Past projects 15
Building Meaning With Building Materials
Funded Nov 8, 2023How exciting it was to open the boxes with my students and discover the building materials inside! Your contributions to this project have brought joy, creativity, curiosity, and engagement to the classroom. The children jumped right into using the materials to create structures - some big, some small, some stable, and some wobbly. The farm animal theme has proven to be very popular. The children were so excited by the farm-themed shape sorter.
Thank you again for your generous contributions and making this project come to life!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Aduso
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors & Young Sheldon on CBS and 3 other donors.It's a Go for GoTalks!
Funded May 9, 2023Thank you again for funding this project! As I start a new school year I am so excited to use the materials that you helped provide. The communication devices will aid the children in makes their wants and needs known, assist them in engaging in the curriculum, and help with socialization. I am very excited to use the "Talking Photo Album" to record the children's names with their photo. I'm certain that will become a classroom favorite very quickly!
Thank you for supporting my classroom and students!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Aduso
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 7 other donors.Books! Books! We Love Books!
Funded Apr 3, 2023What a delight it has been to share the new books with the class! Your contributions to this project have brought so much joy, language, curiosity, and literacy to the classroom. The children have excitedly been pouring over the books, taking in the illustrations, and bringing the books to the teachers to ask to be read. We have also replaced our old and torn copies of favorites like Pete the Cat and Row Your Boat. A soon to be new class favorite is Over In the Meadow. The children love seeing the animals and hearing the repetitive language.
Thank you again for your generous contribution and making this project come to life!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Aduso
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great®.Help Us Make a (Diaper) Change!
Funded Mar 16, 2023The changing table arrived this week and the positive impact was immediate! We now have a clean and safe place to change diapers for my students with limited mobility. And teachers are safer, too, as we no longer need to lift children up off of the floor.
I want to again express my gratitude for your generous contributions in funding this project. Toileting training and diapering is part of the teaching and learning in my classroom. Thank you for helping me provide a safe atmosphere for this to occur and one in which the dignity of every child is upheld.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Aduso
Play Potential!
Funded Oct 26, 2022It is with joy and gratitude that I write this impact letter! The materials and toys that you provided my classroom through your generosity have enriched the daily lives and learning experiences of my students.
One of the big items that was funded through this project is a trampoline. The trampoline alone has created so many genuine opportunities for learning of all kinds: social-emotional learning as two children jump together, enjoying a shared experience, strengthening a friendship, and practicing turn-taking skills; math as we count and count and count again how many hops, bounces, and jumps children make; and, sensory integration and self-regulation as children use the trampoline as a way to engage in movement and sensory play.
Another impactful item from the project has been the Duplo blocks and people. Building with these blocks has encouraged problem-solving and persistence and fostered imagination and pretend play. The children are especially taken by the Duplo people. These are very popular and an unexpected source of language enrichment as the children describe the people and what they are wearing, animate the people and name the actions, and give the people names.
I hope you are able to get a sense of the appreciation I feel towards your donations and the joy and learning you have made possible. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Aduso
Reaching All My Students
Funded Feb 7, 2022Thank you for contributing to this project! The new toys and materials have had such a positive impact on the way my students engage in the classroom. Now I have a range of toys for my students to engage with, no matter their skill or developmental level.
The new toys have truly enriched the children's play behaviors. I see curiosity, excitement, persistence, and joy as they explore the new toys! The children are practicing and refining fine and gross motor skills and practicing social skills as they take turns and share with others.
There was a wonderful moment this week when three children gathered around a new toy. They took turns using it, used it together, commented on what happened, and observed each other problem-solve. This is rich, valuable, and meaningful learning - made possible by you!
Thank you, again, for supporting the work that I do and believing in the value of play as children's work.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Aduso
Sensing a Good Time!
Funded Dec 7, 2021Thank you for contributing to this project! The painting paper and sensory-play materials have had such a positive impact on the way my students engage in the classroom.
