My Top Ten Tips for Funding on DonorsChoose.org-Plus Some Newbie Mistakes I Made

As you may know, one of my hats entails operating a giving page for Donors Choose projects. I love being able to help teachers get the materials they need to provide the best education possible without breaking their own bank. I am asked quite often what are my tips and tricks for getting projects funded. So, in response I am writing this blog post. I am by no means an expert and have only known about Donors Choose since January 2014-about 7 months. In that time I have had 18 projects fund, and several thousand dollars worth of quality materials donated. Each item chosen by me, and specifically tailored to the needs of my classroom. I also had the extreme privilege of being visited by Donors Choose and Google, who funded all projects in the Atlanta area on that day! The way that all of this came about started with a blog that I stumbled upon displaying a classroom layout. The teacher-author had gotten a table funded by Donors Choose. I looked up Donors Choose and I was hooked!

Wow! That was wordy! If you are still reading here are my top 10 tips-plus some newbie mistakes I made-for Donors Choose funding.

FYI I will refer to Donors Choose as DC in this post.

 Write a quality project. If you have no idea what DC is the very next thing you need to do after reading this blog post is to sign up for your free teacher account at donorschoose.org . If you don't have a request on the site you have a 0% chance of funding. I suggest that you take some time sifting through the site and look at projects that are funding, also look at the projects that haven't received any donations. Once you have an idea for something that you need in your classroom begin writing your project. My first project was for a computer table. See the picture below to realize that this was a NEED in my classroom. Many teachers request an iPad as their first project. While they are highly useful and I have had 3 funded myself, they are not seen as a needed item in the eyes of donors. Wait until you have had a bit more experience on DC before tackling a large technology project. After you decide what to ask for you need to write a quality essay. Donors will read them and     judge your teaching ability based on this small writing sample. Put some time and thought into writing it or it will be apparent to your donors.

Cost-Keep your projects around $200-not over $300 with the extra handling costs. I know the feeling of a kid writing a Christmas list with money seeming to be no object. As I will get to in the next tip-you will be spending money on DC. So, don't fill up a cart with everything under the sun.

It is best to break up large projects into smaller, more manageable projects. Try to stick with a theme. For example in this project I asked for really boring school supplies-pencils, writing paper, erasers etc. So, I turned it into a Writing project. The project essay was a wanted ad for wonderful writers. It is the project essay that I am most proud of.

Once your project is submitted and approved your main goal is to get it to the DC homepage. This is a list of 10 projects that donors see when they first sign-in to the website. That means that it is right in the faces of the donors and is VERY likely to fund. I have personally never seen a project make it to the DC homepage and expire without funding. So, how do you get it onto the homepage? There is one factor that is out of your control. The higher the poverty level that your school is listed at the more likely it is to get on the homepage. This is an automatic indicator that is determined by the number of students who receive free or reduced lunches at your school. It is possible for moderate or low poverty school's projects to make it to the homepage but it is harder for them. But, let's not dwell on the things we cannot change, and focus on the things we can!

Be your first donor. If you don't believe that your project is worth money. Why would anyone else? But hold out on donating $20 to your project until you read funding tip #4.

This is a 2 for 1 tip-Trading and INSPIRE.
Rather than donating $10 to your own project. Donate $1 to it and then use Facebook groups like Teachers Treasure Chest or Teachers Trading Teachers to trade with other teacher's projects. The reason for this is that rather than having 1 donor to your project you could get 10 donors to your project making it more attractive to donors and closer to the DC homepage.

Do most of the trading during the first 7 days after the project posts, and have the people you are trading with use the code emailed to you when it posted. It is usually INSPIRE but sometimes it changes. The code will allow the donation to be matched by one of DC's partners effectively doubling the donation. Set an amount that you are willing to donate and stop trading when you reach that point.

Don't short the clock. CONFESSION TIME! When I first started on DC I read a blog that advocated setting a shorter time limit than the traditional 4 months. The thought was that it would post as a red clock and would give donors a sense of urgency. So, that made sense to me. I posted a short clocked project. Thankfully, I had a wonderful giving page admin. gently let me know that this is NOT a good plan. Donors didn't get their extra money by being unintelligent. It is very easy to figure out when a project was posted. Also, it does not look favorable to giving pages which you want your project added to.

