Donors Choose

Do you DC?

Donors Choose projects have made such a huge difference in my classroom!  They have provided my students with some DESPERATELY needed materials.  I've completed 3 projects this past year, with the help of so many friends, the families of former students and of course my very own family!

I wish I had the words to express how thankful I am for the games, activities, books and materials that now fill my classroom.

I received the materials from my latest project in the mail this week.  There were a variety of materials for students to investigate as they master our measurement and geometry standards as well as some new books to be used during the lessons.

My Math Coach stopped by this morning to check everything out and we were talking the huge deficit of materials that ALL of the teachers on my grade-level face when it comes to math, geometry in particular.

The same could be said for my whole school and probably yours as well.

Teaching without the tools you need is equivalent to landing on the moon without a rocket.  The proper tools can transport your students to mastery...or the moon ;).

If you're asked to transport your students to the moon each year without a rocket, you should seriously consider creating a Donors Choose account!

Most of the materials we received won't be used until the second half of the school year when we begin working on the standards they are intended to support so today we spent a little time checking everything out.  Building the shapes (above) was a big favorite!  Look how engaged they are.  They wouldn't even be that interested if I lit myself on fire and rode around the classroom on the back of a tiger!

If you've never set up a Donors Choose project here's how:

1.  Go to http://www.donorschoose.org/teachers

2.  Register for an account and start setting up (shopping for) a project.

3.  Allow DC for post on your Facebook.

I didn't want to do number 3 because I felt weird about asking my friends and family to contribute.  The flip side of that thinking is that NO ONE WILL KNOW about your project.  When you put the word out you provide the people who care about you most (and know how hard you work) with the option to contribute!  You'll be surprised by the generosity of your friends and family!

The final 2 tips are:

4.  Lately DC has been providing a match code during the first week of your project.  They will match any donation (up to $75) made during that week as long as the donor enters the code at check out.  Post about your project EVERYDAY during this time.  Make sure EVERYONE knows the code!  You can usually get your whole project funded during that week, in fact, I've gotten a project funded in 6 hours thanks to that match code!

5.  ALWAYS donate to your own project!  I donate $25 the day it goes "live" and match it to knock $50 off the top immediately.  If you believe (& invest) in your project so will others!

If anyone else out there has DC tips please share them!  I know we all need ALL the help we can get!