The arrival of the materials coincided with our return to school after winter break. Having new and interesting items in the classroom definitely helped ease the children back into our daily school routine. Any reticence or reluctance quickly disappeared when the children set their eyes on the new materials.
The materials had the impact I was hoping for! Children engaged all of their senses as they touched, played, and explored. Playing with these new materials created multiple and varied opportunities for my students to practice language skills, such as asking for help and learning new words to describe the materials.
Thank you, again, for supporting the work that I do and believing in the value of play as children's work.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Aduso
This classroom project was brought to life by Clark Foundation & Marriott Foundation and 8 other donors.Through Their Eyes
Funded Nov 16, 2016Thank you for contributing to this project! The magnifying glass, microscope, clipboards, and digital cameras have had a positive impact on the way the children approach their work, play, and exploration.
The arrival of the materials matched up perfectly with the arrival of the "big, green thing" in my classroom. One of my students brought in an unusual looking "thing" that was growing in his neighbor's yard. We called it the "big, green thing" until we learned its real name. It was an osage orange. The children immediately examined the osage orange using the magnifying glass and microscope. They drew pictures of it with details that showed all of the little crevices and bumps - details they may have missed without magnification! We walked to the student's house to look at his neighbor's yard. The children used the cameras to take pictures of the Osage Orange tree, the fruit that grows on it, and the thorny branches!
In addition to helping the children record and remember their experiences, the cameras have had an unanticipated, and beautiful, impact on the class. Using the cameras has contribution to the formation of friendship and development of social skills. For example, using the cameras created a connection between two children who do not typically play together. The two girls excitedly took pictures of their toys and the classroom, then started to take pictures of each other! One would pose while the other took a picture, then they would switch. This turn-taking and mutual enjoyment easily went on for 15 minutes. Now the two girls often seek each other out to play together.
Thank you, again, for supporting the work that I do and believing that young children need real tools for their learning!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Aduso
Send the Pumpkins to the Pumpkin Patch!
Funded Aug 25, 2015The hallways of the PreK classrooms were abuzz the morning of our field trip! Parents, children, and teachers all excitedly prepared for the field trip - did we have everything? Name tags, lunches, backpacks? We were ready! We boarded the school buses and watched as the city rolled by. We drove far away from our familiar stomping ground to the beautiful fall countryside.
The tractor ride to the pumpkin patch was the highlight of the trip. Children and adults all giggled as we settled down in the think, scratchy straw. The tractor started up and we rolled through the farm and woods, passing Halloween decorations along the way. Once we arrived at the pumpkin patch we hurried down the steps of the tractor and spread out over the field to pick our pumpkins! Children ran to and fro, picking up pumpkins, turning them around in their hands. Some were heavy, some were squishy, some had "scratchy" stems, some rolled away! Some were split open with seeds spilling everywhere!
Once back at the farm we walked around the farm, exploring water pumps, giant slides, wooden play structures, and farm animals! We walked back to the buses with pumpkins, apples, and satisfied smiles!
Thank you all, so much, for making this trip possible! You helped us experience the wonders of fall, build wonderful memories and shared experiences with our classes and families!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Aduso
Travel for Tunes!
Funded Feb 18, 2014Thank you for contributing to this project and helping us travel to our field trip! We could not have made it there without your help. The children were ecstatic when they learned that they would get to ride a school bus. As we boarded the bus the children started singing the "Wheels on the Bus". We drove through the city and the children noticed buildings, counted windows, and delighted as we merged onto the highway. They all squealed when we traveled through the tunnels on our way to Wolf Trap for our musical performance.
The field trip was wonderful. We participated in interactive storytelling in which we used our voices, bodies, instruments, and puppets to tell a story. During the second part of the performance we took a musical journey with a jazz trio. The jazz trio took us from New Orleans to New York to Kansas City to Washington, DC. At each "stop" we learned about different styles of jazz by moving our bodies and using our voices.
All of this was possible because of your generosity. Thank you for providing us with transportation for this field trip and supporting the work I am doing with my students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Aduso