to read them often!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Sumens

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 6 other donors.

• Books, Books, Books!

  Funded Mar 19, 2019

  These books have provided countless learning opportunities about kindness, reaching out to others, celebrating differences, and so much more. When our project was funded we were so excited and then we received the sad news that the Elephant and Piggie books were no longer available and we would be choosing replacement items. Once we got over the disappointment of the items not being available I began searching for new books to replace them with. My students and I have absolutely loved every single book that came. We have now had the opportunity to read them all we finished up with Invisible Boy today and then immediately went out to recess. I saw students running up to anyone that was playing alone and inviting them to join their game and making extra efforts to be kind. The focus on acceptance and kindness that these stories have provided has made our classroom a happier kinder place to be. When we read the story Octicorn, one of my students said, "Hey that's like me! I am a octicorn!" One of the students asked her why she was an octicorn and she said because her parents were from two different countries and she speaks two different languages at home. This lead us right into the book All are Welcome Here and Spork. We had such beautiful discussion about how our differences bring such beauty to our classroom.

  These moments are precious and I love when the students reference back to one of our stories and then the "ah ha"moments and conversations that immediately follow. Thank you again for your kindness and your support of our classroom. These books are a treasure that will continue to bless students for many years!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Sumens

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 6 other donors.

• Coding for Kinders

  Funded Aug 16, 2018

  Thank you so much for donating to our Botley Coding Robots project. We are loving these coding robots! They are so user friendly and both of my kindergarten classes beg to use them. They are the perfect introduction to coding skills and allow for experimentation, discovery, and hands on learning. STEM skills, problem solving, and resilience are needed skills in today's society and these robots provide opportunities to build and practice all of those and so much more. Thank you for supporting early childhood education!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Sumens

  This classroom project was brought to life by Craig Newmark Philanthropies and 6 other donors.