Mrs. Ballou's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 49

• Doodling, Learning, and Voting

  Funded Oct 15, 2020

  Thank you for generously donating to our project, "Doodling, Learning, and Voting." Because of your donation, we received a 3Doodler EDU Start Learning Pack. This came with 12 3D-printing pens, 1200 strands of filament for the pens to print with, and activity plans to help with future projects.

  Prior to this project, I did not have enough 3D-printing pens for one class to use during the Covid-19 cleaning procedures. During a typical school year, students would share pens, but this year we have to use individual supplies and quarantine shared supplies for a certain amount of time for proper disinfection. Thanks to your generosity, I was able to add 12 more pens to our 3D-printing supplies, which provided more than enough for an entire class to use at the same time, once combined with the pens I already had.

  I love 3Doodler pens because they provide an easy, hands-on learning experience to teach students about 3D-printing. Students are able to turn their 2-dimensional plans into 3-dimensional designs with the use of a 3Doodler pen. I have students draw their plan on an index card and trace over it with the 3Doodler pen. As they begin tracing, the filament builds up to form a 3-dimensional object.

  Since we received the pens around election time, students used their resources to print "stickers" that showed their pride for voting. We discussed the process of voting in a variety of elections as well as learned about the process of 3D-printing. Students have also used the 3Doodler pens in numerous other projects including printing animals, bubble wands, shapes, and more. I cannot wait to have my students continue to grow as learners and STEAM-thinkers with 3Doodler. Thank you, again, for your generosity and continued partnership and my students' learning!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Ballou

  This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 3 other donors.

• Civically Engaged with LEGO

  Funded Oct 12, 2020

  Thank you for your contribution to our project, "Civically Engaged with LEGO." Thanks to your generous donation, we received five new packs of LEGOs, many base plates, and bags to create LEGO learning kits for students.

  Prior to this project being funded, I did not have a sufficient amount of LEGOs to provide my students that I teach in one day since I see about 150 students per day. I wanted my students to continue to have hands-on learning experiences, even with the new protocols due to Covid-19. Since students could not share any materials, I needed to find a way to get more LEGOs, which is where you came in!

  Thanks to your help, I was able to create learning kits filled with one base plate and a bunch of LEGOs. Students receive a bag at the beginning of the week and they get to keep it at their desk throughout the week. Therefore, not only can they use it in during my STEAM lesson, but they can also use it for hands-on learning with their homeroom teacher. Many teachers have come to me thanking me for providing this opportunity because most of them also did not have any hands-on materials for their students to use.

  While in STEAM class, students were tasked with several LEGO challenges throughout the week. For example, they built new voting precincts that could offer social distancing and a sound-structure that could withstand a variety of weather, such as hurricanes and earthquakes. We tested our structures, estimated the number of people that could be inside of them, and so much more. This hands-on building allowed students to stand, move, and fidget, which has been difficult for many learners during this Covid-19 learning. It also allowed them to stretch their engineering skills as they thought outside-of-the-box with a variety of new prompts.

  I cannot thank you enough for providing us with this opportunity. We would not have been able to do this without your help! It is generous people, like yourselves, that have allowed our students to continue to grow even in this abnormal school year!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Ballou

  This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 5 other donors.

• Dissecting Learning is a Hoot

  Funded Jul 16, 2020

  Thank you so much for donating to our project, "Dissecting Learning is a Hoot." With your generous donation, we received 60 owl pellets, bone sorting charts, tweezers, gloves, and toothpicks.

  The majority of this school year my students have remained in a virtual learning setting. This has made it challenging to provide hands-on instruction, particularly in science content areas. Luckily, I work with amazing colleagues who love to think outside of the box to bridge the gap for our students. A kindergarten teacher approached me asking if I had any ideas about how they could engage students more during virtual learning in their science instruction. She explained how they were learning about animals and had planned a unit involving owls. As soon as she said that, I knew exactly what we needed to do!

  We created a plan that involved cross-curricular learning for all of our kindergarten students, which is about 120 students. The teachers would be reading stories about owls, connecting key vocabulary, using math lessons connected to their literature of study, and virtually dissecting owl pellets. I created kits for each teacher, which included 2 owl pellets, a bone sorting chart, gloves, tweezers, and toothpicks. Given the students' ages and the virtual learning environment, we decided that for this first scientific investigation, it would be safer for the teacher to dissect the owl pellet and stream it for students to see through a document camera. This gave students an up-close view on exactly what was happening.

  Guess what? Kids were hooked! The sat there watching with their mouths agape, eyes wide, excited squeals, and so much more! They were fascinated to see what they read about in their stories about owls, actually happened in real-life. We had parents, grandparents, and siblings join the Google Meet to see the fun, gross, and intriguing lesson in real-time!

  I cannot wait to do this with even more students as we begin to transition back to in-person learning later this school year. Providing hands-on science instruction is going to be more critical now than ever and I look forward to being able to provide that thanks to your donation!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Ballou

  This classroom project was brought to life by UPS Foundation and 10 other donors.

• Crazy About Cricut

  Funded May 6, 2020

  Thank you so much for donating to our project, "Crazy About Cricut." Thanks to your donation we received a Cricut Maker, a guide book on how to use the cricut, and cardstock.

