Past projects 39
Read & Write the Right Way
Funded Oct 28, 2024The magnetic letters have helped my students improve their reading and spelling skills in a phenomenal way. The ease to which some of the students are able to manipulate the letters to make new words is quite amazing to witness, especially knowing that some of them did not really know too many letter sounds when we started the school year. This kind of progress is fun to see in kindergarten, a year when some students can make proficient gains, and was achieved in great part to having a class set of magnetic letters for all students to use to practice spelling and reading words while participating in the teacher-directed lessons.
I am beyond grateful to have this new resource in my classroom to help my students achieve their reading goals, and pleased to be able to reuse them with future kindergarten classes.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Yee-Garbade
Refresh Our Classroom
Funded Aug 16, 2024The new mailboxes we have been using have been a wonderful replacement to the ones that were falling apart and not allowing for students to find their materials quickly. Also, the classroom posters and calming decor has been a nice upgrade to the previous decor that had not been changed in many years. The students have been referencing the various alphabet and number posters when they need help recalling a letter sound or how to write a number 12.
It is satisfying to see students be able to solve their problems on their own without always having to rely on a grown-up. Many of these reference posters have helped students become more independent in learning there are other ways to help yourself when other ways are not available.
Thank you again for your contributions to making our classroom more organized and a calm place for students to work and learn.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Yee-Garbade
This classroom project was brought to life by The Gates Foundation and 3 other donors.In Arts and Crafts We Trust
Funded Mar 28, 2024My students had lots of fun working on their art projects in the style of renowned 'dot' artist Yayoi Kusama and Mother's Day gifts at the end of the school year. They also used the retractable white board markers for the first time, working on sounding out and writing words, and enjoyed the ease of not having to replace the caps when done.
I am looking forward to having my next group of students use the soft pastels, plastic trees, and jars for our art projects in the fall and winter. They will certainly have fun being creators and makers with these new materials. Thanks for supporting young students' creativity and ingenuity in the kindergarten classroom!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Yee-Garbade
This classroom project was brought to life by LOFT and one other donor.A Rug For All, A Spot For Each
Funded Sep 21, 2023My students love their "spots," as we call them, and I like being able to dismiss them by the different colors on the rug so not everyone gets up at the same time. It has been easy for me to change the seating arrangement, whether it is two students who keep bugging one another or someone needs a seat closer to the board, by using the colors to identify which spots the students need to change their seat to.
Students also use the rug to meet with their partners to talk and do work together. We have also had fun dancing and singing on this rug, as it allows for a lot of space to move around on and generally be silly when the occasion calls for it.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Yee-Garbade
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 5 other donors.Classroom & Club Need to Replenish Supplies
Funded May 16, 2023My students have had a great time using all the school supplies since the start of this school year. As soon as school started, they used glue sticks and white board markers for every day activities such as completing worksheets and participating in letter lessons with the teacher. They have used the black flne line markers and sticky notes for a variety of tasks such as writing narrative stories during writing workshop time and making posters to illustrate the number 2, number 3, number 4, and number 5.
Members of the recycle club in multiple grades have used the poster board, markers, and crayons to make posters advertising for our club activities and used the posters to make oral presentations to each classroom in our school.
Finally, my kindergarten students were very excited to use the watercolor paper and brand new watercolor paints to make their Frida Kahlo self-portraits during Latino Heritage month in September.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Yee-Garbade
This classroom project was brought to life by Chevron and 4 other donors.New Boxes and Books for the New Year
Funded Dec 28, 2022It is always such a relief to have the supplies we need at the exact time we need them. As students have run out of pages in their workbooks and notebooks, as well as whiteboard markers drying out , we've been able to have new replacements in a timely fashion.
Our new set of mailboxes is also working out wonderfully, allowing students to organize their workbooks and folders in a way that makes it easy for them to access without asking for help.
Thanks to your generosity in funding this project, my students have been able to use their markers, notebooks, and folders daily to help them practice the skills working on without any delays. This is the kind of peace of mind teachers could use more of.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Yee-Garbade
Restock and Refresh Our Classroom Supplies
Funded Oct 26, 2022My -students have been drawing in their little notebooks as a way of regulating their emotions and bringing down big feelings. Watching how-to videos for drawing animals and characters has not only been fun, but a great way to help build their confidence in non-academic, non-threatening ways.
They have also been pleased to have their new mailboxes to organize their folders and books. So far, no one has complained that their box is falling or mixed up with someone else's, which has been a tremendous help to me in maintaining a clean and tidy classroom.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Yee-Garbade
This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares and 2 other donors.Carpet Diem
Funded Aug 29, 2022Our "moon rug", as I often call it, has been a nice, cozy addition to the classroom and the students have enjoyed sitting on it during whole group activities. "Meet me on the moon," has been a new way for me to gather students to the meeting area, and it definitely engages students differently than other ways to get students' attention.
It has been new and interesting for me, as a teacher, to have a large circle rug instead of a typical rectangular rug since I've never utilized one before. I do enjoy the fact that it allows students to form a circle more easily than in my previous class experiences since the shape of the rug is a circle. I often enjoy teaching students in a circle formation, over rows, because it allows for a more intimate setting and I can keep a better eye on more students at once. I am grateful for how this new rug allows me to teach students in this format more often.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Yee-Garbade
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and 5 other donors.Full STEAM Ahead With Toys and Craft Supplies
Funded Jun 23, 2022My students have had a tremendous amount of fun playing with these STEM toys. Each day we end the learning day with Choice Time and I spend some of this time observing which toys students gravitate toward.
Many students partner up, ask each other if they want to go back to an area they played in the day before, sometimes to continue working on or adding on to a structure they previously started.
Each time students play with these toys, I know they are building spatial and visual perception skills, as well as using trial and error to see how tall or large they can build something. These skills are just as important as reading, writing, and counting skills.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Yee-Garbade
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and 3 other donors.Emergent Readers Need To Read
Funded Jan 11, 2022My students have enjoyed reading these classic storybooks all year and now appreciate having new copies to read. Previously, they were constantly pointing out all the writing that previous students had done in the old books, or how the pages were ripped. Now, they are able to practice reading without those distractions in these brand-new copies. They are now able to focus on the events, the characters, and the storytelling language that is a fundamental part of learning to be good readers.
These books will continue to be read over and over again by future students, who will use them to practice building strong language and storytelling skills. They will laugh at and admire the characters and delight in repeating the silly phrases out loud ("Run, run, fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man"). Most of all, they'll have fun "reading" just like the teacher and building confidence in their own reading skills.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Yee-Garbade
This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares and 3 other donors.