Secure a spot on a giving page. This is so extremely important that I have NEVER had a project fund without the help of a giving page. This has also been the most difficult thing to explain to my coworkers, but it is oh so important! Giving pages are Facebook pages operated by teachers with DC projects like me. They are supported by other teachers with DC projects. Giving pages are not affiliated with Donors Choose in any way except gathering donations. Most pages have a Facebook and a page on Donors Choose where you can see the featured projects for each page. Giving pages help you by hosting contests where you might enter with a small donation to another project for a chance to win a larger donation. Also, they usually host contests or events to add projects to the pages.

All giving pages are not created equally. I am adding a tip from giving page operator and DC teacher, Sheldon Jordan. He said, "Giving Pages, Giving Pages, Giving Pages! Select the ones that meet your needs. I would watch and see the activity on the giving pages for a week to see if they are worth joining!" I completely agree!

..I am going to stop myself and save an explanation on how giving pages work for another blog for another day. You can find most giving pages by doing a search on Facebook for Donors Choose.

Giving Page on DC

The same giving page on Facebook

Seek outside donations. 

Ask your family and friends to donate during the first 7 days and double their donation with the inspire code.

Ask your student's parents. I teach in a school that is classified as highest poverty, but last year I had several parents and grandparents donate to projects. After all the purpose is to enrich their child's education.

Send Facebook messages or emails to ANYONE you can think of that might donate. I had a Hokki stool project earlier in the year that had a childhood obesity match. I sent messages to gyms, children's gyms, childhood obesity foundations. Out of about 40 messages I got one donation. But, it was one that I wouldn't have had before. Utilize social media to spread the word about your project! You are competing with 20,000 projects on the site. People don't know about your need unless you tell them! I mostly use Facebook to spread the word, but there are many teachers who swear by Twitter and Instagram. At a whopping 12 followers (mostly DC teachers) I don't feel like my tweets are heard around the world. But, if you have a large following use it!

Last year my wonderful team leader, I will call her Mrs. H in this post. She posted a project requesting 75 copies of a particular novel to be used for a grade-wide novel study. After sending a message to the publisher and being swiftly denied, we sent an email to the author. She forwarded the message to the publisher and 75 copies of the book arrived at our door!

All you can do is ask. All they can do is say no..but they might say yes!

One more tidbit-you can use this website http://printandshare.org/proposals/search to create fun printable flyers with QR codes to your project. These can be sent home with students, hung up in the public library, etc. Here are samples that I made using the website and a link to Mrs. Fortino's project currently featured on my giving page, And How Are The Children on Donors Choose.

High quality thank yous. As soon as you receive a donation you need to make time to thank that donor using the reply button below the donation. This is one of my shortcomings. I know that life gets busy, but don't make donors wait days to be thanked. This rule goes for trading and contests also. Donors don't know which donations are trades, so you need to thank each and every donor individually and in a timely manner.
DO NOT SAY THIS IN EVERY REPLY, "Thank you." That makes you seem lazy to donors. This person took time out of their day and money out of their wallet to donate to your project. Give them a unique message. This is also a time to let your personality show. Stay within the rules of grammar and don't                                 use informal language, but show that you are fun and excited about their donation.

For newbies I would suggest focusing on 1 project at a time. If you have 5 projects posted you are not going to be able to give each one the attention they deserve and need to be completed and become a reality in your classroom.

Once you have a few projects under your belt I would advise you to always have an extra project posted. You never know when a large donor will sweep in and fund every project in your area. However, this happens very rarely! But, it is a good idea to have something extra posted just in case.

Patience. Projects can be on the site for 4 months. When I first started DC I would obsess about changing the number on the amount left on my project. If you do this you are more likely to overspend on your project. Follow these tips and then wait. If you work for it you will get donations. However, once your project is added to a giving page or two patience does not mean forget about the project and let the giving page worry about it.

There is no such thing as a free lunch. DC projects require work and money, but once your first project arrives at your classroom door and you see this look on your kids' faces you will see that it is worth it. The kids are so worth it!

I hope that you were able to glean some helpful info from this ultra long blog post. In writer's workshop we refer to this as a Brain Dump.

I asked the teachers on Teacher's Treasure Chest for their tips for funding. Here are their responses.

 Do you have a tip for getting classroom materials funded through DonorsChoose.org or a question about anything discussed here? Please leave us a note.

If you have read this far you certainly have what it takes to fund a DC project....perseverance!

