Past projects 5
Play HW Revolution 2.0: Chess Life!
Funded Aug 24, 2017Thank you so much for your generosity and support! This project will help all our students and families to reap the benefits of play homework- cognitive growth, language development, and social emotional skills - through games and chess. It shifts the focus of homework from the overly narrowed outcomes of reading and math to the development of the child as a whole. We saw great success with the pilot of the program last year and are so grateful for your help in expanding it to reach more of our amazing bilingüe WHEELS students! ”
With gratitude,
Ms. L.
Document Cameras for Math Discourse and Rigorous Read Aloud!
Funded Mar 29, 2017Thank you so much for your support and generosity! We can't wait to put this technology to use in our classrooms!
These document cameras help us to project student work for class discussion (no more "I can't see!") and allow us to show read aloud texts on the board so that students can read along at key moments, building greater access to high level texts, with all its vocabulary and complex syntax.
Doc Cams are such a simple technology -- but they will allow us to push our classroom discourse and reading of high-level text to the next level. We are so grateful for your help in making this happen.
Photos of our learning coming soon!”
With gratitude,
Ms. L.
This classroom project was brought to life by Aspect Ventures and 10 other donors.Building Blocks of Math: Base Ten Resources!
Funded Nov 28, 2016Thank you so much for your support! The young mathematicians of WHEELS will be thrilled to have these manipulatives to work with each day during our math workshop.
These materials will help them build a strong foundational understanding of the base ten system, a key component of their long term success in math.”
With gratitude,
Ms. L.
A Space to Learn That Is "Safe, Beautiful, and Good"
Funded Aug 31, 2016Thank you for your support in creating a classroom that is "safe, beautiful, and good" for my wonderful students.
My goal with this project was to push my classroom towards embodying our school values – creating a space that honored students' connection to the natural world, felt safe, homey, and comforting – rather than sterile, generic, and corporate – and provided opportunities for my young students (still only 6-7 years old) to learn through play.
Because of our in-depth study of plastic last year, my students are keenly aware of how different our room feels this year. With wooden furniture, soft lighting, and woven cloth-jute rugs, the space feels unlike most public school classrooms. My students particularly appreciate having two rug spaces, so that they can work while sitting on their knees at our low table, or lie down and read on their bellies. I am grateful to be able to offer a learning space -- where my students spend the majority of their waking hours! -- that so warmly honors and responds to their developmental needs.
Both students and families are also especially grateful for our unique "play homework". At student-led conferences last week (our version of the traditional "parent teacher conferences), parents described how much they appreciated having games that allowed their children to play without a computer or TV, and for the way the games had supported them in spending time together as a family. My students eagerly await Friday afternoon, when we change games for the week, and are quick to describe how playing games helps their young brains to grow.
Our next step is to stock the whole lower grades (elementary school) with wooden base ten blocks, allowing students to model their mathematical thinking with natural, durable materials that won't need to be replaced every 1-2 years like the foam blocks on offer through public school providers.
Thank you for your help and generosity in making my classroom a place of joyful learning!”
With gratitude,
Ms. L.
Homework Revolution: Playing Games for Growing Brains!
Funded Jan 26, 2016Dear Donors,
Thank you so much for your generosity in supporting "Homework Revolution: Playing Games for Growing Brains!" Our WHEELS first graders, the Falcons, have been having a wonderful time playing games each night with their siblings, parents, and grandparents, thanks to your support.
Access to these games has promoted both cognitive and social development in my students. In conversations with their peers, students have shared stories of the games they loved and have encouraged each other to try new ones. They have practiced the art of sharing and generosity, considering who has had an opportunity to try each of the games as they make their weekly pick.
They have also pushed themselves to explore something new and different, opening their minds not only to new games but to new kinds of play. While the puzzles were the last item to go during the first few weeks, they are now a hot ticket. Puzzles are wonderful for developing critical thinking skills and multi-step thinking – a key growth area for many of my young students. The experience of trying a few puzzles has opened the door to a whole range of new play-learning experiences for these students.
During rainy days of indoor recess, it has been a pleasure watching students teach each other games they have learned from playing at home. After school, in our peer-mentorship program with our middle grades students, first graders and their seventh grade buddies have collaborated to solve our world puzzles, simultaneously building their global awareness and problem solving skills, and building their relationships.
In recent weeks, several of my students' parents have reported enforcing stricter no-screen policies during the school week, a policy that works now that our children have a viable, positive alternative to video games and TV.
While the cognitive development that stems from this kind of play is a long term outcome, the positive experiences that students have with non-screen based play can set them on a positive feedback loop, in which they seek out more intellectually engaging play experiences. As one of my students wrote in her thank you note (see photos), "We know they won't kill our neurons like electronics!" All of the Falcons are very interested in their own "neuron growth", and they delight in the idea that they can play and make their brain grow at the same time!
I have been toying with this idea for a long time (get it?!) and I am so deeply grateful for your support in helping me to bring this project to fruition.
Warmest thanks and appreciation,
Callie
P.S. This summer I will be writing an article about this experience and the impact on my students – hopefully the idea of play homework will be the seed of greater things to come! I look forward to keeping you all posted.”
With gratitude,
Ms. L.
This classroom project was brought to life by Perry and Donna Golkin Family Foundation and 5 other donors.