Ms. Bushnell's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 14

• Eureka! I've Built It!

  Funded Dec 3, 2024

  Thanks to your generous donation, you have enabled my fourth grade students to gain some much-needed math manipulatives, which help them learn some quite difficult math concepts, like decimals and fractions. Fourth grade is when students really dive into fractions. Comparing fractions with different denominators is super hard, but by seeing them line up or not line up with the fraction tiles in this project, students now have visual evidence of a fraction being greater than or less than another fraction.

  You have also opened the doors for my students to explore some science topics, like electrical circuitry, with the Snap Circuits set. They absolutely love building a circuit that results in a fun sound going off or a helicopter propeller flying up into the air!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Bushnell

  This classroom project was brought to life by * Education Foundation of Sarasota County and 2 other donors.

• Let the Games Begin!

  Funded Dec 6, 2024

  My students and I are so grateful for your generous donation to my project "Let the Games Begin!" The games in the project have given my students the opportunity to actually play board games with each other, something that not every child does nowadays. They find that they have a wonderful time laughing, joking around, and comically competing with one another during indoor recess. Their default instinct is usually to ask if they can play on the computer, but these games have enabled positive social interaction instead!

  When the students first saw how many awesome games were delivered to the classroom, just for them, they couldn't believe it! Now imagine this happening to six classrooms in total. Yes, the teachers on my fourth grade team divided up the toys and activities so that each classroom received five or six each. We plan on rotating and sharing them all among the classrooms.

  Thanks to your donation, students are mastering building towers and palaces with Magnatiles, learning how to play checkers with the Giant Checkers set, and laughing so hard their sides hurt playing Taco Burrito.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Bushnell

  This classroom project was brought to life by * Education Foundation of Sarasota County and 4 other donors.

• Seeing Math to Understand Math

  Funded Jan 29, 2023

  My students are really enjoying their new math centers. The Number of the Day large magnetic chart enables 2-3 students to work together composing and decomposing three-digit numbers in different ways. The place value coins are helping students grasp the concept of composing large numbers using smaller units. Whether it be the money games, the place value games, or the magnetic chart, students just love working together in an unstructured way, but all the while honing their math skills.

  The math games that you have so generously supported through this project are giving my students engaging ways of manipulating amounts and learning by trial and error. They are using critical thinking and creative thinking skills to navigate through problems. What invaluable skills to learn at such a young age!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Bushnell

  This classroom project was brought to life by Education Foundation of Sarasota County and 2 other donors.

• Healing Hearts and Crafts

  Funded Oct 17, 2022

  The arts and crafts activities which you so generously contributed to are helping my students feel happiness and lightheartedness, emotions that have been lacking during the last couple of weeks in the wake of Hurricane Ian. We whipped out some of the fall crafts this week for a Fun Friday afternoon, and it made my heart so full to see children having fun, laughing, figuring out how to glue or color something.

  The happy sounds filling my classroom as students created autumn trees, owls, and scarecrows will be repeated so many more times during future arts and crafts activities that were funded under this project!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Bushnell

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and one other donor.

• STEM-tastic Building Sets!

  Funded Sep 8, 2022

  My students are having so much fun using the STEM activities and games that you so generously contributed to. We whip out the Create a Chain Reaction or Creative Lego Building set during our indoor recess time or when students have earned free time.

  In addition to using collaboration skills in working together to solve building problems, students are highly engaged in authentic reading experiences when they have to read instructions and then follow through in building something. Ultimately, they love just figuring out tasks and being together in these opportunities for unstructured learning.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Bushnell

  This classroom project was brought to life by Education Foundation of Sarasota County and 6 other donors.

• Vast and Vibrant Vocabulary

  Funded Feb 17, 2022

  The resource that you so generously contributed to, a vocabulary workbook called Wordly Wise, was very successful in widening my students' vocabulary last year. The students had great fun acting out vocabulary words in charades where the others had to guess the word.

  Students were able to use the workbook at their own pace. Some couldn't get enough of the exercises and devoured the crosswords and puzzles. Others worked with a partner to try to figure out the unfamiliar words. Our class has developed a growth mindset, and they know that perseverance will help them if they don't understand some words the time or second time around.

  Thank you very much for your generosity in providing this rich opportunity to my students!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Bushnell

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 6 other donors.

• History Comes Alive!

  Funded Aug 12, 2021

  Thanks to your generous donation, my students have been able to learn about Native American nations and their cultures. Their favorite myth was the Legend of the Bluebonnets.

  My class has also been learning about the contributions of diverse communities in the United States through biographies. They are reading about Jackie Robinson, Sacagawea, Sonia Sotomayor, and Cesar Chavez, among others. It is important for them to be able to reference several sources in independent research activities, and these books have proven to be a wonderful resource.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Bushnell

  This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 5 other donors.

• Money, Measurement and More Math!

  Funded Aug 12, 2021

  My students gasped with excitement when I showed them their new Math materials! They have been enjoying creating three-dimensional shapes with the two-dimensional Magna Tiles, really understanding what kind of 2D faces make up a cube, or a rectangular prism. They are learning how the different 3D volumes (pyramids, prisms) can be combined to make more complex real-world spaces.

  My students and I are are very grateful for this opportunity to use hands-on games and activities to further our learning!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Bushnell

  This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 8 other donors.

• Sensational Science Centers!

  Funded May 5, 2021

  Thanks to your generous donations, my Grade 2 students can now think and act like scientists by using hand lenses to examine everything around them, especially the rock specimens that were part of this project. Students are comparing and contrasting igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks, and observing the fossil collection.

  The magnet kit is a special favorite with students returning over and over again to try out the north and south poles of the different magnets and then going around the room exploring on their own, seeing what their magnets will stick to!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Bushnell

  This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 6 other donors.

• Remarkable Readers for Riveting Reading!

  Funded Mar 16, 2021

  Thanks to your generous contributions to my project "Remarkable Readers for Riveting Reading," my students are indeed riveted by their new nonfiction books. The different genres, from biography to scientific texts, and varied reading levels ensure that each and every child has access to multiple books that interest him or her. From Abraham Lincoln to The Story of Chocolate to First Flight, each book is beautifully illustrated with primary source photographs, journal excerpts, tables, and graphs for opportunities in deeper comprehension.

  Students in my classroom enjoy reading independently, seated on comfy cushions on the floor, or if they are in the mood for shared reading, they sit in pairs at their desks or at big tables.

  Some students have developed a special affinity for past presidents, because they have seen the musical "Hamilton." I'm pleased that they now have readers which can open this aspect of US history to them!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Bushnell

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Center for Disaster Philanthropy and 2 other donors.