Mrs. Yee-Garbade's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 39

• Just-Right Readers for Emergent Readers

  Funded Oct 1, 2014

  My students were super excited to add these little readers to their book bags, and very eager to have the opportunity to read these books every day during independent reading time. Before we received these books, I did not have many leveled readers to give to the students to practice reading with and now, we have an abundance of books! This has has allowed for them to have the books that match their reading level,which is essential to building fluency and improving their reading skills.

  I have also been able to give students who are reading at a higher level the books they need to build their skills with the level C and D books. We are well on our way to meeting the goal of every student reading at Level C by the end of the year, which we could not have done without these resources.

  Thank you very much for your generous contribution and supporting the students in my kindergarten classroom.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Yee-Garbade

• Molding Young Minds with Play-Doh

  Funded Aug 28, 2014

  My students were thrilled when they saw the numerous tubs of Play-Doh and all the tools we received. More than that, they were surprised we had received so much (more than 50 small containers) and that it was for them to use. Even though Play-Doh is a common toy many small children have, many of my students have actually never had any to play with at home, so the opportunity to make and model things at school is a huge source of excitement for them.

  In addition to using the cutting and molding tools to make pretend cookies and cakes, they have also used the cookie cutters to make letters, numbers, and animal shapes. This has helped tremendously with building letter and number recognition, in addition to beginning spelling of words (like their own names).

  Play-Doh is a fantastic resource to have in a kindergarten classroom because it also helps build small children's small motor skills each time they are using it to mold and make things. This, in turn, helps tremendously with their dexterity in holding pencils, pens, and crayons when writing and coloring. When children are at-ease with using pencils and other writing instruments, it makes them more focused and productive students.

  Thanks again for your support of my classroom and our projects. I could not do this important work without your generous contributions.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Yee-Garbade

  This classroom project was brought to life by Play-Doh and 4 other donors.

• Custodians of the Environment

  Funded Jul 8, 2014

  When I first imagined how this project might pan out, I had no idea the magnitude to which it would be carried out. At the very beginning of the school year, I read the storybooks about how a plastic bottles and aluminum cans get recycled, as well as the books about what happens to trash when we throw it away, to build a foundation for what the purpose of recycling is. My little students took to these ideas right away and when I announced that we would help collect bottles and other containers to recycle for the entire school, they were very excited to help do their part for the school community. We made big "Please Recycle" signs and decorated them with markers and dot stampers, and I drafted a letter to the staff describing our efforts.

  I then explained to them what we were going to be collecting, what CRV (California Redemption Value) is, and told them they would be receiving treats and other supplies for our classroom for their efforts with the money we got from redeeming the containers. We then walked around the school campus, putting out the blue bins, handed out notices to all school staff explaining our project, and made a plan to collect the containers daily, bring them back to our classroom recycling center, and sort them into separate bins.

  The response and support from the school community has been incredible, as so many teachers have talked to their students and have started collecting containers from their classrooms to help support my students' efforts. Additionally, my students have also gone beyond just collecting CRV containers; as I describe and display other items that are recyclable, such as milk cartons and disposable plastic containers that our breakfast and lunch items are served in, they have collected and sorted those items as well.

  Recycling as a way of trash reduction has become a daily practice in our classroom, yet we could have only done this work with the materials purchased with your generous donations. I can only hope that they encourage their parents and other family members to recycle, and that these practices become habits of mind as these students grow up and move on from my classroom.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Yee-Garbade

• Cozying up with a Good Book

  Funded Aug 6, 2014

  My students were truly wowed by the big colorful pillows and cushions when they first arrived in our classroom, and they are still very excited to use them during daily independent reading time. We have been using them for a couple of months now and they really have helped students feel comfortable while reading, which keeps them sitting for longer and staying more focused during this time. Without these cozy pillows, they would definitely not be able to read for as long, and it is certainly more fun and exciting to read books in a more home-like setting instead of at student desks.

  The mini alphabet carpet has also been very useful, in that I was able to use it to set up a space for students to gather with me when I teach my mini-lessons during writing workshop. This separate area is more intimate than our large carpet where we sing songs and listen to read-alouds, so the children can pay closer attention to the lessons and feel like writing workshop is a special time of day to brainstorm and write stories.

  As we continue with building our reading and writing skills, I have seen great progress among the students, not only in their work, but also in their stamina in simply reading and writing. Anyone who has been around 5- and 6- year-olds knows that building stamina with such young children can be challenging; therefore, I have to credit having these materials in my classroom in helping to achieve this task.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Yee-Garbade

• Writers Write About the World They Know

  Funded Apr 3, 2014

  I am so pleased with how these materials helped my students in beginning our writing unit! The folders helped keep their stories organized; one side for stories that were done and one side for stories that they were still working on. The pens were used, in part, to create some excitement in using a different writing instrument and the chart paper was used to highlight the different elements involved in writing certain kinds of stories (true stories vs. all-about stories) and how to get ideas about what to write about. Even the Post-Its added so much color to our charts and served as a great way to add reminders and tips about the writing process.

  I was also impressed with how even reluctant writers could start from somewhere once we got started with the mini-lessons and of course, the new materials we received were integral to starting that process. Since kindergarten incorporates many 'firsts' for young children, it was exciting to see many of these students begin to see themselves as writers and illustrators, just like the authors we read every day, once they started to write about things they knew about and experiences they had had.

