MathPlayground.com Giving Page

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When I wrote this project requesting math materials I thought I was getting manipulative materials just for the students. However, it has turned out that these materials are really for me! This project really has helped me teach math better! Every time I use one of the manipulative items, it makes me smile because I have awesome resources to use in my classroom and this is all thanks to you! Having these resources has allowed me to model math for the students in a way that all the students can see what is going on and they can use the manipulative materials by themselves without working in a small group. Sometimes students just have to do it alone to understand the concept. Thank you for making this project possible! I really appreciate your donation and your help with teaching math!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Martel

Dear Donors,

I want to sincerely thank the people who donated to this project. I know that dry-erase markers may not seem like the most exciting project, but it is easy to underestimate how important it is to have these basic supplies. Before I submitted the Donors Choose application, many days in the classroom were filled with frustration, my own and that of my students, when it came time to do our whiteboard activities and lessons. The constant ringing of student voices saying, "Where are all the markers?" "These are all dried out!" and general arguing over the few supplies served as a huge distraction from instructional time, and a distraction to the lucky few who had the supplies they needed. Eventually we stopped having whole class games where students shared their answers and explanations on whiteboards because there never seemed to be enough markers! This was such an unnecessary hindrance to student progress.

Fortunately, another teacher at my school taught me about Donors Choose and help me set up an account. I was blown away by the generosity of the donors (including other teachers and people I have never even met!). In class, I would regularly give the students updates on how the project was doing and we all waited eagerly imagining a day with no more "marker struggles." When the project became fully funded, we were all so thrilled! When the markers arrived, the disagreements were greatly reduced and students got on task much more quickly when it came time to focus. It is very satisfying to be able to observe the students explain their ideas to each other with the aid of drawings, maps, and math work. It offers a fresh perspective on many concepts, allowing for not only "Ah ha!" moments, but also moments in which the students realize that they are capable of teaching their peers. It is amazing what a huge difference the gift of markers makes in our day!

Additionally, it seems that the knowledge that the supplies were gifted to us causes the students to treat the materials with greater respect- they know that they are a gift from other people, and they appreciate that. They could hardly believe that people who they had never met would donate money to help them learn! Due to this, we are using the dry-erase markers more frequently and taking better care of them. I am so pleased because, at this rate, I am going to have a good quantity left over for next school year! So thank you for your donations, it has made my life a lot easier, our classroom more harmonious, and learning more fun!”

With gratitude,

Teacher

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me reach the finish line in my big technology project. My students and school will be so excited to hear that I accomplished this with your help. Your donations allowed me to attain an amazing projector, smart board, and document camera for my preschool class. I am excited to receive these materials and can not wait to have them set up in my classroom and to have the children interactively learn. My students will be able to do so many amazing things with this but most importantly it will be used daily with our circle time routine, for calendar, weather, attendance, counting, singing, learning letters and so much more. I can't wait to send you pictures of what these children will accomplish. Thank you!!!

Although there were some hiccups and we needed a few items replaced, the children and staff have learned to use and love all of the items we received but especially our Smart Board! It has enabled us to expand learning and incorporate technology daily! Thank you all again!!!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Belchior

Many students in our school require small group reading intervention. Having games available for them to play, especially those that involve technology, is a way that motivates my intervention students and increases their creative thinking.

Our Osmo educational gaming systems that we use with our iPads create digital game boards and are absolutely mesmerizing. The games are an engaging way to reinforce our reading lessons and the students can't wait to be able to use them. Students play WORDS on their own, or with each other, trying to guess and spell out the on-screen hidden word by tossing down real-life letters. We are also able to create our own word puzzles, similar to Hangman.

Using the Horizontal Space Place has given us extra folder storage space under our SMARTboard that we are usually unable to utilize.

Thank you, again, for your generosity!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Iversen

I cannot thank you enough fit your generous gift of these stability balls. We have gotten great use from them. I've used them on a rotating basis for students that needed to release energy; I've also used them as students asked when they felt they needed to maintain focus. I cannot even explain the amount of growth I have seen in my students. They use the balls while reading independently and EVERY SINGLE student met his/her reading goal on our accelerated reading program. Other teachers are struggling to find ways to motivate their kids to read, while thanks to you, my kids cannot wait to read.

Thank you so much for what you have done for these kiddos. Not only have you helped to ignite the synapses in their brain thanks to all the movement they are able to have in my class, but you also helped me to ignite their love of reading by providing them options for a reading seat for those that need that stimulation.

Bless you always!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Yasmin Escamilla

I am writing you all today to say thank you for contributing to my project. The reading chairs that we received have done exactly what I was hoping they would; they served as an excellent addition to our library reading area. This year all of our students have read in these chairs numerous times. On average, about 125 students savor their moments in these chairs each day! The kids have enjoyed them immensely. It was an exciting way to enhance our students' reading area. As school begins next year, I am quite certain that the students will come back to school waiting to get to the library to read!

Throughout the year, I heard comments that proved to me the students were learning and enjoying the chairs. I heard many "cool" and "ooh" comments. As the students read, it is such a blessing to hear them share the stories they are reading or facts that they have read.

These chairs have allowed our students to relax and read comfortably. Often when it is time for them to go back to their classrooms, they beg to stay and READ! What a great problem to have! I feel that the students will continue to enjoy our reading area for a long time to come. You can even catch an adult in the chairs from time to time, too!

I love finding resources that are compelling to students; I love for them to "learn" without them realizing they are learning. Thanks to your generous donation, that is exactly what these reading chairs allowed my students to do.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Pennica

I would like to express my deep-felt appreciation for your generous donations towards my DonorsChoose project. We received an electronic balance and a supply of weighing dishes that have been used in numerous lab activities.

High school chemistry students need to use electronic balances to make accurate and precise mass measurements. My students use the electronic balance during a 6 part lab to determine if the mass of a system changed along with the visual change they observed. From this activity, we developed the law of conservation of mass which is a foundational concept in chemistry. Students also use the electronic balance to uncover the relationship between an object's mass and volume which is commonly known as density. The weighing dishes allow the students the ability to measure the mass of many substances including solid chemicals, marbles and popcorn kernels.

Your donations have given my students opportunities to use efficient, accurate and precise lab equipment which not only helps them in my chemistry class but prepares them for their future.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Burnison

Thank you so much for supporting my students with this gift of math and science books along with the much needed seat cushions.

My students cannot keep their hands off the books! They are perfect in so many ways. First, the pictures and content are so relevant to my students' lives. Second, my students can read them! This is a big deal in second grade. Often times, students are interested in topics but cannot find books they can read independently. I am so grateful to have such great resources now!

The seat cushions get used daily! They have also saved the day many, many times during our all school community meetings where kids are expected to sit on the hard gym floor for up to an hour! The kids take these cushions to sit on. I have a happy group of kiddos now thanks to you!

Thank you for making our day!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Johnson

Thank you for your support that helped provide basic classroom materials to us this year. It has been a great boost to have these clipboards and timers. We have been able to discard some of our older, dilapidated clipboards in favor of the new, whole ones, with an added bonus that they are bright blue and teal colors that liven up our space. Something as simple as working on the floor is an exciting change in routine and with clipboards, students can easily grab their work and do it anywhere. We've even taken our clipboards outside. Our class captains now have an easy way to store homework records for their tables. Our timers come in handy for partner fluency, individual timed tests, independent small group monitoring, and so much more. My students are even experts at removing the batteries when they finish and return the timers, because we talked about how the batteries will last longer this way when not being used--a simple lesson in responsibility. Thank you so much for your kind donation.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Weintraub