Past projects 37
Mac Mini and the Beast (Promethean Board)
Funded Jul 27, 2024Before the Mac Mini, my Promethean board was connected to a 2020 Mac desktop that would crash, glitch, black out, go to the "spinning beach ball of death", and buffer in the middle of any given lesson. I was never confident I would make it through a math or reading lesson without a problem. The students used to groan, moan, and complain about how the Promethean board had dropped the computer feed or how the Promethean board apps weren't compatible with the 2020 Mac Desktop. I had a high-tech Promethean board that I couldn't use to its full potential.
Then you donated to Donors Choose. What a miracle! The Mac Mini works every single time without crashing, errors, or issues. It is a dream come true. I love that I can rely on the Mac Mini to work correctly every day. We haven't come across a lesson or application that we can't use yet. The feeling of knowing a lesson can go off without technical difficulty is worth a million dollars. You have given me the gift of reliability.
Additionally, the Mac Mini fits right at the bottom of the Promethean board carefully hidden away from the fray of the classroom. There are no wires or plugs for students to trip because the Mac Mini is connected to a wireless mouse, clicker, and keyboard. We can use the computer from anywhere in the classroom. I am free to roam the classroom, sitting next to any student who needs my assistance. The Mac Mini and the Beast are making magic happen every day of the year. Learning is improving, my lessons are more engaging and I have peace of mind.
Thank you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lowdermilk
Store More
Funded Aug 16, 2024Have you ever seen 26 backpacks explode all at once? That is what it is like every morning outside of our classroom. All 26 students unpack their backpacks on our patio. Folders, books, pencil cases, and water bottles are out of the backpacks and scattered over the picnic tables. Lunch boxes are placed in the lunch wagon, and SOME backpacks are stashed in the cubbies. There used to be a mad rush to hurry up and find a cubby because we didn't have enough cubbies. Thanks to your generous donations, each student has their assigned cubby where they can confidently place their backpacks daily.
Additionally, the clear plastic containers helped organize the inside of the classroom. My classroom has a wide assortment of tools, toys, and materials that need a permanent home. With the clear storage bins markers, Unifix cubes, dry erase markers, pencils, erasers, tape, scissors and so much more have a specific spot that every child can easily access. The students can see exactly what is inside each bin and I can see if I need to restock the materials. It is a win-win situation.
Thank you for bringing order to our active classroom.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lowdermilk
This classroom project was brought to life by The Gates Foundation and 5 other donors.VRRRMMMMM..... Vacuum
Funded Sep 18, 2024I feel like my room has been invaded by cleaning elves. The students are so excited about our new Dyson vacuum cleaner that they fight to see who gets to vacuum the class carpet each day. As soon as one person finishes cleaning one part of the room, another student will volunteer to clean another part of the classroom. The attachments cause even a bigger fuss than the vacuum cleaner for the rug. Baseboards, window sills, bookshelves, walls, corners, spider webs, and air vents get equal attention and cleaning thanks to the lightweight flexibility of the Dyson V11 attachments. My room has never looked better.
Many students have taken ownership of certain aspects of the vacuum cleaner. There is one student who is the official "dirt emptier"- Kenshin, "attachment monitor"- Finn, "filter changer"-Adam, "suction repairer"- Camila and "battery guru" - Ayaka. These children are responsible for certain aspects of the proper functioning of the Dyson. The whole class knows who to go to if they have a certain question or problem. We have a supportive and engaged class of cleaners. The pride the students have in our classroom looking clean is invaluable and important to our classroom community.
Thank you for keeping our room clean and my students engaged.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lowdermilk
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community & an Anonymous Partner and 5 other donors.Fluorescent Paint, Black Lights and a Wagon
Funded May 9, 2024OH MY GOODNESS! Black lights and fluorescent paint are so cool! We painted the most amazing constellations with fluorescent paint. Then to make things really pop, we turned out the lights and lit up the black light. The result was as out of the world as the constellations themselves.
Next, we made construction paper landscapes like the famous artist Jacob Lawrence with fluorescent paper. Again, we turned on those black lights and whamo! The streetlights glow as if they are really on.
The high quality BLICK paint really made all the difference. The thickness of the paint worked great on all types of paper. The students were so inspired to create. Plus, they loved how cool the black lights made the classroom look.
Thank you so much for your support. You empowered the students to create and make their classroom look spectacular. You made my teacher appreciation week the best ever with your generous support.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lowdermilk
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 3 other donors.Iterations: 3D Printing
Funded May 8, 2024Thank you for donating to my classroom during the teachers appreciation campaign. Through matching funds from Young Sheldon, the 3D printer was in my classroom within the month. You made my Teacher Appreciation day the best ever.
What a wonderful world 3D printing has opened to our classroom. The students got right to work. The Flashforge Printer Adventure 5 Pro worked great out of the box. The students set it up using YouTube videos. Then they downloaded the software to "slice" their creations and were printing before the end of the day.