Class Website- A Communication Tool

At the end of last school year I had a wonderful training with the amazing Leigh Kite on technology integration in the classroom. She put to rest the following rumor that had been instilled in me since college. 

Not everyone has a computer at home, so we shouldn't ever ask students to use technology at home.....

While it may be true that many students in our high poverty school district do not have a computer with internet access at home the VAST majority have access to a smart phone or tablet. Why should we neglect optional technology-driven communication and homework simply because a few students do not have access? 

Let me be clear-I am not advocating any practice that would humiliate or ostracize any student for their lack of internet access. A great tip that I learned during the class was to add a line on your info sheet at the beginning of the year asking "Do you have internet access at home by computer or smart phone?" Then make a list of which students are going to require paper copies-keep it posted by your computer. 

All that being said, one of the projects I tackled this summer was a class website. It was very easy to do! And, I do not consider myself to be very tech savvy. Much of the layout was inspired by Leigh's website  .

FYI It is still very much a work in progress. However, I wanted to share some of the main points. At Leigh's suggestion I used Weebly.com. It seems to offer the most FREE options for web design. However, I jumped the gun a bit and created mine before her training. She shared with me that there is also a Weebly Education site builder that may be better for student profiles and such. 

http://msclarks2ndgrade.weebly.com 

This is the homepage. At the top you will see that I have organized the pages into Home, Showcase, Announcements, Day to Day, For Parents, For Students. When you click on each heading there is a drop down menu of subheadings below. 

Under the Home heading you will find Meet Miss Clark, Donors Choose-which links them to our class projects on donorschoose.org , Standards-which links them to the state standards, and a contact me page. It was very simple to create this page by dragging and dropping text boxes, pictures, etc.

The Showcase button takes you to a slideshow of pictures. I plan to use this page to post pictures taken throughout the year. Our district uses a generic photo release form however I plan to use a specific one detailing the purpose of the website for next year. All of these current pictures were taken by a professional photographer when GOOGLE visited my classroom, so we have permission to use them. 

Under the Announcements tab parents can access the Class Calendar which is simply a Gmail calendar that I set up, and then followed Gmail's instructions for embedding it into a website. Very easy. Also, when I log in to Gmail to add events it will automatically update it to the class website. There are also links to the class newsletter which is not posted yet and a link to the school calendar.

The next section-Day to Day is not completed yet because there are still many unknowns about next school year. However, I have pages for the schedule, Homework (pictured below), and a page for each subject area. I plan to post links to interesting websites or videos relating to the current concepts, photos of activities or projects etc. 

Under the For Parents tab there are useful links to the school menu, pay for lunch online, forms, supply list, and a conference scheduling page. The conference page will always have a Contact Me button available as I am always available to schedule a conference. However, during conference time I plan to use signup genius to set up conference times. I would also suggest sending home a paper copy to your non internet parents BEFORE sending the electronic invite. 

A great feature that Weebly has is it offers automatic mobile site creation. While you are building your website Weebly is working in the background to create a mobile site. This will be a huge benefit for students and parents who only have access by cell phone. 

This site also tracks daily visits. I am excited for the possibilities, yet anxious to find out if it is used by parents. I am hoping that by constantly updating it with pictures parents will check in to see their child. 

Do you have a class website? Are you a parent of a child with a class website? 

I would love to know your thoughts and ideas on this concept. 

I must credit Glitter Meets Glue with the beautiful graphics used on my site. 

Class Pets-An Interactive Discussion

I have my first year of teaching under my belt. 

This year will be better. 

This year will be..AMAZING!

As I spend my summer vacation Pinning math workshop and classroom decor ideas, adding items to an already ridiculous TO-DO list, and thinking of all the things I need to buy to make this year better than the last..I have been thinking about one thing that I WILL add to my classroom this year. A class pet. 

However, I am totally lost on this topic. So, I am asking for YOUR thoughts, experience, etc. 

A few very important things to know:

(1) My classroom has no windows. Very sad, I know. The only window we have is on the classroom door and gives us a lovely view of Mrs. Hatley's BEAUTIFUL bulletin board. (Love you Mrs. Hatley ;) ) 

(2) I really wish I could just bring my cat everyday. But, he would not be a good class pet.. 

So, I am back to square one. 

Here are my ideas. Read and then let me know your thoughts. :) 

Option 1-Fish

 Pros: We have fish at our home. And have for many years. 

I have most of the supplies to set up and care for fish. 

