Bug Girl's Insect Challenge 2009!

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I want to express my sincerest gratitude for your donation of a science kit to my classroom. It has aways been my belief that students learn best when they can explore and discover, this is especially true when it comes to science.

Since we have received our science kit, my students have been engaged in a number of exploratory activities. They have used the magnifying glasses to explore insects during "Bug Week", they have used the microscopes to make observations about plant cells during our "Plant Unit" and they have used the beakers to practice their measurement skills during our "Liquid Measurement Unit".

The best thing about your donation is that these materials will be apart of my classroom for years to come, therefore many students will be able to benefit from these hands-on science materials. Thank you again. ”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Etheridge

Thank you so much for your generous donation. Our students are thrilled with the result. As you can see from the photos, our activity has been a great success. The fifth grade class set up stations in an unused classroom. Our six stations included 1) food chains - the swimming pool was used to show predators, prey and how living things find food. 2) life cycles - we had two puzzles at station 2 and a cut and paste project at station three showing the life cycles for frogs and butterflies, 3) station 4 was our painting station, students painted the life cycles of one of animals we discussed, 4) station 5 was our fossil/classification station - students sifted through sand and placed what they found into groups, 5) our final station was a reading table - our fifth graders helped read stories about animals.

Both the older and younger children were impacted with this project. The younger children enjoyed the attention and were introduced to important concepts they will study later on. The older children had the opportunity to design and implement lessons. As you know, we remember 90% of what we teach and this was a time of learning for all children involved.

After each group (and we did the entire pre-school - first grade) we had a "debriefing". One student was selected to facilitate and another was chosen to write. The children discussed what went well, what required improvement and what we could do in the future to make our project better and more effective. The teachers and children involved in this project enjoyed themselves as they learned and, hopefully, developed positive attitudes toward both school and science. Thanks!

LInda Keteyian, Priest Elementary.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Keteyian

Thank you for your generous donation. Thanks to you my students think that I am the best teacher ever and they are having a wonderful learning experience.

We learned so much about ladybugs. Did you know that when ladybugs come out of their pupa that they are pale and do not have any spots? Did you know that their spots are symmetrical? My class loved observing the ladybugs. The books about ladybugs are classroom favorites. I'll be able to use them for many years to come.

The painted lady caterpillars are wonderful. We are going to watch them progress through their life cycle. My students love learning about insects.

I appreciate that you have given my class such a wonderful educational opportunity. I wish you could see the smiles on all of their faces!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Hurt

I would like to thank you for donating to our "No Child Left Inside" project. As you know, my students are unable to have much unstructured outside time. I teach in a large urban area where gang violence is prevalent--parents can't send their kids out to explore. The supplies you provided have allowed my students to learn about science concepts in an informal, safe setting.

Your donations have allowed us to construct our own tool bags. Students drew various scenes of our outdoor classroom in crayon onto sandpaper. I took their art and ironed it onto the fabric you purchased. I sewed the fabric into the bags that you will see the students holding. These bags are used to hold art supplies, magnifiers, thermometers and other tools that you helped to purchase.

Our club meets once a week on our lunchtime to do outdoor activities that we are unable to do during class time. For example, we collected snow and conducted an experiment to see which is more, a cup of snow or a cup of water. We used the UV beads to make bracelets and got into a great conversation about the effects of the sun's rays.

As spring inches closer, please know that the tools you have supplied are being used and appreciated. Thank you for helping me in my quest to leave no child inside!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Lazarowicz

Thanks to your generosity, my students are not only capturing images of the plants and wildlife on our school grounds, they are also documenting seasonal changes in photos and words. As the children eagerly await their turns with the beautiful cameras you provided, they are learning to look more carefully at the natural world around them.

The photo printer that you sent us has been a lesson in itself! We were all quite surprised as we watched the first photo emerge in yellow ink, then with a layer of red, and, finally, as the blue ink was added, in natural, living colors! Printing our photos became an object lesson in color theory.

Our cameras and photo printer add new dimensions to our science lessons as the children learn the technical skills needed to document their science projects in word and images. Thank you, Joseph, DonorsChoose.org, and all the anonymous donors who have brought new technologies, skills, and excitement to our science classroom. ”

With gratitude,

Ms. Henning

and those other kind people of the Donors Choose organization. First let me again thank each of you for your most generous donations as well as your words of encouragement! Your notes have been very motivating. Finding innovative ways to teach middle school students can be very challenging, especially when one competes with fast-paced and flashy technology. Being able to slow things down, and make connections to ones past helps to anchor students to their families and communities, as well as take pride in who they are. The ethnic garden idea also helps bring an understanding and appreciation of others ethnic backgrounds as we prepare and eat the foods from each child's cultural garden. At the same time, we are learning about reducing our carbon-footprint. We are learning how to reuse, reduce and recycle in a direct hands-on way that our low socioeconomic group children understand completely. They are already sharing these ideas with their families.

Your gift enables each child to use the tools that gardeners and farmers have used since early humans began growing their own food. The kids were very excited to be photographed in their ethnic gardens. They have been growing food and learning to prepare and preserve for later. Thank you again for your generous gift.

”

With gratitude,

Mrs. M.

I'm so moved and thankful that you were able and willing to aid my classroom in our unit on sustainability. I know that there are many wonderful teacher posting many wonderful projects, and my students are lucky that you've chosen ours.

Because of your generosity, you've enabled my students to have a real-life, hands-on view of lifescience and what is means for their waste to end up as landfill. This will be an eye opening unit for these students. Thank you again. I cannot wait to send you photos!”

With gratitude,

Mr. Kiesel