Thank you so much for the donated butterfly kit. When the package arrived, my students were bursting with excitement! The caterpillars were already hatched and ready for observing. The first thing my students would do when they came to class each morning was go and look at the caterpillars. This continued throughout the life cycle. We kept a visual and written log of the changes we observed and did butterfly life cycle worksheets and projects. The concept of the life cycle, and that all living things- including us- have one, was reinforced through the various activities we did.
Another outcome of my class having these materials was a crucial lesson of basic human compassion, empathy, and respect towards other living things. My students learned that even though the insects are very different from themselves, they are still alive and have the right to live, too.
Now that the butterflies that arrived as caterpillars have been released by us, we are able to use the butterfly habitat for a new group of caterpillars we found on a bush near our classroom. These are a different species and my students will be able to compare and contrast the life cycle of the two.
Thank you again for your generous gift; the habitat will be enjoyed for years to come by my classroom and future students!”
I am sincerely grateful that you have funded our project, Sparking Scientific Minds. Thanks to your donation, my first graders have the opportunity to learn from meaningful interactions with hands-on science materials.
Each day, the students are eager to visit the science table, which is equipped with the materials from our project. Whether they are watering seedlings, observing the interactions of crickets or ladybugs, or witnessing the metamorphosis of the painted lady butterfly, students are engaged in learning in a way that is possible only with living specimens. These experiences have facilitated language acquisition, thereby supporting speaking, reading and writing in the content area of science.
With the increase in class size and reduction of funding for classroom materials, our fabulous science table, and the learning that takes place there, would have been merely a dream. Thank you so very much for making it a reality!”
Thank you so much for your generous donation to my class. Wow, our bugs sure are amazing and they are making our learning come to life (literally)!! Several weeks ago our bugs arrived and we set up each of their habitats. We spent time before their arrival learning about their care and reading lots of books. The students were so excited that they started to go to the public and school library to check out books on their bugs. It is exciting to see their motivation for research outside of class all because of this amazing resource.
We learned all about beneficial insects and have already released our ladybugs into the garden to help control the aphids that were snacking on our collards. Currently in our classroom we have continued to do research and have added to our bugs books. Our books are full of facts and information. Without these live bugs, much of our unit on ecosystems would have been spent reading from a book or watching short video clips to better understand concepts. However, with our live bugs we can do everything in a hands-on manner.
Our Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches are very interesting and we make sure to care for them each day. We have learned about their hissing which is a defense mechanism and we have all spent time touching them and many are working up the courage to hold them. Our silkworms hatched about a week ago and are rapidly growing. We are all amazed to learn that the silk from their cocoon thread often stretches one mile in length! Finally, we are anxiously awaiting for our praying mantis egg sacs to hatch. In preparation for their birth we have been raising fruit flies and continue to set up new cultures so we will have a good supply of food for our mantis population. We learned that praying mantis like to eat one another (they are carnivores). Once they hatch we will each have our own mantis in it's personal vile. We check every day to see if they hatched and cannot wait! There are so many exciting things going on in our classroom and it is all thanks to your support. Thank you for making a difference the lives of our amazing classroom family!”
With gratitude,
Ms. G
This classroom project was brought to life by Disney and 16 other donors.
I wanted to take some time to thank you for your wonderful gift to our classroom. The microscopes that you helped us obtain are a great asset to our students. There are no words that can ever accurately say how much we appreciate your generosity.
The microscopes have increased the science curiosity of our students. Having the materials in the classroom are more than we could have ever hoped for.
Thank you for making a life-long investment in our students. We will never forget your caring and thoughtfulness to the students at our school.”
Words cannot begin to tell you how much this will change the lives of my students. Your generous donation to my classroom will help my students every single day for the rest of their lives. My students did not want to put the items down and go to play in the gym for specials. The excitement in their eyes when we looked at the insects and the eagerness they had to read and write stories was a joy to see.
Our school like most schools is cutting back and looking for ways to do more with less. I know each and every day that without your support and love for science we would never have had the ability to buy these items. I wish every teacher would have the same wish come true. Thank you for supporting my classroom and the classrooms of other great teachers.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Anderson
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