  As these students move on to first grade, I am confident that their early writing experiences will be very valuable in helping them move on to write longer, more detailed stories about a multitude of topics, and am proud to have been able to set up this foundation for them. I am grateful for your support in building these children, and future students, up to be the best students they can be.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Yee-Garbade

  This classroom project was brought to life by 100 Women in Hedge Funds and 8 other donors.

• Art Attack!

  Funded Jan 22, 2014

  My student were ecstatic to see the 8 big jugs of paint that arrived in our classroom, and were equally impressed with the variety of colors. Just having an assortment of different colors to paint their pictures was thrilling enough, but the use of new brushes and paint cups added a couple notches to the excitement. Likewise, they were impressed by the artists' canvasses and got adjusted to using the glue bottle tops very quickly (trying to wean ourselves off of glue sticks).

  We have used and will continue to use the paint for a number of projects in the students' sketchbooks that will culminate in creating a painting on the cavansses. Within the painting lessons, I have been able to teach about lines (long, curvy, slanted, short, thick, thin, etc), shades of color in foreground and background, and in general, the use of color within the space they are working in. In the next couple weeks, we will also work on mixing primary colors to make secondary colors, always an exciting lesson for the children.

  In addition to covering the necessary reading and math lessons every day, I enjoy teaching art lessons to enhance whatever material or subject we are working on and these art materials have been such an asset in achieving this goal of mine. Hopefully, my students are also achieving their grade-level goals in using these materials as well, and from their hearts and mine, thank you for your support of our classroom.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Yee-Garbade

• Create & Innovate: Building Knowledge

  Funded Sep 18, 2013

  My students were very excited to receive the materials, knowing they were going to be able to use special materials to create projects. They were even more pleased to hear that people they didn't know, but cared about kids, spent their own money to buy these items for them. They expressed excitement and delight in knowing they were going to have a year's worth of materials to build an art portfolio that they could share with their families and take home at the end of the school year.

  We have used these materials for several projects already, such as drawing pictures of their friends in the style of William H. Johnson, sketching a still life of a bowl of fruit, and painting a picture of the pumpkins they used for their pumpkin reports. In our next unit of study, we will use the Model Magic clay to sculpt animal masks, highlighting the features of different animals and what they see in themselves that resembles those animals.

  This project helped acquire some vital materials needed to increase the amount of opportunities I have to engage the students' creativity in representing their ideas and responses to specific themes that have been taught, such as friendship, transportation, and food. They have also been able to expand upon their imaginations in creating the pieces they have made, which has helped in making connections from the visual form to the written form. At this early age, students start with drawing as a way of responding, and slowly build upon that to writing as a way of responding. In working on writing an opinion, they have had many opportunities to practice writing about what they like, which will be an assessment they have to take in the next few weeks. These are valuable lessons that have contributed to building writing skills, and will continue to enhance their language and writing skills throughout the rest of this year.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Yee-Garbade

  This classroom project was brought to life by an anonymous donor and 7 other donors.

• Hand in Hand: Technology & Literacy

  Funded May 8, 2012

  Thank you so very much for your contribution to our classroom set of Nooks! Even with the short amount of time my former students had to use them, their daily exposure to them was so important to their literacy instruction. Each day, each student had a chance to pick whichever books they wanted to "read," whether it was a book about Barbies or a Dr. Seuss book, as well as use specific Apps to work on sight words or complete alphabet puzzles. I tried to download a variety of subjects and genres on each Nook so as to engage all interests and levels of reading, and saw how valuable it is for children to be able to read books about subjects and characters they are interested in.

  Another thing I noticed was how quickly the children were able to learn how navigate and use the devices, so while they were independently using them, I was able to give other students individual attention and pull more students to do small-group instruction with. One of the biggest challenges in teaching, as you may or may not know, is having enough opportunities within one day to address the individual needs and learning styles of each student. These Nooks have given me the chance to work with more children individually on a daily basis, while engaging children in a meaningful form of literacy instruction. And the buy-in of being able to use a Nook has worked wonders with struggling, as well as less-motivated readers.

  Your support of public education and its students is to be commended - you are an invaluable resource to teachers who strive to do the best job they can to serve the needs of their students.

  ”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Yee-Garbade

• Bring to Life the Words of a Book!

  Funded Jan 31, 2012

  I wanted to thank you again for your generosity in contributing money to purchase resources for my students. With limited funds provided by the districts these days, it feels more and more like classroom teachers are one of the few advocates for children and their success in school. My students have enjoyed their new listening center very much and get excited at the prospect of hearing a new book every week. We have yet to go through the set of books that was purchased with the funds you provided, but each of the books that the students have listened to has been very popular, and in particular, an alphabet book called Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

  Each time a student listens to a story on CD and "reads" along with the book, it helps enormously with building his or her own decoding skills and as a kindergarten teacher, one of my main year-end goals is to ensure each student leaves my classroom able to read with confidence. As we all know, reading is not necessarily a skill that comes easily, but usually with lots of exposure and opportunities to hear and see words in action.

  Your donation has helped my classroom in so many ways and I thank you for your kindness in supporting public education.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Yee-Garbade

  This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 27 other donors.