Celebrating Innovation: How BHS Foundation Lightning Grants Are Transforming Elementary Classrooms

Elementary schools across BHS had several grant winners this Fall. They all are so grateful to the BHS Foundation and to everyone who supports the Foundation. Let’s see what some of our teachers are doing with their grants!

Conant Resource Room teacher, Laura McLean, wanted to provide an opportunity for families to read together at bedtime. With the help of the BHS Foundation grant, McLean was able to purchase 75 “Elephant and Piggie” books to help create 12 book bags for families to enjoy together. After reading the chosen book during the kindergarten and first grade lunch, McLean chooses students to take home a book bag.  “Reading at home helps build vocabulary, improves listening skills, and strengthens those important bonds between a child and an adult,” noted McLean. “Plus, bedtime stories are a wonderful way to end the day on a positive note, creating memories that will last a lifetime.”

Unpacking routines at the start of the day can differ from one student to another. To foster engagement each morning, kindergarten teacher Kelsey VanDeventer at Way Elementary developed “hands-on” morning bins for students to utilize in order to settle into the start of the school day. With funding from the BHS Foundation, VanDeventer acquired hands-on activities that help students practice their ELA and math skills while also developing their fine motor abilities. “The bins are rotated monthly among the students,” VanDeventer explained. “It's fun for the students to complete hands-on activities instead of the usual paper-and-pencil exercises.”

Lone Pine music teacher Elena Yordanova acquired four new age-appropriate musicals from the BHS Foundation. They will be performed in the Lone Pine music programs for kindergarten through third grade this school year and beyond. The new musicals are a wonderful addition to their music library; they feature contemporary themes and beautiful music. The students are excited to perform the songs and showcase their musical achievements. They have already started preparations for their concerts and love the new musicals. Yordanova wishes to thank the donors and the BHS Foundation!

STEAM activities are becoming more and more common in BHS elementary schools. Eastover’s Developmental Kindergarten teacher Kathleen Conniff is incorporating STEAM across all subject areas. The BHS Foundation granted STEAM specific materials to Conniff’s classroom to further encourage imagination, problem solving, and creation, allowing “more opportunities for our DK engineers to do what they do best,” said Conniff. In literacy, STEAM may be used to retell stories by building scenes or creating solutions to problems. In math, STEAM can be used in counting, planning and design, and creating measuring tools. Recently, students read "Goldilocks and The Three Bears." “Our DK engineers were tasked with creating a new chair for Baby Bear after Goldilocks broke his to smithereens! Our photos give a peek at today's work and our critical thinking in action,” shared Conniff. In addition to using the materials throughout each day, Conniff plans on doing an engineering challenge every Friday morning.

Bloomfield Hills Schools staff can apply for grants once or twice a year through the BHS Foundation. If you would like to learn more or support the foundation, please visit the BHS Foundation webpage.