Early Christmas!

Christmas has just come a little early in room 409!  I just got word that my Donors Choose project if fully funded!!  

I want to give you a description of what that is just in case you aren't familiar. (If you are, please jump up and down for me because you KNOW how excited I am!!)  Donors Choose is a way to post an online "wish list" (called a project).  It's a list of things YOU choose, things you need for your classroom (but it could even be a field trip or something like that.)  It's very similar to getting a grant, but your project is funded in parts according to the donations your receive. You write about the supplies you've chosen (some people need furniture - like  a horseshoe table- or some need a class set of books, etc...) and how you will specifically use them with the kids.  That has to be submitted and approved. 

Then the fun part...you shop!  I chose everything from Lakeshore Learning that I thought I could really use in math or reading centers this year (magnetic letters, stamper letters, nonfiction literacy center, Hot Dots [so cool], math money center, large bulletin board coins, etc...) It was really just everything I had ever wished for since we've been doing Daily 5 and Guided Math!  

At first the donations were kind of slow.  You leave your project up for three months.  I sent emails to family (didn't have the heart guts nerve to send it to friends, but lots of people put their link on Facebook.)  I had about 5 donations over about 2 months but was a couple of hundred dollars shy of my funding.  A local mall manager even offered to double donations through October!!  I don't even know her, so it was very sweet.  Then  one night I checked email.  Someone, a total stranger, had funded the rest of my project!! BOOM, all done.  That was just AMAZING to me.  Someone I don't even know cared about my kids. That made me wanna cry, so I did.  

When you decide to do a project there is really nothing to lose!  It costs nothing to try.  Totally worth it!!  I encourage you to try it.  Here is an excellent video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUSdjfh2YjM

I would be glad to answer any questions you have about Donor's Choose (if I can!)  I'll post pictures when the goodies arrive!! The kids are going to have so much fun!!  

If you've done a project, tell me about it in the comments section!