Past projects 12
Captivating Composting!
Funded Apr 7, 2023Soil formation has always been a struggle for my students. Having this composting literacy and materials has put the learning in their hands and helped them to have a better understanding of where nutrients in soil comes from. They love the idea of taking wasted food/food scraps from our own cafeteria and seeing the process of it decomposing into compost/humus that we will get to use in our school garden come spring. They also like the idea of using the dead materials around our campus for something useful while also maintaining their school campus' image and cleanliness. All of my 3rd - 5th grade students are enjoying the process and look forward to the weekly visit to the composter to see how its coming along. It has also sparked the curiosity of our younger students who want to know why we're taking their food trash outside! Thank you so much again for your generous donation towards are students. It is greatly appreciated.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Villarreal
Setting Up Students for Science Success
Funded Oct 25, 2022I've never really thought about how much money I spend on resources like those available through Teachers Pay Teachers. As a teacher teaching 3 grade levels this year in subjects I have not taught in many years the need for new and updated resources was severe. I honestly thought the gift cards so generously donated would last longer than they did. The fact that they are already almost gone has really opened my eyes to how beneficial a pool of resources can be to my students. All of my students across grades 3 - 5 have greatly enjoyed all of the classroom activities, journal activities, labs, and review games we have been able to utilize by having the funds available to purchase high quality resources for the classroom. I am also looking forward to our after school "Tip Top Tuesdays" where these activities will be accessible to all grades as a fun and engaging way to review what we've learned this year. I have also purchased and am preparing some great STAAR review materials that I'm sure my 5th graders will enjoy. Thank you so much for the opportunity to make science engaging and enjoyable for myself and my students.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Villarreal
This classroom project was brought to life by Charles Butt Foundation and 7 other donors.Safe and Stimulating Science Supplies
Funded Jul 13, 2022As the primary science teacher in a very small rural elementary school getting the necessary supplies to ensure quality engaging and interactive science lessons has been a struggle. It's been such a joy to receive kudos and praise from both students, fellow teachers, and parents alike as they start using the supplies we've received in class. Students are engaged, parents hear great stories or learn new things from their children, and colleagues have more at their disposal to help plan and implement lessons that teach their students in a variety of ways.
With all of the craziness of shipping and availability we've been playing lots of mail tag! However, this caused the shipments to all come at different times and nothing was more exciting for my students than when a box was delivered to my classroom. They enjoyed trying to guess what I ordered for them or brainstorm ways we might be using materials once they saw what they were. Some of the materials they'd never even seen or heard of before!
Our stream table kits will be especially beneficial to my 4th and 5th grade students. Slow changes to Earth by weathering and erosion is one of the hardest abstract concepts to learn and it will be so beneficial for them to get to experience it first hand. They especially loved building circuits using the materials we received and were the envy of the younger students who aren't there yet! Thank you again for your generosity towards our wonderful students!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Villarreal
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and 5 other donors.Flexible Kinds for Flexible Minds!
Funded Aug 20, 2019We can't thank you enough for your generosity in helping us fund our flexible seating. The students greatly enjoy finding a place in the room with a seating choice that allows them to be comfortable when reading their selected reading books or when working in groups on assignments and projects. It has also been a great way to practice sharing, taking turns, and being organized with their materials. Each seating option has a designated place in the room and they have become so good at putting the materials away and helping to organize the room at the end of they day. I love being able to give them the option to get out from behind the desk and find something that allows them to be comfortable in their learning.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Villarreal
This classroom project was brought to life by The Rebuild Texas Fund and one other donor.Better Books for Bigger Brains!
Funded Jun 26, 2019As part of our new state standards our district adopted a new curriculum to meet these needs. Part of these new standards/curriculum is giving students the option to have time for self selected reading. A time to discover new books across all genres in order to find their reading niche. As well all know we read better when we enjoy what we read. My kids last year complained so much about my outdated books and never found much enjoyment in them. My new students this year have eagerly dug in to my new, updated, library and are actively engaged in their reading during our SSR time. I cannot thank you enough for giving me the opportunity to give them more access to books that they enjoy and watch them discover new authors and styles they hadn't had the option to enjoy before. I look forward to continuing to foster their love of learning for the rest of this year, and hopefully for the rest of their life.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Villarreal
This classroom project was brought to life by The Rebuild Texas Fund and 4 other donors.Merging STEM Learning With MERGE Cubes
Funded May 28, 2019My students next year are going to be so excited to be adding a 3D, hands on, inside look at all of the things that are hard to bring into the class such as the solar system, three dimensional objects in calculations in math, and so much more. Thank you so much for getting us with this amazing opportunity!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Villarreal
This classroom project was brought to life by The Rebuild Texas Fund and one other donor.Growth Through Eggspert Game Shows!
Funded Sep 16, 2018Thank you so much for such a wonderful gift! My students love feeling like they are on Jeopardy and often describe how intense it is to have to remember the answers on the spot. Having the students work in teams and switch out players has made every student responsible for knowing the material as well as having them work together in groups and learn how to work cooperatively. They have become better at losing and have learned how to be a good winner when the time comes as well. It has made class so engaging and they look forward to when I bring it out. Those days are definitely some of the most competitive!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Villarreal
This classroom project was brought to life by The Rebuild Texas Fund and one other donor.Savvy Storage for Social Studies!
Funded Sep 13, 2018My students had a blast organizing their Studies Weekly magazines in the classroom. It took a lot of work and many days of folding and labeling but we were able to get it done. They enjoy being able quickly and easily get their materials now and we have more time in class to learn instead of getting materials out to the students. Thank you again for your generosity. My students have seen first hand the impact of how important it is to be organized in their life to make it easier to succeed and to have more time for yourself, or in this case, more free time for learning games and apps!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Villarreal
This classroom project was brought to life by The Rebuild Texas Fund and one other donor.Learning Large with Life Cycles!
Funded Mar 27, 2018My students have loved every step of this project! They squealed and giggled while putting the food and caterpillars into their cups and were amazed when the caterpillars began to make their chrysallis'. We have learned so much about the butterfly life cycle through the materials sent with these kits and the students have loved watching each step in person. As of this letter our first butterfly has emerged and the kids are ecstatic! They are looking forward to coming in each morning to see how many more have emerged. Their favorite thing they have learned so far is that butterflies have to "zip" together their mouth parts after emerging. They are looking forward to catch one in the act. Science has always been a passion of mine and is my great joy to see that excitement mirrored in my students faces. I am so excited to see how eager they are to learn and how much it has helped in our life cycle lessons as well. The idea of metamorphosis has been so much easier for them to understand this year compared to others because they have been able to see it for themselves step by step. They have even shown more understanding of the frog life cycle as well due to this experience. Thank you generosity in providing this wonderful experience for all of our 1st grade students!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Villarreal
This classroom project was brought to life by The Rebuild Texas Fund and one other donor.Invigorating Our Vocabulary!
Funded Mar 12, 2018My students LOVE their new vocabulary games! They have had so much fun playing these games during their center time as well as for review before assessments. They can more accurately tell what terms they do and don't know and are always excited to realize they know what a word means when they check the answer card. They frequently come up to me during their reading time and point out a word they learned from or recognized from our vocabulary games. It has greatly helped increase their reading fluency as well as their comprehension during reading assessments. Giving them access to these new terms and synonyms has also opened up more ways to express their thoughts while writing responses to their lessons as well as creating their own story pieces. Thank you again for your wonderful generosity in helping support my students growing vocabulary!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Villarreal
This classroom project was brought to life by The Rebuild Texas Fund and one other donor.