Thiago de Araujo's Mustache

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Ever since the arrival of the carpet, my children and I have felt more at home than we ever had before. I am so grateful that you have helped make our vision come true. Without you, my children would still be cramped and uncomfortable doing something that they love to do; read! This addition to my classroom will bring so much joy for years to come. It is bright and colorful; it makes such a beautiful difference then our bare floor.I cannot wait to open that first read aloud in September to the new kindergarten and have them enjoy their own "spot to park" for reading.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Papeika

Thank you all so very much for your support. As we speak I am currently at a statewide educational conference and expo, and many of the presenters are using the Flip cameras you all helped my class to secure. These will allow my students to truly create their own learning experiences and gain higher order thinking skills that are too often missing in classrooms today. The reality of society is that technology now surrounds us and I appreciate you helping me embrace the philosophy so wisely spoken by Benjamin Franklin, "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." Thanks again for your generosity and I only hope you see the benefits of projects like mine positively impact the future of tomorrow.”

With gratitude,

Mr. Strine

Thank you so much for donating The Lightning Thief to our classrooms. The book was first read as something to do during our state exams when kids were done. One of the 8th grade teachers simply handed the book out to kids who were finished a little early. Many of the students immediately were engrossed. Some kids finished reading the book before the first week of testing was over. Multiple students tell me how much they loved the book and ask me for the next one in the series. One girl told me that The Lightning Thief was her favorite book ever. None of these kids even knew that I had acquired these books through you. They were only telling me because they were excited about reading, which is always the ultimate goal. This books was originally intended to be used with 7th grade during their study of Greece and mythology, but ended up being read by the 8th grade as I explained. The 8th grade literacy teacher decided she might as well have all of the students read the book since so many had started it. Even the kids who had finished the novel were excited to re-read it. This worked out really well. Many of the students are participating in our school play which is a hip-hop version of the Greek Myths and already had a great idea who some of the gods and goddesses mentioned in this novel were. They were able to make some great connections to the play and some other short stories that they were reading in literacy class. Needless to say, the book was a fantastic success.

My favorite part is when I walked into the 8th grade classroom while they were watching the DVD of the Lightning Thief after reading the book. The kids were complaining. "This is nothing like the book." "They ruined that part." "Persephone is not in that scene." "I thought Poseidon would be stronger." It was really exciting to see the kids make the comparisons between movie and book. My students really had a great idea of what happened in the novel. Most importantly, they seemed to like the book so much more than the movie. Thanks again for bringing interesting literature into the classrooms at my school. I can't wait to teach the book alongside greek mythology in social studies next year and hopefully, the literacy teacher will read it again with next year's 8th grade who have not yet had the opportunity to enjoy your wonderful gift.”

With gratitude,

Mr. Fox

Thank you all for your generous donations! I wish you would be able to see the impact that your donations have made, but since you can't see it firsthand, let me tell you. The children were so amazed to get the big boxes in the mail. We stopped class (just for a few minutes) to open them up. It was amazing.

Now that we have these new tools, I am able to be a better teacher. A lot of our reading lessons are now more engaging because of the projector. We studied for our PSSA's (our state standardized test) on the projector.

I also want to thank you for enabling me to purchase a new CD player. Previous to the new one, I had brought in an old one from my house, and it was not nearly loud enough! That is, if it even worked at all. (My kids always joked and asked my CD player if it felt like playing our story that day!)

Your kind and generous donations made such an impact in my classroom, and I am brought to tears to think of your kindness. It's nice to know that people out there care about my kids just as much as I do. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. DeFazio

Thank you all so much for your generosity. The rug is a great success, my students absolutely love it. It is so much bigger, nicer and more child friendly than the old one I brought in from home. I can't even properly express our appreciation for this gift, but, I'll try.

When I first started with my classroom there was no rug. We would sit on the floor and sing "here we are together all sitting on the imaginary rug..." (I'm not kidding). I had to buy alot for the classroom and neither the school nor I had the funds to buy a rug. I brought one in that I had from home, but it was thin (not comfy), small for the group and made with adults in mind. It was all that I had and it was a step above sitting directly on the floor. I knew that if I could somehow get something nicer, it would help prevent some of the wiggling, finger squishing accidents and other attention drains that happen when kindergrtners sit too close together on a rug or on the floor. I have to be honest, this rug was just a wish, a determined wish but a wish just the same, to give my students a better shot. You all helped make that wish come true and I am forever grateful to you all.

Since we received the rug, it has changed and helped us in ways I never imagined. I wanted to get the child friendly world map on the rug to form a base for later geographical study, well my class travels the world everyday. They ask me where they are sitting, they show me where thier families come from. they are 5 years old and can identify many of the oceans and almost all of the continents. It fascinates them and me to use this "concrete" rug to understand the abstract concept of the world.

Additionally, and no less important, storytime has become a calming beautiful experience that peaks their love of reading and learning. Talk about an impact! You have all done a wonderful thing for us and the ripples will continue through these young children's lives. Thank you again and again.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Stevens