Children can learn to care for fish very easily. We have a sink in my classroom which makes it very easy to care for.

Cons: What to do with them over the long breaks? They are not easy to move. 

Option 2-Hamster or other small rodent

Pros-Cute. I also had a few when I was younger. But, with a cat around...it's not such a good idea..But, I know how to care for them. 

Cons-They can be stinky, and some people are frightened by them. Some species bite. And they sleep during the day..BORING!

Option 3-Rabbit or Guinea Pig

Pros-They are so cute! My sister had a teacher when she was young who let her bring it home over all the breaks to care for it. 

Cons-I have never had one and have no idea what goes in to caring for them. Big, stinky cages. Biting?

Option 4- Bearded Dragon

Pros- I had a biology teacher that kept them in our class in high school. They were so cool! (I am not a reptile person at all!) 

Cons-Very expensive to purchase ($60 a piece)! Also, I don't have a heating lamp or any of the necessary things to get started. 

Option 5-Birds

Pros-Colorful, awake and active during the day. 

Cons-I don't know anything about caring for them. 

Option 6-Any other ideas you have? Except snakes..no snakes!

Have you ever had any of these as class pets or as in home pets? What are your experiences? What are your thoughts. Please leave me a comment to let me know. 

Student Locator-GPS

I have just completed my first summer project! This was a combo of 2 Pinterest pins that I have been wanting to do all year.

The idea for the board came from Second Grade Style at this link. http://secondgradestyle.blogspot.com/2012/07/i-made-it-student-tracker-board.html

And the magnets came from Hereen's Happenings at this link.

http://heerenshappenings2.blogspot.com/2013/06/diy-glass-marble-magnets.html

I started with their awesome tutorials and made a few changes as I went along. First, let me say that this was not a "quick" project. I worked for about 2 hours total. Creating the graphics was the MOST time consuming part of it all. So, if you can find graphics you like online USE THEM! I created all of my graphics on powerpoint using 1 inch circles. They were SO cute!

Alas, after going to 4 craft stores I could not find 1 inch clear glass tiles ANYWHERE! So, I got creative. I purchased a bag of floral stones from Michaels $6. But, I found a smaller bag at Dollar Tree. I will be returning the $6 bag! After I got home and measured my new stones I realized that they were nowhere near 1 inch in diameter. I then reconfigured the graphics to fit the new size.

Like I said, this was the most time consuming part of the project.

You will need

A cookie sheet-I got this one at Big Lots for $3.50. You do not need a nonstick pan. The Washi Tape doesn't like to stick to a non-stick pan. Go figure!

washi tape-office supply stores carry this, not craft stores??? But, it comes in many different colors and patterns $2 per roll

Mod Podge-I actually ended up using the hard drying purple label variety because the bottle pictured was empty and cemented shut.

magnet buttons-$2.99 Michael's craft store

I do NOT recommend using the spray adhesive pictured above. You don't need it if you use Mod Podge and it gets all over the front of the stone. YUCK!

foam brush or other wide paintbrush

numbers-you can custom make these on your computer or use scrapbook paper. 

You can download the ones I created for FREE here. 

Glass tile numbers

I had to cut off the cute border to make them fit. Trial and Error. 

Step 1-Download or create your numbers. Print and cut out the circles. 

Step 2-Apply a small amount of Mod Podge to the back of the stone (the flat part) with your foam brush. Try to keep your hands clean or the Mod Podge will make fingerprints on the front on the stone.

Step 3-Adhere the paper circle to the back of the stone. You want to be able to see the number through the glass. 

Step 4-Apply a thin coat of Mod Podge over the back of the paper to be sure that it is sealed. Let that dry for a few hours or overnight. 

Step 5-Peel the backing off of the adhesive magnetic buttons and stick to the back of your stone. 

VOILA!

To make the board

Step1- I traced the cookie sheet size on a piece of large construction paper and drew lines to divide it up based on my school. 

Step 2-Once I got an arrangement that I liked I used the Washi Tape to create the same layout on the cookie sheet.

Step 3-I typed up the locations that my students visit most often. Printed it on colored card stock then laminated it. Cut out the words and adhered them to the board with double stick tape. 

Here is my final product! I am super excited to use this in my classroom next year. My students had numbers this year that we used for many things. However, I always found myself saying, "Where is so&so?" And the kids' reply "You said they could go to the xyz." Teacher brain! With this board the students won't have to interrupt me during small group time to ask to go to the bathroom, and I will always know where everyone is located. I will probably add 2 stone size circles to the bathroom area and 3 to the media center area. That way the students know when there are too many people out at those locations, and they need to wait.