  While this has been a crazy school year, receiving this cricut has added a sprinkle of happiness. Unfortunately, the majority of my students have been learning virtually all or most of this year. However, I have used our time in the virtual setting to show them our new tool that will be utilized for projects upon their return. Students have brainstormed projects that they want to use the cricut, which include creating t-shirts for our STEAM team at school, cutting cardboard for their STEAM challenges, creating pieces for bulletin boards, and more.

  Students in grade 4 and 5 will be using the cricut on a normal basis to add design features to a variety of projects, including the parts of a cell, 3D-printing, circuts, and more. I will teach my third graders the process of how a cricut operates and we will brainstorm as a class how we can utilize it to best meet the needs of our small projects. I will use the cricut to print pieces that my younger students in grades K through 2 need in order to complete hands-on learning projects. By pre-printing the pieces using the cricut, my students will save time, while still being able to see the machine in action as it prints.

  I cannot thank you enough for providing us with the Cricut Maker and accessories. This has certainly been a dream project, and I never expected to receive it. I very much look forward to getting my students back in person, so they can see the tool in action and we can start building together!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Ballou

  This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 3 other donors.

• Say Hello to Tello Drones

  Funded Dec 1, 2020

  Thank you so much for donating to our project for drones. I cannot wait to get students back in the building, so we can use our knowledge of coding in a hands-on way. We've been working hard learning and applying our coding skills through various computer programs, so I know students are going to be thrilled to apply their skills using drones. I look forward to being able to share pictures and stories with you, so be sure to check back for updates!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Ballou

  This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and one other donor.

• STEAM Needs the Basics

  Funded Oct 22, 2020

  What a surprise to have this project fully funded! I cannot wait to break open these supplies for my students. This is going to open so many more doors to get students building and learning. Thanks to your support we will not miss a beat with learning in a hands-on manner during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Ballou

  This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Donor and one other donor.

• Doodling, Learning, & Building

  Funded Oct 22, 2020

  Words cannot fully express my gratitude for this project being funded! I cannot wait to get these 3D-printing pens in my students' hands. Students will no longer have to wait on other people to share pens, which is especially important during this Covid-19 pandemic. I cannot wait to share with you what my students learn and build with their 3Doodler pens. Stay tuned!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Ballou

  This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Donor and one other donor.

• Learning About Civics with Lego

  Funded Sep 30, 2020

  Thank you so much for your generosity! My students absolutely love building with Legos. I'm so excited to have found a way to supply more students with the tools they need to continue learning in a hands-on manner, even when they cannot share supplies due to the pandemic. I cannot wait to share with you the projects, solutions, and creative thinking they come up with. Thanks, again, for your support! It means a lot.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Ballou

  This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 4 other donors.

• Creating a Community

  Funded Dec 13, 2019

  Thank you for donating to my project, "Creating a Community." Because of your donation, we received a new STEAM carpet that fits all of my students in one area! The carpet has each word in "STEAM" – science, technology, engineering, art, and math, written across it. There are also pictures that represent the different parts of STEAM education, which is perfect for my classroom.

  My students were so excited the first time they walked into my room and saw the new carpet! And the best part? I teach 6 different classes every day in the span of a week. The audible gasps and excitement from my students each time they entered the room never got old! I loved how genuinely happy they were to see a new, colorful carpet that would provide a space for us to meet as a group.

  As soon as my students walk into my classroom, they immediately go to the carpet. It's where we check in as a group, start our lesson with new content, get the STEAM challenge for the day, and answer questions. We also finish each lesson on the carpet too by debriefing and watching a science video. It's amazing how much we use one space in our classroom. I am thankful that you saw the necessity in providing this carpet for my STEAM classroom through your donation. Donors like yourself make my students and myself feel eternally loved!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Ballou

• Drilling Our Math Minds

  Funded Dec 3, 2019

  Thank you so much for donating to our project, "Drilling our Math Minds." Thanks to your generous donation we received 8 Create and Design Drill Kits from Lakeshore. Each kit came with a battery-powered drill, 170 colorful screws, 20 mosaic templates, and 1 plastic board.

  One of my goals this school year, as a STEAM teacher, was to introduce my students to more hand tools. I learned that they naturally already knew a lot about robotics and coding, but they lacked some knowledge and self-confidence when it came to using materials like handsaws, drills, safety glasses, and more. In order to build these skills from an early age, I wanted to introduce my kindergarteners and first graders to the safety measures needed when using hand tools as well as how to actually use some of the tools. With the 8 Create and Design Drills Kits I am able to do just that!

  This year, kindergarteners and first graders worked with partners to hold each other accountable for safety measures as well as work through the task of operating the drill. I loved seeing how excited they were to do this! In fact, they were begging me to bring the kits out the next time I saw them. They built butterflies, boats, hearts, and abstract designs with the kits.

  I also challenged my third graders to use the kits, but instead of using the pre-made templates, their job was to create more templates for the kindergarten and first graders! They loved the added challenge to help students who are younger than they are. I was also amazed at their creativity as they brainstormed designs for additional templates. They used math to calculate the area they were using on the template, counting the number of each color to ensure they had enough, and problem solving when a design didn't fit like they expected. While, my kindergarteners and first graders didn't get to use the new templates this year due to school closures from the coronavirus, I have them ready for next year!

  I cannot thank you enough for providing us with this new tool in our STEAM classroom. They are truly transforming learning and hands-on instruction. I also know that we're teaching the basics of a life skill, which is very important. Thank you for believing in the work that I do with my students!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Ballou

  This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 3 other donors.