The carpet in my classroom was about 10 years old, stained, gross, and as it turned out… moldy. I was in need of a new classroom carpet. My son was in my classroom at the end of the summer while I was doing some set up. He went to sit on the carpet and I cringed – Ew, No!!! That’s when it really hit me, if I didn’t want my own son sitting on the carpet, why would I want my students sitting on it either! Yuck! I needed a new carpet, badly!
So, I decided to post a project to DonorsChoose.org If you are classroom teacher and you have never heard of Donors Choose before you have got to check it out! (Disclaimer: always check with your district policy as well) Donorschoose.org is a non-profit organization that helps public school teachers raise funding for materials and things they need to help their students.
It’s a fairly easy process that includes setting up an account, uploading some pictures, writing your project ( a rational explaining what you need for your class) and shopping! Once your project gets approved (which only takes a few days) you get a page on their website and links to share it with everyone you know! Donors Choose has lots of printables, pre-written emails, and other materials to help you get the word out on your project. Sometimes they even have promotions where they will match donations made if your project meets certain criteria.
Legos!
I also needed a nice big set of LEGOs to use with my STEM centers and activities. Luckily I was able to add that in to my project with the new carpet! I was lucky enough to have many parents in my class make donations as well as friends and family and my project was fully funded within a month of posting it.
If there are things that you need to make learning a better experience for your students I highly suggest giving it a try! You can get a new carpet, or perhaps a nice big box of LEGOs for STEM activities, the possibilities are endless.
Be sure to check back here for new and exciting updates.
(Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with Donors Choose, I am just stating my own experience)