In case you are wondering, Mrs. Price is the attendance clerk, school nurse, and OR. I left one spot blank in the event that I have a student who goes to Speech or Special Education etc. in my class next year. 

School's Out For Summer!

I closed the door to my classroom for the final time this school year. 

This past year has been a whirlwind to say the least! 

Last May I was closing my pastor's wife's classroom for the summer. I had been long term substitute teaching for the two years since graduation. The job market was looking bleak for educators with budget cuts and uncertainty. I spent the summer passing out resumes and scouring the internet for any possible opening. 

On the night of Open House for my district I had no thoughts of an opportunity opening for me. 

My phone rang. 

The Assistant Principal of a school I had only subbed at once was on the other end of the phone. 

"Are you available to sub? Can you be here tonight?"

I.was.so.there!

On that night I met a group of students that would wind up being my very own class. :) 

I was with my 2nd Graders from the first day of school, and became permanent in October. 

This has been a wonderful year! I had an amazing team of mentors! 

I am so thrilled to spend this summer gathering ideas not for some abstract classroom in the future but for my new group of 2nd graders. 

Next year's Open House will be bittersweet because my partner in crime is moving downstairs to 3rd grade. Jennifer welcomed me the first night, and has been a wonderful friend and mentor! 

I am so excited for our newest teacher and teammate Mackenzie! Next year I won't be the NEWBIE anymore. ;) I hope that I am able to be as welcoming and helpful to her as Jennifer has been to me. 

Let the SUMMER begin!

Let's Give This A Try!

Hello!
I am totally new at this blogging thing, so I will start with introductions. I just finished my first official year of my dream job, teaching 2nd grade. I have wanted to be a 2nd grade teacher since I, myself, was in the 2nd grade. I have had the best time with my first little class, and it came to an end on Friday.

About halfway through this school year I discovered an online educational charity called DonorsChoose.org. Through this website I have stocked my classroom with many essentials that I would not have been able to get without Donors Choose. Many other exciting things have come from my Donors Choose adventure. Google visited my classroom and funded every project at my school and in the Atlanta area. I started a giving page to help other teachers fund their projects through contests and trading. I have received such awesome feedback from my giving page, And How Are The Children on Donors Choose, that I have decided that my newest adventure will be to start a blog this summer to document my adventures in teaching and on Donors Choose.

You can find my giving page at
https://www.facebook.com/pages/And-How-Are-the-Children-on-Donors-Choose/682076805185297?sk=timeline

http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/viewChallenge.html?id=387923&active=t

and follow us on twitter @howrthechildren

I will close with a great story that I have heard in many trainings and college classes. Many people wonder where I came up with the name for my giving page and now my blog. So, here is the story behind it. It's a bit lengthy but worth the read.

Among the most accomplished and fabled tribes of Africa, no tribe was considered to have warriors more fearsome or more intelligent than the mighty Masai. It is perhaps surprising, then, to learn the traditional greeting that passed between Masai warriors: “Kasserian Ingera,” one would always say to another. It means, “And how are the children?”
It is still the traditional greeting among the Masai, acknowledging the high value that the Masai always place on their children’s well-being. Even warriors with no children of their own would always give the traditional answer, “All the children are well.” Meaning, of course, that peace and safety prevail, that the priorities of protecting the young, the powerless, are in place. That Masai society has not forgotten its reason for being, its proper functions and responsibilities. “All the children are well” means that life is good. It means that the daily struggles for existence do not preclude proper caring for their young.I wonder how it might affect our consciousness of our own children’s welfare if in our culture we took to greeting each other with this daily question: “And how are the children?” I wonder if we heard that question and passed it along to each other a dozen times a day, if it would begin to make a difference in the reality of how children are thought of or cared about in our own country.I wonder if every adult among us, parent and non-parent alike, felt an equal weight for the daily care and protection of all the children in our community, in our town, in our state, in our country. . . . I wonder if we could truly say without any hesitation, “The children are well, yes, all the children are well.”What would it be like . . . if the minister began every worship service by answering the question, “And how are the children?” If every town leader had to answer the question at the beginning of every meeting: “And how are the children? Are they all well?” Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear their answers? What would it be like… I wonder?