The fabulous creations and imaginative trinkets we made in the class were just as varied as the students themselves. Each student got to choose what to print, what color filament to use and then they could even paint their creation. The students made giant Lego men jumping dolphins, boats, axolotls, airplanes, Spiderman, Cinnomaroll (from Sanrio) and even Harry Potter bookmarks.
The students felt like they had won the lottery. Each day our 3D printing collection grew and grew. Next year, I hope to engage the children even more by creating individual projects that they create from Flashforge software. Thank you again for believing in my students and giving them access to 3D printing.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lowdermilk
This classroom project was brought to life by Young Sheldon on CBS and 5 other donors.Rolling into PE
Funded Sep 20, 2023Well, it's been six months since we got the rolling wagons. Hundreds of yoga mats have been stored and rolled out each morning. No more broken bins, no more cracked containers, and most importantly no hurt students.
Thanks to your kind and generous donation, all of the 5th graders in our school had access to their yoga mats every day for PE. Students used the yoga mats for push-ups, curl-ups, trunk lifts, and stretching. We completed our Physical Fitness testing and 76% of our 5th graders passed with Presidential Distinction. We could not reached this high goal without the wagons.
We are truly grateful for your generous support. You contributed to the health and well-being of 105 fifth graders.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lowdermilk
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 5 other donors.Rollercoasters and Storage
Funded May 9, 2023Thank you so much. You brought order to the chaos! Our classroom had legos for days. They were everywhere- on the floor, in boxes, in desks, in cubbies, bins, bags, shoe boxes, cookie containers, and cupboards. The classroom was being overrun with Lego pieces. Plus builds were getting broken (on accident of course) without a place to put them while the students were working on other things in the classroom. You saved the day by donating to Donor's Choose so I could purchase Lego storage containers.
With your generosity, each student had their own storage box with a lid full of Lego pieces. The students used the boxes to store their Legos as they built. The students were able to complete more complicated builds over days and weeks with a storage box to protect the build and the pieces at the same time. Plus, the box made it possible for the students to move around from the carpet to their tables and their friends' tables. Students were able to collaborate and exchange ideas because of the portable nature of the Lego boxes.
Additionally, we purchased Lego sets with motors, wheels, gears, pulleys, and levers. The students were able to make their Lego builds MOVE! The students were eager to get their hands on the new moving Lego components. The movement added a new dimension to the student's building repertoire.
Thank you for your kindness and generosity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lowdermilk
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Foundation and 9 other donors.The Shelves are Empty
Funded May 10, 2023The pandemic took a toll on my library shelves. Books went home and never returned. In the meantime, my new students were so eager to read after being home with no books, that they were like locusts consuming every book in front of them. With your generosity, I was able to re-stock the shelves and supply the students with a diverse book collection.
Something I have been focusing on is putting books on the shelves so that students can see themselves in the main characters. I tried really hard to find more books with Asian main characters. My Korean, Tawainese, Philipino, and Japanese students were so excited about the new titles. They were fighting who would get to read the new books first.
Thanks so much for helping me provide great books for my students to read.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lowdermilk
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Foundation and 3 other donors.Teachers Learn and Grow, Too!
Funded Dec 29, 2022Well, it is done. Today I submitted my Maintenance of Certification for National Boards! I am attaching screen captures from the recorded lesson and some certificates I used as pieces of evidence I used to in my portfolio.
Even though this is the second time I have renewed my National Board Certification, this experience has helped me to grow as a teacher. I really reflected upon my teaching practice and instructional choices. Now, I can start thinking about what I will do over the next five years to continue to grow and improve as a teacher.
I will find out in December if I pass. I will keep you updated! Thank you again for supporting this project--and of me."”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lowdermilk
Lego Bots
Funded Nov 1, 2022Building with Legos is a blast! A blast of fun, conversation, creativity, and collaboration. Students have been building with the Legos for over three months now. The possibilities seem endless.
At first, students built houses, cars, rocket ships, airplanes, slides, sailboats, bulldozers... the list goes on and on. And all the while, they are talking to each other nonstop about how they will build the next great thing. They shared builds with each other to make whole Lego scapes with various characters and vehicles.
The students each took a crate of Legos home for the winter break. During the winter break, one creative student made a stop-action movie with her Lego crate. After winter break, she taught the class how to make stop animation videos with the Legos, unleashing a new desire to play with Legos all over again. We had many videos with Lego Mini figures, including Ninjago characters, Darth Vader, firefighters, cats, dogs, and pirates.
In Early February, our robotics club kids jumped in and showed the class how to add motors, sensors, blinking lights, gears, and pulleys. This really upped our Lego game.
Now we can't stop creating with Legos.
Thank you for unleashing our passion for creativity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lowdermilk
This classroom project was brought to life by The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation and 3 other donors.